In the 15 editions already played in the Taça da Liga, only two final victories escaped one of the four emblems that have dominated Portuguese football in this century. It happened in the first edition, when Vitória de Setúbal, still with some strength, prevailed over Paulo Bento’s Sporting in the penalty shoot-out, and in the 10th edition, when Moreirense had previously beaten Benfica (who had won the three previous finals ) defeated to defeat Sp. Braga in the final thanks to a penalty kick on top of the break.
As the World Cup was held in winter, this year’s competition was played in a different way than usual, with eight groups and quarter-finals to qualify the finalists – allowing teams from both professional levels to remain in activity during this period – projecting even more two outsiders who will try their luck and swell the history of the so-called, since 2018/19, Allianz Cup (it was already the Carlsberg Cup and the CTT Cup, in addition to a period in which it had no sponsor): Académico de Viseu, from the II League, and Arouca.
The first game will be played next Tuesday in Leiria, the city responsible for organizing the “Final Four” for the third year (alongside the 2014 final), pitting Sporting, the current holder of the trophy, against Arouquenses, with whom you have already lost this season. On Wednesday it will be the turn of FC Porto de Sérgio Conceição to take on the Viseu team, coached by his former colleague Jorge Costa and who have only four participations at the top of Portuguese football (the last in 1988/89) and the first second-tier club to reach the decisive stage, after UD Oliveirense, in 2017/18, which they lost to V. Setúbal (0-2).
A Bicho with German severity
In a competition “designed” to favor the four strongest teams in Portuguese football – who nevertheless only played together twice in the Final Four played since 2016/17, when the League Cup winner was deemed the “Winter Champion ” in a marketing ploy -, the achievement of Académico de Viseu in being present in Leiria is still extraordinary. Despite not meeting any of the sharks, the club from Vise won a group with two I Liga teams (Famalicão and Estoril) and even defeated another in the quarter-finals (Boavista).
Since the arrival of Jorge Costa in technical command (succeeding Pedro Ribeiro and Pedro Bessa) in early September, as the team rose to 17th place in the second tier, Académico has had an impressive season. Despite losing in his debut (2-1 in Amadora), the one called “Bicho” started an impressive run in his days as a player that now lasts 20 games without a defeat – even if the last two have ended in a draw , there were always 14 wins in this period -, putting the team in the fight for promotion (alongside still in the Taça de Portugal and the Taça da Liga), despite the fact that the coach had said last Saturday that he was not a candidate anywhere for.
Founded in 1914, Académico de Viseu only returned to the professional ranks in 2013, after very difficult years in which it fell into district football. In these years, the best he achieved was a third place (2017/18) and only the purchase of 51% of SAD in 2021 by HOBRA (a German sports investment company, with ties to millionaire Dietmar Hopp, largely responsible for placing Hoffenheim on the German football map) seems to have given football in Beira a new impulse.
“Our investment is planned for the long term in Portuguese football and we are excited about the mission to guide this club and its supporters on a future path,” said Mariano Maroto López, director of the company, when the deal was finalized. “During the talks, we quickly came to the conclusion that the long-term approach of the company and its representatives is an excellent option for Académico and for us,” assured António da Silva Albino, president of the club who remained as director of SAD. And that seems to be the case for now.
A dream of Carlos Pinho
Founded in 1952, Arouca came into limelight when Carlos Pinho, the civil construction entrepreneur who became president of the club in 2006, had the vision of hiring Jorge Gabriel as the team’s assistant (he was promoted to head coach the following season) who worked in the district of Aveiro. The arrival of the TV presenter, who had taken a coaching course, gave a media boost to the Arouquenses which, in the sporting field, made a rapid rise to a place of only about 20 thousand inhabitants, reaching the I Liga in six seasons and even ending as they managed to qualify for the 2016-17 Europa League qualifying rounds in which they only fell at the feet of Olympiacos in extra time.
Carlos Pinho served his eighth term as president and saw the team descend to the second tier at the same time, but he didn’t give up. The bet on Armando Evangelista in 2020 was good, with the Guimarães coach (who celebrated his 100th game in charge last weekend) securing promotion and retention in the I Liga last season.
This year, despite a difficult start (only nine points after the eighth round and a 0-6 against Sp. Braga), the team managed to stabilize and close to the European places – in addition to of course participating in this Final Four then at Moreira de Cónegos to win, where Benfica failed to pass. With experienced players, such as João Basso, Alan Ruiz, David Simão, Arsénio or Tiago Esgaio, and some unexpected talents, such as Palestinian goalscorer Oday Dabbagh (who is playing his second season with the club), Arouca was one of the pleasant surprises of this season in Portugal.
Candidate dragons and lions
Obviously FC Porto and Sporting are big favourites, although they have a very different history in the League Cup. For the Northerners, this is the national competition they have never won, although they have already been to four finals and were defeated by Sp. Braga (twice), Benfica and Sporting. That is why Sérgio Conceição did not hide his enormous frustration last season when the club was eliminated in the group stage by a surprising defeat in the Azores against Santa Clara (1-3).
“I would like to offer this title to Pinto da Costa. We are obsessed with titles and I would be happy if I could offer it to the president. The working group is very happy to offer this title to the president,” said the Porto coach said on the eve of the game. This season also did not start well, with a draw at home against Mafra (2-2), but a win in Chaves (2-0) and a beating against Vizela (4-0) brought the team into the fourth finals, where they won easily against Gil Vicente (2-0).
Sporting, on the other hand, appear in Leiria with four victories in the last five editions of the competition – and a coach who has won the last three trophies, the first of which is still in Sp. Braga. With a 100% win and goalscoring journey (including a 5-0 against Braga in the quarter-finals, after six against Farense, two in Vila do Conde and another five against Marítimo), the truth is that Rúben Amorim has a great chance to winning a trophy in a season marked by the irregularity of a “bipolar” team, as the coach defined it. Far from the leader of the I Liga and the Portuguese Cup, only the Europa League remains, where a Lions victory seems much more unlikely.
Source: DN
