Rubio is asking to be promoted to A team. Too bad his salary is a problem. Honestly though if he and Montero are getting paid similar wages, I'd keep Rubio who's younger and has more potential.
The B team won today at Oliveirense 1-2. Gelson Martins scored one goal and you already know who scored the other one, right? We are currently tied in third place with Benfica B and Freamunde. Three points behind the leaders Desp. de Chaves and two behind the runner-ups Tondela, but both of them have one game less.
We won 2-0 against Atlético CP at home. Atlético had 3 players sent off, due to some awful fouls. Christian Ponde, replacing Diego Rubio (suspended), scored both goals. The 2nd was a beauty! (sorry for the low image quality). We now share the 1st spot of the league with Benfica B and GD Chaves, even though we have 2 more games than Chaves.
About to play against Leixões. Starting 11: Luís Ribeiro, Mauro Riquicho, Sambinha, Nuno Reis, Jonathan Silva, Palhinha, Wallyson, Francisco Geraldes, Gélson Martins, Dramé and Diego Rubio.
We won 3-1. Goals from Palhinha, Gelson and Rubio, as usual. Leixões goal was scored by Lewis Enoh who's on loan from us. Sporting B is currently in third place, four points behind the first, Desp. Chaves, and three behind the second, Tondela.
http://gfycat.com/EllipticalInferiorHomalocephale Beautiful team play against Oriental earlier today that ended up with Gélson Martins scoring. We won 4-3, with Francisco Geraldes, Wallyson and Daniel Podence scoring the other 3 goals.
Good to see he gets a call, hopefully he's at least on the bench, he's deserved it. These last few games will basically be meaningless, so we might as well test some of these young guys (although I'm still faintly hopeful after that draw yesterday that Porto's confidence dropped and they lose more points - very wishful thinking though).
Sporting B ended the Segunda Liga this season with a 2-3 win at Braga. The first goal was scored by Rubio (his 14th in 22 games) with a fantastic assist from Chico Geraldes, the second was scored by Fabinho on his second start, he's an u19 player who's been with the team since January. And the third goal was scored by Luís Elói, another u19, on his debut. Luis Caicedo of the u19s also made his debut. With this win Sporting B finished 5th just 3 points behind the Segunda Liga champions Tondela. Goals: 14 - Diego Rubio (2 PK) 7 - Hadi Sacko 6 - Gelson Martins 5 - Wallyson Mallmann 4 - Francisco Geraldes 4 - Ousmane Dramé 3 - Salim Cissé 3 - Lewis Enoh 3 - Ryan Gauld 3 - Daniel Podence 2 - Iuri Medeiros 2 - Cristian Ponde (1 PK) 1 - Tobias Figueiredo 1 - Filipe Chaby 1 - Jonathan Silva 1 - Sambinha 1 - Matheus Pereira 1 - João Palhinha 1 - Nuno Reis 1 - Fábio Martins 1 - Luís Elói Assists: 9 - Gelson Martins 6 - Francisco Geraldes 6 - Mica Pinto 4 - Iuri Medeiros 4 - Daniel Podence 4 - Hadi Sacko 3 - Ryan Gauld 3 - Wallyson Mallmann 3 - Matheus Pereira 2 - Salim Cissé 2 - Ousmane Dramé 1 - Ricardo Esgaio 1 - Diego Rubio 1 - Jonathan Silva 1 - Nuno Reis
Joao, who would you say have been the standouts, surprises and disappointments for the B team this season?
Hm... I guess for me the disappointments were Chaby, Nuno Reis, King and Zezinho. TBF Chaby barely played for the B team and since January he's has been doing pretty well out on loan to União da Madeira helping them secure the promotion to the Primeira Liga. I'm not losing any hope on him though, he's a very talented kid and I hope he stays on loan to União next season in the Primeira Liga and pulls a 'Iuri Medeiros' there. Nuno didn't do that bad either, he was probably our best CB after Tobias was promoted, but I guess I was expecting a lot more from a player who has played 3 seasons of top tier football in Portugal and Belgium. At times he looked as inexperienced as his younger teammates. King and Zezinho (since returning in January) also barely played and they're lagging behind their younger competition. On top of that Zezinho looked terrible the few times he did play. I'm also a bit disappinted in Ponde, but he was in a very tough spot having returned from a year long absence due to injury only to find Rubio in top form scoring left and right. I wasn't disappointed by Enoh because I wasn't expecting much from him. But truth be told, he has scored quite a good number of goals for Leixões in these last 5 months on loan. Maybe we can trade him for some other team's prospect. I was pleasantly surprised with how much Sambinha evolved although I still doubt he'll ever be good enough for the first team. Likewise Luís Ribeiro is still quite rough around the edges but he has been doing way better than I ever expected him to do, maybe he could benefit from a loan to a Primeira Liga team? Sacko has been a very regular performer for us, and I have written about him earlier. Podence and Francisco Geraldes are both very talented and have performed great at times, Podence especially in the first half of the season and Geraldes on the second. But my standouts were Wallyson, Gelson Martins and Rubio. All three of them have played at a pretty high level the whole time they spent on the team, even if others like the previously mentioned Podence and Geraldes might have outshone them at times. Wallyson looks every bit as ready to join the first team, and I think he showed it this weekend against Rio Ave. Gelson should be joining the first team if it was a regular season, but since the only wingers who IMO have a safe spot for the next season are Mané and Iuri, and both are also very young, he might lose his spot to some more experienced player. Rubio depends a lot on how we manage the other strikers we have, all of them are pretty decent, much like Rubio, although none is a standout. Finally a word about Gauld. Gauld is still a bit green, greener than many of the kids on this team, but I think he offers a new dimention to our game, a dimention that maybe only Iuri gets close to right now. I think of him as first team player who has been playing a bit on the B team to get some more experience, so I think he should 'stay' in the first team, and hopefully play a lot less on the B team in the future, and play a lot more in the Primeira Liga too.
Thanks for the info. Bummer that Zezinho didn't play well once he came back. How long does he have left on his contract? Nuno Reis should really have been a first team solution by now. Would you see Sacko getting time with the first team next season? So it sounds like Iuri, Wallyson, Gauld, Sambinha and maybe Gelson to the first team next season in your eyes?
Iuri, Wallyson and Gauld look like they have a spot there already. Gelson and Rubio may join them. Sambinha isn't being promoted now, that's for sure, and despite how he is improving he still has plenty to develop before he becomes an option. I think Sacko will be loaned out to a more competitive league, either the Primeira or outside. Btw, I would also like to read @Inkie 's opinion on this.
It doesn't make sense to keep Rubio and Wallyson in the B team anymore. Promote those guys and let another 2 guys fill their spot from the U19s. Especially with rumours that we may lose Montero/Slimani in the summer, keeping Rubio would be good for depth
First of all, I'd like to congratulate João de Deus for his work with this squad. We had a tough first half of the season, but he still managed to keep the squad together and pull off a brilliant run until the end of the season. I fully aggree joaommx analysis of the disappointments. As for the standouts, I'll try to make a brief analysis of our most used players: Luís Ribeiro: One of the main highlights of our season. Until January, when we were struggling to find our way, he had hero performances that kept us safe from hitting the bottom. After João de Deus arrived, we managed to "clean the house" and became more organized. He showed consistency until the end and made very few mistakes, which is something he was lacking in the previous seasons. Judging by his evolution and his age (23), it really doesn't make sense to keep him in the B squad, i'd be happy with a loan or a promotion, as Patrício's backup. Guilherme Oliveira or Pedro Silva are more than ready to fill his place in the B squad. Mica Pinto: He's not the most talented guy we have, and I doubt he's got what it takes to play for our first squad, but he has showed improvement as well. He deserves a chance in the major league, and I think there are many squads that could use him on a regular basis. Sambinha: Ended the season in great shape. His experience with João de Deus has been great, he's full of confidence (he was very nervous on the first half of the season, which led to some shaky performances) and looks like a solid CB to keep playing for our B squad. Nuno Reis: It's time to end the cycle. He never reached the level we'd expect him to reach, and it's not enough to play for the first squad. Still, he had a solid season, and his leadership was very important on the field. His contract ends in June if i'm not mistaken, and we'll probably let him go, giving Domingos Duarte more space to evolve. Mauro Riquicho: Well, not sure what to expect from him. He had a decent seaosn, with a few mistakes, but he's still 20 years old. It's his 3rd season on the B squad, but since we don't have anyone else for the spot i'd keep him on the B squad for another year. Ramy Rabia: A very interesting player on some occasions and a complete disaster on others. He needs to show consistency if he wants to reach the first squad. If he doesn't get loaned out, he should stay on the B squad and fight with Palhinha for the DM position. Wallyson: It's time to let his genius shine for out first squad. Another brilliant season, being arguably the MVP. He's the kind of player that I really believe once we give him an opportunity, he won't leave the starting 11. We need him on the first squad, and he's got everything it takes to be one of the most important footballers of our A squad. Francisco Geraldes: Caught everyone by surprise. He wasn't looked at as one of the most promising players we have, but once he started playing he showed class. A very elegant midfielder, capable of covering a very large portion of the field. Like Sambinha, he really benefited from João de Deus. We have a packed midfield on the first squad, which means he should stay and be one of the most important players of our B squad next season, at least until January. Ryan Gauld: Solid season. I think his playing style will surprise many people when he reaches the A squad. He's not the kind of player that will pick up the ball, run past 2/3 defenders and create a chance. He's a cerebral midfielder, who knows how to temporize the attack, how to distribute the ball with precision and with the vision to make brilliant assists. He has the rare ability to measure tempos: he knows exactly where he needs to be, when he needs to be there, and knows where he or the ball needs to go. He's very mature, which I wasn't expecting. He often wen't unnoticed throughout the matches, but he was a very mportant member of the team. He'll be promoted to the first squad, where he'll hopefully get regular playing time. Ousmane Dramé: I really like Dramé. He was very influential, and his determination lead him to create some very interesting moments. He's a competitive beast: He'll run up and down the field, he's always avaliable to get the ball, and he'll run fearlessly through defenders. If he gets loaned out to a 1st division squad, I'll leave my bet right here: he'll become one of the highlights of the season. Personally, and especially since it looks like we're going to be short on wingers, I'd give hime the pre-season with the A squad. Gelson Martins: Exponential growth. We all know what he can do, but our "little Nani" raised the bar: he showed tactical awareness (again, kudos to João de Deus) and defensive skills (even played as RB in some occasions). Another contender for MVP of the season. He'll be a very important player of our A squad in the future, I'm sure of it. As for now, he should at least make the pre-season. Daniel Podence: Packed with talent, which he showed during the first half of the season (he was on his way to be a serious contender for MVP), but he failed to keep his concistency until the end of the season (his injury didn't help as well). I still have faith in him, and I would keep him on the B squad until January. Haidi Sacko: Overall, a decent season. Still, he needs to play as a striker. He's fast, strong and a great shooter. When he plays on the wings, his lack of dribbling skills is notorious, which lead to some embarassing performances, but as a striker, he knows how to move, how to hold the ball and where he needs to be. As for the future, either a loan or another season on the B squad. Diego Rubio: Not sure what to expect from Rubio. It's true that he scored tons of goals, some of them we're absolutely beautiful, but I'm not sure if he's got what it takes to be "the" striker we need. Competition is fierce, but he earned his way to the first squad pre-season. Sorry for the long post, I really tried to keep it short
The B team had a 3-2 win over Nacional today. Nacional scored both goal first but we tied still in the first half with goals from Francisco Geraldes and Matheus Pereira. Daniel Podence scored the winner.
The B team played two friendlies today and we tied both of them, 1-1 against third tier Barreirense in the morning and 0-0 away on the presentation of Mafra who was recently promoted to the Segunda Liga. Against Barreirense we played with: Vladimir Stojković; Mama Baldé (Jorge Santos 70', Mama Baldé again 73'), Ivanildo Fernandes, Fabrice Fokobo, Rúben Ribeiro; Fábio Martins (Luis Caicedo 45’), Murilo de Souza*, Rafael Barbosa (Cristian Ponde 56’); Hadi Sacko (Giovani Cabral* 70’), Betinho, Daniel Podence (Mica Pinto 45’) Our goal was scored by Betinho, I heard it was great, I'll try to find it and post it later. The striker Mama Baldé played as a right back, was subbed off, but was subbed on again because Jorge Santos got injured. Murilo de Souza is a former u15 and u17 Brazilian international who is currently 19 years old and is on trial with us, he last played for Cruzeiro's u20s. Giovani Cabral I suppose is the misspelled name of the u19 forward Jovane Cabral. Against Mafra we played with: Pedro Silva; Mauro Riquicho, Sambinha, Domingos Duarte, Seejou King; Zezinho (Fábio Martins 72’), Ryan Gauld (Murilo de Souza 85’), Francisco Geraldes (Hadi Sacko 80’); Ousmane Dramé (Daniel Podence 71’), Rubio (Betinho ‘84), Matheus Pereira
As I had promised you here is Betinho's goal against Barreirense from last monday. Today we played twice again. In the morning we had a 1-1 tie with Sambinha's former team 1º de Dezembro from the third tier. I don't know who played but our goal was scored by Domingos Duarte. In the afternoon we trashed Primeira Liga's Vitória de Setúbal 6-1. Goals by Francisco Geraldes (2), Ousmane Dramé, Diego Rubio, Daniel Podence, Betinho.