Look at the teams Torreense could play in the Europa League next season, while being a second division side!
Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiakos, Marseille, Bournemouth, Sunderland...
What an unexpected adventure awaiting the town of Torres Vedras!
Image from @fmeetsdata
Rafael Leão leaving AC Milan this summer. He's not had the greatest season, but he's got considerable quality, I'm a massive fan of his.
A left winger available for potentially about €50M, I do think he'd be a great fit for Arsenal, it's exactly the position they need.
Moral of the story - sometimes players don't work out at certain clubs. And that's okay. It doesn't make them a bad footballer, it can be the opposite. Various factors dictate suitability of a player to a club. Vitinha is an extraordinary player. It just didn't work at Wolves.
Five years ago, Vitinha was struggling to break into Wolves' starting XI...
He's just won Player of the Match while lifting his second Champions League trophy 🏆
Yesterday, Torreense lost their promotion/relegation playoff against Casa Pia, confirming that the Portuguese Cup champions will be competing in the Europa League league stage next season - while also competing in the second division of the Portuguese game.
🚨 Francesco Farioli tells me there is "no doubt" he's staying at Porto despite links with several top clubs. Relationship with Andre Villas-Boas key to Farioli's decision.
Full interview this Thursday on Market Madness.🎙️
This was quality from Braga last week - they tease us that João Moutinho is 'hanging up his boots' - before revealing that the story continues! The 39-year old Portuguese legend extends his stay at Braga.
@fcp1992 Yep, sounds like they've got everything in place to compete in Europe. They've learned from the problems Aves and Moreirense have previously encountered.
INCREDIBLE!!
SCU Torreense are Portuguese Cup champions!!
They do the unthinkable, beating Sporting in the final to become the first EVER second division side to win Portugal's biggest cup competition!
They will enter the group stage of the Europa League, at Benfica's expense!
@SimbaWalker6x@fcp1992@fmeetsdata It's fairly standard practice across European leagues that the cup winner goes directly into the Europa! It's just unusual that it's a team of the stature of Torreense that manage it.
Look at the teams Torreense could play in the Europa League next season, while being a second division side!
Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiakos, Marseille, Bournemouth, Sunderland...
What an unexpected adventure awaiting the town of Torres Vedras!
Image from @fmeetsdata
@joaozinhoSLB@fcp1992@SimbaWalker6x@fmeetsdata I'm much more optimistic. Benfica will still get to the Europa League, Braga, as long as they don't get screwed by the draw, should get to the Conference League and do very well in it. 5 teams in the league phase - which doesn't happen very often! Torreense is then a free hit.
@SimbaWalker6x They'll have to confirm it but they were taking steps to make sure they could be in Europe after what happened to the likes of Aves and Moreirense previously.
Torreense win the Portuguese Cup from the second division and qualify DIRECTLY for the Europa League league phase, ahead of Benfica!
Benfica go from Europa League league phase to Europa League qualifiers.
Braga go from Europa League qualifiers to Conference League qualifiers.
Second division Torreense on the brink of winning the Portuguese Cup!
They lead Sporting 2-1 with under 10 minutes to go, and are on the verge of becoming the first EVER second tier side to win the Portuguese Cup.
This would also qualify them for next season's Europa League!
Portugal's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup!
No Mateus Fernandes, no Palhinha, no Alberto Costa, no Paulinho who's tearing it up in Mexico. Some debatable decisions, but one thing is sure; this is a squad stacked with quality.
Cast your eyes over the upcoming world champions:
🚨EXCL: Raul Jimenez has said there is a 'possibility' he could return to Wolves.
There have been early talks between the club and player about a potential deal for the striker who is out of contract in the summer.
Story w/ @lukew_powell#wwfc
https://t.co/y0GYbN3dwi
FT: Freiburg 3-1 Braga (agg. 4-3).
Argh, what a shame. A red card for Braga in the 7th minute somewhat ruined this as a tie, and Braga fall at the semifinals. One of those days, just a shame it would happen today.
Take nothing away from them though, what a campaign from Braga.
@santobacalhau These guys are used to making offside decisions and tracking both the passer and the defensive line/attacker at the same time, I think they're more than capable of noticing when a goalkeeper comes off their line, particularly when it's as obvious as that.
Unai Emery lambasting the officiating vs Nottingham Forest is a good time to recall what happened when his Sevilla side beat Benfica in the Europa League final in 2014.
Look at Sevilla goalkeeper Beto for the penalty shootout. He didn't complain much then