WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-07)

Beira-Mar and Desp. Aves are back. I 'm going to predict that Beira-Mar will survive but Aves will not. The surprise team will be Nacional droping to the Honra. Braga on the positive side once again.

Beira-Mar should be the best of the promoted teams, especially with the overhaul in the necessary areas of the pitch. Having said that, I do think Aves could make it.

Surprise title contender... Braga can no longer be considered a valid option. I'd go for Guimaraes again if they stayed up. They didn't so I'll go for...

This is a tought-one... Won't be Leiria... Won't be Nacional again...

My vote goes to... (random selector...)
BEIRA-MAR, simply because I can't think of a team that has really the potential to really challange it. Not a real opinion of mine, just an ultra wild-guess.

It's so hard to determine this year. Way too many changes made by clubs and still more to come.

I think Nacional have made too many changes. Gone are Goulart, Andre Pinto, Nuno Viveiros, Hilario and I beleive Benaglio is going too? They could even go down...

I'm going to say Braga and Boavista. I know, Braga aren't really a surprise anymore but they still have to show more if they want to secure a top 3 finish or even win a title. Boavista lost some key players and brought in some relatively unknown players but they always seem to be in the hunt. I would say Leiria if they kept Jorge Jesus as coach, but I don't think Domingos has the experience yet to improve them.

The best promoted team will be Beira-Mar.

I think Maritimo will be much better than last year. That's not saying much, but I think they will fight for a UEFA Cup spot. I really like their coach, U. Morias. Gil should have kept that guy. After he was let go, Gil almost tanked.

I definately think that Beira Mar will stick this season. Aves, Naval and Paços de Ferreira are my picks to drop. Belenenses, Guimarães and Leixões will be promoted...

Re: WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-

Only two are promoted...

I think that Belenenses and Leixões will easly win... I think too that Vizela has better team than Guimarães and it is more dangerous!

Re: WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-

If Jardel proves to be anywhere near his previous years , you may have something there in your vote.

What are the chances of Santa Clara makeing it up if any?

Decent, they got very close last season, they could sneak it in, but it's going to be a lot harder since more teams got dropped down than usual.

Re: WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-

Jardel will last to weeks. As soon as he finds out he has to run, he's out

Re: WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-

But Braga are expected to contend, they shouldn't be a surprise after 2 good seasons, really...

Re: WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-

And somehow we'll still beat Porto at the Dragao again.

Re: WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-

the best promoted team, no doubt it will be Beira-mar.
the best title contender i say NONE because fcp, scp and SLB will dominate the league. Boavista will finish 4th but will not fight for the title, like braga did the last 2 years. and braga will be a big upset, they have a good team but not a good coach, instead of gettin carvalhal if they would get manuel machado i would see them fight for the title. so i say they will finish 6th or 7th, and i say that Academica with manuel machado will be a surprise team i say they will finish in 5th place. fcp is the team to beat, and they will not lose alot of points, so if scp and SLB slip they can say goodbye to the title.

I think none will be able to cause a big surprise. But if had to bet I would say Boavista because it has a good consistent coach and new players that are going to bring a complete different style of play. I'm not so sure about the signings but they received good critics from their respective countries so they must be worth something. And I'm glad João Pinto is out.
I have my doubts about Carvalhal and Braga's policy about selling the key players at winter. But they're still a team worthy of respect.
Beira-Mar looks like the best promoted team.

Re: WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-

And then get relegated

Re: WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-

But Valentim Loureiro won't be here to see that through this season.

Early abdication of the title ?

I know it's pre-season, but Benfica is not showing us a great deal of power house soccer.

Re: WHO will be the surprise title contender?/Who will be the best promoted team?(06-

Naval , the early leader after limited number of games in the first leg of the Campeonato.

1st round.

Pos. Equipa Pontos

1 Naval .............3
2 Sporting .........3
3 Sp. Braga ........3
4 FC Porto .........3
5 Marítimo......... 3
6 D. Aves.......... 1
7 Beira-Mar ........1
8 V.Setúbal ........1
9 Académica .......1
10 Benfica ..........0
11 Belenenses .....0
12 Boavista........ 0
13 U. Leiria .........0
14 P. Ferreira ......0
15 Nacional ........0
16 Est.Amadora ...0

The problem, as usual, is that there won't be any surprise contenders.
The title will be won, as usual, by Porto, or Benfica, or Sporting.

No surprises...no mystery....no competition....just more of the usual....year after year.

The Portuguese liga , in terms of competition, is the weakest one in Europe (indeed, if not the world).

In 72 seasons of competition....it always has been (always will be?)....Porto,Benfica, Sporting. It's a miracle Belenenses won once in 1945-46 and Boavista once in 2000-01.

Let me predict the champions of the liga for the next 10 years (100 years?) :
Porto, Benfica, Sporting.

The problem (yes, it is a problem) is compounded by the fact that nearly everyone (media, referees, league officials, etc) "belongs" to one of the "big 3" (estarolas), which runs generations deep (...his father, his grandfather....).

A look at European leagues :

Germany - 28 different champions
Holland - 26
England - 23
Sweden - 18
Denmark - 18
France - 18
Poland - 17
Italy - 16
Belgium - 15
Scotland - 11
Spain - 9
Portugal - 5 (70 "Big 3", 1 Belenenses, 1 Boavista)

Disagree completely. Over the past few years, the league has gotten much more competetive. It is no less competetive than the EPL.

This is a pretty useless stat. Back in '20s & '30s, Olhanense, Carcavelinhos & Maritimo won Campeonato Nacionais that are not considered official titles. There's no difference between those and the titles won in England by Preston or Notts Country 90 yrs ago. And a lot of these other countries are much less competetive than the Portuguese league. Who cares that a bunch of kilt wearing highlanders won a few Scottish titles back in the 1900s? The reality of that league is that no one but Celtic & Rangers has won the title since 1985.

Here are the same leagues over the past 15 years:

Scotland - 2 different champions
Holland - 3
Belgium - 4
Portugal - 4
Italy - 5
Spain - 5
Poland - 5
Germany - 5
England - 5
Denmark - 6
Sweden - 7
France - 8

"a bunch of kilt wearing highlanders ".....hahaha, I like that

But the fact remains, even back then (the dark ages), as now, it has always been Porto, Benfica, Sporting. The numbers don't lie. Regardless of when they were won, Portugal remains at the bottom of Europe with 5.
Scotland is just as bad, actually.

Another aspect :

Take the English League : Every club has been relegated to the second division (some even to the 3rd or 4th) :

the current big 4 :

Arsenal (13 years in division II)
Liverpool (11 years in division II, as recently as 1961-62)
Chelsea (19 years in division II, as recently as 1988-89)
Manchester United (22 years in division II, as recently as 1974-75, after having won The European Cup (60's)).

This is the kind of stuff ( competition) you don't see in the Portuguese league.
Will Porto, Benfica, Sporting ever be relegated to the 2nd division?
I would like to see it, but I highly doubt it (not in my lifetime, anyway).

Don't think it makes the Danish and Swedish leagues better just because they have more different winners.