When is the Superliga going to get some respect?[R]

Gol TV has a show that does show goals from the SuperLiga, but the SuperLiga still doesn't get very much attention.

 

I Love watching the Superliga Most games are very entertaining. I hope with the new staduims and Portugal getting 5 spots in Europe and 6 next year. They will make more money. I will tell you something if National of Maderia keeps Adriano and the rest of there team. They will do some big damage next year in the uefa league. All the visitiing teams will be destracted by the beauty of the island on Maderia.

 

Since the elitist media likes to make a sport (pun slightly intended) out of ignoring Superliga clubs, let me tell the readers out there about a small little club that wears the blue and white and who won a CL, a UC, an Intercontinental Cup and is in the final of the CL again. You probably know them as they are named after the city they're from. LOL

But seriously, perhaps it's because they can't pay their players the kind of salaries that the big English clubs can give (and that the media in the States are mainly Anglo- and Spanglo-centric) that that's why the Superliga doesn't get good coverage. They probably think, "How could they be good when they pay their players Third World wages?"

Yeah, sucks to see that attitude but that's not new, isn't it?

 

Im a fan of a league(France Ligue 1) that doesn't get any respect either so I know how you feel. We had 2 teams in the Champions League quarter finals and 2 teams in the UEFA Cup quarter finals and still not much respect.

 

What better than a Porto v Monaco final to show that it's not only the English, Italian and Spanish clubs that can win big.

 

But at least FSW shows one Ligue 1 game a week during the season. There is no US broadcast of Superliga matches. Unfortunately, it looks like FSW might drop Ligue 1 this coming season in an effort to cut costs and make up for the increase costs of carrying the English Premiership games, their bread and butter. So not only will we lose French, and possibly Dutch and German, but that makes the prospects of seeing Superliga even more dim. It's a shame, I've enjoyed watching Porto's run through the CL. They are a great club to watch.

 

This is precisely what I've been pulling for. Recognition of two of Europe's most underappreciated leagues would be a long time coming.

As the weeks have gone on in this CL, people have looked at me less and less crazy-like as I've told them Porto is the dark horse to watch this year.

 

Daniel Fernendez has a great article on Soccerage.com on this subject.

 

I have not been there, but I heard of people scared **********less from the landing at Funchal Airport. Certainly an advantage there.

João Jardim (President of Madeira Autonomous Region) told a story once. Years ago he was in Italy and there was a whole page in the Corriere della Sera about the Madeira Is. He said that there was no money that could have bought that advertising.The reason for the Madeira spread was upcoming game in the UEFA cup against Maritimo.

This year he will have two teams. Unfortunately Rossato, Adriano and the coach won't be there.

 

http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/v0993.html

 

Here's another thing that will surely get our league some more respect:

European champions president released on bail after court questioning

Tue Dec 7, 6:28 PM ET

LISBON (AFP) - The president of European champions FC Porto was released from a court in Portugal which questioned him for nearly ten hours as part of a probe into alleged sports corruption after he agreed to pay 125,00 euros (167,000 dollars) in bail.

A spokeswoman for the court in Gondomar, an industrial town just east of Oporto, told reporters Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa stands accused of two counts of sports corruption, two counts of influence trafficking involving referees and one count of falsifying documents.

Police summoned the Porto president to appear in court last week after they carried out searches of his home and the club's headquarters as part of a follow-up to "Operation Golden Whistle", an investigation into alleged sports corruption launched in April.

He voluntarily appeared at the courthouse on Friday where he was informed that he had been placed under judicial investigation for alleged sports corruption, but was not questioned that day.

No formal charges have been brought against Pinto da Costa, 66, who has headed the club for more than two decades and is one of the most influential figures in Portuguese football.

Under his leadership, Porto has won two European championships, in 1987 and last season, as well as seven of the last 10 Portuguese league titles.

A conviction for sports corruption by a president of a club carries a maximum jail sentence of four years according to Portuguese law.

Last week the court in Gondomar quizzed five other men - four referees and a player agent - who were detained by police as part of their probe.

Among those who were detained was businessman Antonio Araujo, 43, who was involved in Porto's signing of several players, including Brazilian playmaker Diego who signed with the club in July in a deal worth seven million euros.

In April police detained 16 people, including the president of the Portuguese Professional Football League, Valentim Loureiro, and the head of the football referees' council, Antonio Pinto de Sousa.

Loureiro is accused of 23 crimes, including four counts of influence trafficking, while Pinto de Sousa is accused of 21 crimes.

Both men have since had their mandates suspended.

The magistrate who questioned Pinto da Costa on Tuesday barred the Porto president from speaking to a number of the other accused in the case, including Loureiro and Araujo.

Police launched "Operation Golden Whistle" after a 15-month investigation, involving wiretaps of telephone calls, which police said had uncovered strong indications of sports corruption and influence trafficking involving referees.

Shares in FC Porto dropped nearly 3.5 percent on Tuesday to close at 2.52 euros, their lowest level in nearly two years amidst news reports that Pinto da Costa was to be formally accused of sports corruption by the court.

 

With Porto on the verge of winning the Intercontinental Cup and a bit of Glory for Portugal and the Superliga, we get this kind of stuff.

This weekend should be filled with happiness for Porto fans win or lose as they are representing Portugal in this game, they should not be concerned with whether PDC is going to jail or not.

Lets hope that Porto can pull this one out for thier Fans, because in the end they deserve it. They are the ones who Support the team on a day to day basis and is the sole purpose for its existence.

PDC if he had some class would resign and thus remove some of the stigma away from the Club.

 

lol...First off, you can't put PDC and class in the same sentence. It just doesn't fit.

Second, he's way too greedy & egotistical to ever resign. He'll go away when: a) the fans get fed up of him and vote for someone else (doubtful) or b) he gets convicted and thrown in jail (even more doubtful).

 

Superliga football is very entertaining to watch. I think the respect is slowly building and a little more recognition is now being had, outside of Portugal. The only way to keep it going is for our teams to do well in Europe and try to get that ranking up there. Unfortunately, due to many factors such as money and attendance, it will be nearly impossible to catch up to the status of a great league like the Bundesliga or even the French Ligue 1. However we must distance ourselves from the Dutch Eredivisie and other leagues ranked behind us in the UEFa rankings. Most football fans still regard the Superliga to be not as good as Holland and even some deranged people who think the Scottish league is better (what a joke).

If we can simply strengthen our current position at #6 in Europe, I will be happy.