Tabletop Football
By: Greg | March 27th, 2007
No, not THAT kind of tabletop football. This brand involves the two teams at the top of the table in the Portuguese League: FC Porto and Benfica. They’ll be playing in this coming Sunday’s “Classic” in what promises to be a smashing derby. These two teams have absolutely no love lost between them. Many people view this rivalry as the old guard from the big city (Benfica) vs the relatively new guard of FC Porto.
While they’ve never really been a complete walkover, Porto have really come into the vanguard in recent years by winning the league three years running. For those who largely ignore Portuguese soccer, Porto thrust themselves wholeheartedly in the limelight under Jose Mourinho when they won the UEFA Champions League 3-0 against AS Monaco in the 03/04 season.
The implications here are far reaching. Since the two teams are separated by only one point, a win for either side would make the league theirs to lose. Sporting will be watching the game closely as well, as a tie would benefit them since they are only six points adrift from the top and are fresh off their thrilling 1-0 win over Porto last round. Going forward, only Benfica and Sporting will meet before the season’s end which is on the 20th of May. Aside from that tie, the road home is relatively similar for all three teams. All three play a relegation-bound team and all three play a team that sits 4th or 5th. If Porto are starving for points in the final round, they’ll get to play lowly Aves who are bottom of the table on 13 points.
Benfica still have the UEFA Cup to contend with which may wear them down over the coming final eight weeks. Either way, as I previously asked, pick a team and ride the wave home. It should be good fun, what with the form that players like Quaresma and Joao Moutinho have shown in the past few weeks.
Category: 
Tags: AS Monaco, Aves, Benfica, Champions League, Joao Moutinho, Jose Mourinho, Porto, Quaresma, Sporting, Super Liga, UEFA CupSubscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments
-
Which team do you think will be most affected by the international layoff?
Posted from
United States
-
Honestly, Sammy, I see Porto as the biggest beneficiary of the layoff due to their form as of late. While Quaresma has been superb, Porto have crashed out of the Champions League AND lost to 3rd place Sporting in the recent weeks.
Posted from
United States -
Unbeknownced to the Portuguese stadium security, and much of the world, I have installed multiple sound amplifying devices purchased from sharper image, (which are generally intended for old people who cannot hear the television), so that I could listen to the conversations on the field and get a better understanding and insight into the Portuguese soccer craze. These are a list of the most popular words and phrases that i have come across in my findings and since I do not know the Portuguese language, I have used context clues in order to give everyone an educated guess as to the meaning of these rantings:
1. Lambe-me os colhões ~ This is usually said to the referee after a player dives and usually doesn’t get the call. I conjecture that it means, “Good eye, man, you are a talented official!”2. Chulo ~ The usage of this is often after the striker scores a goal. It most likely means, “Success!” or “Golly!”
3. Cheira o meu saco ~ This phrase is usually used after a keeper makes an amazing save. It most likely means, “Very talented save!”
4. Va’ se foder, seu filho da puta! – This is most plaguing phrase of them all. After the ball veers wide of the goal, this saying is usually uttered. However, after very in-depth research, I have unearthed the true meaning. It is said in old Portuguese folklore that you may enchant the ball so that it will move more favorably into the goal. So this saying actually means, “May God direct my next strike!”
Hope this helped everyone!
Posted from
United States
Comments are closed
Home 
