Getting Up to Speed on the Taca de Portugal

I figured since I have some time to fill between a recap of Benfica’s UEFA Cup tie with Espanyol today and the upcoming 24th Jornada of the Liga, that I’d get everyone up to date on Portugal’s national cup tournament referred to as the Taca de Portugal.

First off, this is absolutely the UGLIEST trophy going (a lot uglier than the young lady’s happily accepted trophy to the left). Secondly, a great deal of attention isn’t poured into it. Since Porto’s venture into the winner’s circle of the Champions League recently, Portugal’s aspirations and expectations continue to climb.

Perhaps the most amusing/interesting fact about this year’s Taca Tourney is the fact that the country’s two giants, Benfica and Porto, didn’t even make it to the Quarterfinals.

Benfica crashed out in the 6th round(of 9) to Liga da Honra(think Coca-Cola Championship) side Varzim. However, and perhaps even more embarassing, Porto lost 1-0 in the 4th round to B Division (think local recreational U-17 traveling team) side Atletico.

Now that you’re done laughing, only SuperLiga teams remain and the tournament is in the semi-final stages. The first game on the 18th of April pits the officially adopted team of the Portugal Offside Blog Sporting CP v Beira-Mar. Sporting currently sits 3rd in the league while Beira-Mar is hanging out with Wesley Snipes. The second game is on the 19th and pits Sporting Braga against Belenenses. This should be a hard fought game between the 4th and 5th place teams, respectively. I’ll be back tomorrow with a preview of the weekend’s games. For now, I’ll watch the Benfica v Espanyol game, tucked safely away from these nuts.

Category: Benfica, Porto, Sporting, Super Liga, Taca de Portugal, UEFA Cup

Tags: Atletico, Belenenses, Benfica, Champions League, Liga da Honra, Porto, Sporting, Super Liga, Taca de Portugal, UEFA Cup

Subscribe   The Offside RSS Feeds

Print

Share