The Portuguese Cup is perhaps the most beautiful competition in the country. It is where a 4th-tier team can go head-to-head with a top-flight outfit and eliminate the favourites. It is a competition where the very essence of football comes alive.
The round of 32 was played this weekend and gave rise to several high-profile stories.
For starters, it was João Pereira’s debut as the new Sporting coach. Sporting responded brilliantly, with a 6-0 win against the 3rd-tier team Amarante. It is clear that João Pereira has no intention in changing the system that Amorim has built throughout his time at Sporting.
+ Conrad Harder. It is like a Gyökeres 2.0. His diagonals and runs into the box are textbook Viktor Gyökeres and all eyes are on this kid if Viktor leaves in the winter transfer window.
- Amarante in general. Everyone can understand that a 3rd-tier team will not be in command throughout a match against the national champions. However, putting your team so low on the field is always an invitation for Sporting to press until it hurts.
Benfica has had an amazing round as this team keeps on progressing under Bruno Lage’s ideas. Led by Ángel Di María, who put in a performance reminding us of his best days at Real Madrid or PSG, Benfica absolutely destroyed Estrela da Amadora. Benfica were at their best: the combinations in the midfield and the variation of play through the wings is a classic Lage idea, and the Eagles are making the best of it.
+ Di María. A hat-trick in 18 minutes, including a bicycle kick goal, maybe Puskas worthy. A performance that made every Benfica fan proud to have a world class player like him. No words, a performance to watch and rewatch and show your grandkids when saying “this was football in my time”.
- Ferro. The (not so) young centre-back put in a disastrous performance for Estrela. Several mistakes that helped make the result so expressive. Maybe it was the pressure of facing his former team.
However, the biggest surprise of Saturday was the win of Lusitano de Évora against AVS. The 4th-tier team eliminated a top-flight team, which is what the Portuguese Cup is all about. Lusitano are clearly the story of the competition this year so far. They eliminated the second-division club who are favourites to go up to the Primeira Liga, Académico; they eliminated the top-flight team Estoril; and now they have repeated the trick against AVS. The Portuguese Cup is about dreams coming true, and Lusitano’s dream is very much alive.
+ Diogo Lopes. Two goals against a 1st-tier team and keeping the dream alive! Will he make this team successful and transform it into one of the best Cinderela stories in Portuguese football?
- Gustavo Assunção. Ever since he left Famalicão for the first time he has never been the same player. He needs confidence to find his best again, the quality is there.
Sunday came with the biggest surprise of this round of 32. Porto fell against Moreirense. That makes it three losses in a row for the Dragons, which has not happened since 2008. The first half looked pretty normal, with Porto dominating, but in the second half the Blue and Whites were unrecognisable: no coherence whatsoever.
Moreirense played their part, but this upset has one man to blame, Porto coach Vítor Bruno. Danny Namaso is not a player you can rely on, and to keep on neglecting players like Vasco Sousa, Rodrigo Mora and Ivan Jaime is not a good sign for the Porto manager.
+ Luís Asué. A striker who is a throwback to the 1990s. Big, strong, fast, and a good header of the ball. A menace inside the box. Asué’s ability to hold on to the ball, giving time for the rest of the team to go forward was the secret to winning this game.
- Vítor Bruno. This has to be the end for Vítor Bruno as the head coach of FC Porto. Mistakes happen, bad performances happen to everyone. This is borderline incompetence. If you don’t get new players to start a new chapter, you have to bet on the squad, make the best out of it and most importantly, you have to give the kids a chance. It’s time to go find a new manager, it’s time to find someone who can eradicate the “bad habits” that Conceição left behind. Will Villas-Boas have the gumption to do it?
