It’s A Marítimo Party, Who Could Ask For More?

By: Greg | September 5th, 2007

oingoboingo Okay, it’s international week. I’ll refrain from moaning about how there’s such little league news material to comment on and just commence with the pulling of rabbits out of my ass. Thank whatever lord it is that you’re betting on that I have the national team games to preview and review which will give me some meaty material down the line (hopefully to discuss the aftermath of two much needed wins). I’ve decided that since I spend so much time discussing the big three that it wouldn’t hurt to give some play to the club who actually occupies first place right now, Marítimo.

Now I understand it’s a pipe dream, a ridiculous idea to think that we’ll be looking at the run in to the final week having Marítimo neck-and-neck with Porto, fighting for the championship. However, they’ve managed to string together three wins and since they’ve been top o’ the table for 1/10th of the season, why not take a quick peek?

First off, it should be noted that Marítimo (who are bossed by former Brazilian National Team manager Sebastião Lazaroni) don’t actually play their home games on continental Europe. They play in Funchal, which is in the Madeira Islands, located almost 550 miles from Lisbon and at a distance of 360 miles is actually closer to the coast of Africa than to Portugal. Their home/main kit is comprised of the two main colors from the national flag of Portugal, red and green. Their main rival is Nacional who are located on the same island as Marítimo. The rivalry is not only one born out of close proximity to one and other, but one of social and economic differences. Marítimo represent the blue collar, working class of the island while Nacional are regarded as the more affluent supporter’s club. This socio-economic struggle between different classes is understood not only on the little island of Madeira but must also have pervaded all of our lives at one point or another, so to understand the rivalry here shouldn’t require a wild imagination.

Players of note, particularly this year, are Makukula who is on loan from Sevilla, Kanu, and keeper Marcos. Makukula has had immediate impact in the side, scoring 3 goals in as many matches. He’s actually listed by FIFA as a Portuguese international, but due to some relatively new rule snafus, he is incapable of playing for his country of choice, which is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, even though he was born in Zaire. Kanu is also no scoring slouch, with a brace in the second contest of the season against Boavista, accounting for Marítimo’s only scoring. Marcos is an excellent keeper, maybe in the top four or five of the SuperLiga. He’s the backbone of keeping the team in games, especially against the larger clubs who tend to force them to play more men behind the ball.

Marítimo have won by two goals in each of their three wins this season. They’ve defeated UEFA Cup participants Paços de Ferreira at home, Boavista away, and most recently bottom o’ the table Academica at home. They’ll no doubt be challenged in the next contest when they face Porto at the Big, Bad, Blue Fire Breathing Dragon (who apparently gets ALL the ladies).

I put together some highlights of their Boavista and Academcia matches from this season (and by put together, I mean I YouTubed ‘em and copied the ‘embed URL’ for you) below. The most recent game against Academica which is on the very bottom features a vicious looking tackle by the aforementioned Makukula for which he got a straight red and sent off in the 7th minute. Maritimo should enjoy their current time at the top and not be discouraged when the inevitable downward motion takes place. For, as Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred Lord Tennyson once said, “Tis better to have been top of the BWINLiga table and drop than never to have been top of the BWINLiga at all.”