Everything’s Coming Up Liga… da Honra (or Vitalis, depending how commercial you are)
By: Greg | May 16th, 2007We’ve spent a bit of time examining the relegation-threatened teams in the Super Liga. But who’s going to replace the trap door bound teams? For that we look to the top of the Liga da Honra/Vitalis…
At the top of the league is Leixões SC, who call Estadio do Mar home. They haven’t been in top flight football for almost two decades. For a good period of time, they saw spells trolling around 3rd and 4th level football. They subsequently surfaced in the Liga da Honra in 2003/04. After posting only 14 points in their first season back in da Honra (wow that works on so many levels), they must have hit the Barry Bonds “workout” regimen.
The next three years saw them with 50, 62, and now on 57 points to take the top spot with one game left. They bring up with them a Taça de Portugal win in 1961 and another candy cane kit.
The second place team on its way back up is Vitória SC. This team is basically a legitimate threat to finish relatively high in the Liga next year. They tend to finish in the mid-upper part of the league but recent years have seen them with SuperLiga finishes of 14th, 15th, 5th, and then 17th in their relegation year (last year).
The team draws a great deal of fans to its home games and are generally regarded as the fourth biggest draw in the country, behind the obvious big three. They call Estádio D. Afonso Henriques home, a stadium which underwent a face lift for the Euro that Portugal hosted in 2004. Their promotion will revive a massive derby with Braga, one wrought with fierceness and a great deal of history.
Given their history, insane fan following, and derby influence, Vitória SC stand a much better chance of making an impact than Leixões. But hey, you never know.
Category: Super Liga
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