GD Estoril Praia

Last season Estoril had a two different halves campaign. During the first 14 weeks, they were the big sensation of the league, having reached a great 5th place at the half of the season. However, a difficult January month saw Canarinhos’ performance drop significantly and the team picked only 3 wins in the second half of the season. Their great initial weeks were enough to get them a very safe 9th place, though. In goal, Estoril will have Phelipe Megiolaro, possibly to replace Thiago Rodrigues, who should leave before the season starts. Megiolaro was one the most exciting promises of Brazilian football a couple of seasons ago, but lost momentum in the meantime. Dani Figueira remains a solid option for the position, too. At the back, ‘Canarinhos’ saw some experienced units like Raúl Silva, Carles Soria, Ferraresi and Patrick William leave, and they look like they will have a very young foursome, with Gonçalo Esteves/Tiago Santos and Tiago Araújo as full-backs and Pedro Álvaro in the centre, all of them revolving around Bernardo Vital who should have his talent confirmed. In midfield, Estoril lost the anchor Gamboa, so Rosier will be the undisputed owner of the no. 6 position. In front of him, the strongest part of the XI, with Geraldes and Franco forming a quality duo. Franco, however, is highly sought and may leave in the meantime. There are significantly less options in attacking positions this season (so far). Bruno Lourenço, Jordi, António Xavier and Meshino left on the wings. Arthur Gomes will be the main reference in attack, while the promising Rodrigo Martins should start on the other wing. The striker position is even more worrying, as Rui Fonte, Clóvis and Leonardo Ruiz left, only to be replaced by two players returning from loan spells (João Carlos and Elias Achouri) and Alejandro Marqués. Nélson Veríssimo is the new coach, after leading Benfica after Jesus departed last season. He should be an improvement over Bruno Pinheiro, who lacked edge in the second part of the season last year. Veríssimo is also known for working very well with youngsters.