Football Season Guide

Eagles were back at winning the title, last season, and mostly due to a spectacular second half of the campaign, after the exciting young coach Bruno Lage took charge. Wonderkid João Félix was a big part of the success last season, but he won’t be around anymore as Atletico Madrid paid a record signing fee to get the highly promising forward. Advanced age and physical problems led the fans’ favourite-for-several-years Jonas to retire; injury prone Salvio left the club to return to his home country. Felix’ money was used in two unusually expensive signings: attackers Carlos Vinícius and Raul de Tomás. Chiquinho returns to the club after an amazing season at Moreirense. Despite a decent season from Vlachodimos, Benfica is searching for a big name for the goal. There’s some excitement on the prospect of Ebuehi and Gabriel returning to fitness after long injuries. Youngster Jota will be part of the senior squad in definite, and there are hopes of him being the next big talent coming from the youth system. Benfica will heavily rely on the successful formula of last season. Lage’s exciting new ideas interpreted by a group of mostly young new talents such as Rúben Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Gedson and Rafa. Pizzi will be orchestrating the team. The squad seems to be lacking a bit of depth in some areas. André Almeida continues the most reliable option for right-back, which is not great news; there’s hardly any cover for Grimaldo on the left side.