Group Stage Fan Preview: Porto

Could it finally be? After 4 long grueling years without any titles I think it can be the year finally win something whether it’s the Taca de Portugal if they fail the league title or vice versa they certainly have the potential to do so.

Now, I know Sporting fans will say 4 years is nothing compared to more than 10 years since SCP have won a league title, but I can only imagine their despair. With not many “new” players purchased by FC Porto, we still got plenty of reinforcements that were here all along, only problem is that they were loaned out to other clubs. Players like Ricardo Pereira & Aboubakar grew massively on their respective loans.

Porto still maintained their core without sacrificing and held on to all their players as they pretty much had to since they were sanctioned by UEFA on their Fair Play rules. But I’m ok with this. You see we kept our core which is good enough for me all we needed was the right coach to head them in the right direction. Is it still early? Yes, of course but Porto showing flashes of a championship squad. They could crumble as it is a long and grueling season, but still same can go for Benfica or Sporting with the latter look sensational this far.

Porto have a solid group who seem to play more as a unit then a bunch of individualists who are running around out there doing what they want without any success. Porto have a solid, compact defense, coupled with a fantastic midfield and a good attack that can finally give what FC Porto fans have been longing for, a return to their championship ways.

It’s no secret that have become very weak and depleted since the Tetra run Benfica was on and now SLB looking for the Penta. Porto must do everything they can to stop Benfica’s domination the last few years and get back on track. It’s crucial they win the big matches but also use caution against the smaller clubs who can snatch points at any given moment. With only a few players loaned out like Joao Teixeira and Rui Pedro, I’m ok with it because they will return and gain first team minutes at their respective loaned clubs.

We will see what will come of this season but Porto look promising, dangerous even. Time will tell but I think they’ve got a solid squad to make a championship run and even make it to the playoffs of the UEFA Champions League. So stay tuned, buckle your seatbelts, because this season of Liga NOS looks very promising with Sporting emerging as a contender and obviously Benfica, Porto have so far made their case. Individually speaking, Ricardo, Danilo, Aboubakar, Brahimi Corona, Soares, Otavio, Telles, are the names that really stand out but also give credit to the defensive partnership with Felipe and Marcano. Casillas is a good goalkeeper a legend, but has his fair share of blunders since joining but had also shined in big games, in particularly Benfica. Also, Porto finally have a bit of depth on the bench as well, with some great talents being brewed in the B squad.

FC Porto can only go up from here and another mediocre winless season could seriously damage Porto and all the prestige they conquered in the past 30 or so years. It would be a shame but cycles have to come to end and so Porto must do everything they can to not end up in Sporting’s shoes (no offense to Sporting and it’s fans) but for a big, well known, prestigious club like Porto, this could be disastrous and could have massive consequences starting from the top and all the suits and big shots involved with the club. We just want our club back and I think they could be rebuilding now, but now we have Sergio Conceicao who I feel is the right man to make this happen. Let’s have faith in FC Porto. #SomosPorto.

Thank you for your time in reading this article. – Kevin (Twitter: @POR_soccer)

Photo: PA Sport