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31/07/04
Salgueiros will after all be relegated to the Segunda B from the Liga de Honra (second division) for non-fulfilment of payments of a loan from the Liga. The club had appealed against a
first decision. Portimonense will take their place in the higher division.
30/07/04
Brazilian/ naturalised Portuguese midfielder Deco, formerly of FC Porto, is having some bad luck with his new club Barcelona. On his way from Porto to Barcelona, his luggage went astray. Then on
the trip to Korea for the club's pre-season tour, he arrived badly jet-lagged and feverish. Finally, he injured a thigh muscle int he first training session he managed and missed the first game of the tour.
28/07/04
Benfica's Brazilian central defender Luisão will be out of action for around three weeks after fracturing his jaw in Brazil's final win over Argentina in the Copa America.
24/07/04
Benfica striker Pedro Mantorras
was kept at Lisbon airport for hours Thursday when he was found to be carrying an out-of-date passport that he had tried to alter by changing the date. The team had just returned from their pre-season training camp in Switzerland when the discovery was made. It later transpired that the player had two passports, one new, and that Mantorras' wife had packed his new one in his luggage. When this one was found, he was released.
21/07/04
The Portuguese Football Federation has overruled the decision, made last week by the Liga dos Clubes, to relegate Salgueiros from the Liga de Honra to the Segunda B for debts owing to the Liga.
15/07/04
The Portuguese Government approved today a proposal from the Sports Council
to reduce the number of clubs in the top two divisions in Portugal, which currently have 18 clubs each. This season, four teams will be relegated from the SuperLiga
and only two will be promoted from the Liga de Honra, so that in the 2005/2006 season there will be 16 teams in each division, playing 30 games (instead of 34).
Salgueiros president José António Linhares claimed Wednesday that the club had settled its debt with the Liga
(a matter of just under 12,000 euros) within the deadline and should not therefore be relegated from the Liga de Honra. Linhares also called for the resignation of Cunha Leal, president of the Liga.
Meanwhile, the Liga has said that the decision to relegate Salgueiros is "irreversible".
Germano Figueiredo, former central defender of Benfica
and the Portuguese national team, died Wednesday aged 71. He won two European Cups with Benfica in the early 60s and was captain of the Portugal team (Os Magriços) that got third place in the 1966
World Cup. Germano was voted 53rd in UEFA's recent top 250 list.
14/07/04
Salgueiros, until relatively recently ever-present in the Superliga, have been relegated to the Segunda B (third division) from the Liga de Honra for unpaid debts to the Liga, for
which the deadline was the end of June. Their place will be taken by one of the three clubs 'relegated' from the Liga de Honra at the end of last season: Portimonense, Sporting da Covilhã or União da Madeira.
Beira-Mar, coached this season by the Englishman Mick Wadsworth, have initiated disciplinary proceedings against the Brazilian midfielder Juninho Petrolina, one of the club's best players last
season. Petrolina is two days late for pre-season training without any justification.
13/07/04
Monday's charity All-Star Game between the 'International' team and the 'National' team at the Estádio do Algarve
(not at the Bessa stadium, as reported below) ended in a 3-3 draw. Figo put the Internationals in front on 26 minutes, Evandro equalised on 42, Dani got two on 68 and 70, to put the Nationals in the driving seat and Joaquin and Gascoigne, on the stroke of time, equalled the score.
The teams lined up:
'International'
Stars: Ricardo, Sergi, Fernando Couto, Radebe, Juanfran, Pirlo, Guardiola, Rui Costa, Chamakh, Niculae, Michael Schumacher. (Also: Michael Aerts, Luis Enrique, Gascoigne, Hassan, Douala, Joaquin, McCoist, Desailly, Helton, Bobby Charlton).
Treinador: Alex Ferguson
'National'
Stars: Hilário, Albertino, Hélder, Jorge Andrade, Rogério Matias; Danny, Maniche, Rui Pereira, Edgar, Hélder Postiga, Evandro. (Also: Serginho Baiano, Pedro Roma, Dani, Marco Caneira, Dimas, Vidigal, Polga, Miguel Garcia, Adriano, Miguelito).
Treinador: Luiz Felipe Scolari
12/07/04
Ten of the 23 Portuguese players who were in the squad for Euro 2004 are present for the All Star Game
(in benefit of the Luís Figo Foundation) Monday. Several of Benfica's players were invited, but the club has prohibited them from taking part. The two squads for the game, to be played at Boavista's Bessa stadium are as follows:
International team:
Goalkeepers: Maikel Aerts (Feyenoord) and Paul Robinson (Tottenham).
Defenders:
Sergi (Atlético Madrid), Hierro (Al Rayyan), Marcel Desailly, Lucas Radebe (Leeds), Mark Fish (Bolton), Van Der Gaag (Marítimo), Puyol (FC Barcelona) and Juan Fran (Celta Vigo).
Midfielders:
Luís Figo (Real Madrid),Guardiola (Al-Ahli), Luis Enrique, Emerson (AS Roma), Paul Gascoigne (Burnley), Zidane (Real Madrid), Joaquin (Bétis) and Douala (Sporting).
Forwards:
Michael Schumacher, Samuel Eto'o (Maiorca), Chamack (Bordéus), Morientes (Real Madrid), Kluivert (FC Barcelona), Niculae (Sporting) and Hassan.
Coach: Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
Portuguese team:
Goalkeepers: Ricardo (Sporting),Pedro Roma (Académica),Hilário (Nacional) e Hélton (União Leiria).
Defenders:
Rogério Matias (Vitória Guimarães), Miguelito (Rio Ave), Albertino (Marítimo), Fernando Couto (Lázio), Marco Caneira (Bordéus), Hélder, Miguel Garcia (Sporting), Andersson Polga (Sporting), Ricardo Carvalho (FC Porto), Jorge Andrade (Deportivo Corunha) e Dimas.
Midfielders:
Luís Figo (Real Madrid), Danny (Sporting), Rui Costa (AC Milão), Maniche (FC Porto), Costinha (FC Porto),Vidigal (Nápoles), Capucho, Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) e Serginho Baiano (Nacional).
Forwards: Liedson (Sporting), Adriano (Nacional), Evandro (Rio Ave) e Hélder Postiga (FC Porto).
Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari
10/07/04
The whole of the Board of Directors of Vitória de Setúbal resigned Friday following a meeting at which the remuneration of one of the directors was called into question. Setúbal have just returned to the Superliga after a season in the Liga
de Honra.
Amid sobs, veteran midfielder Paulo Bento of Sporting
officially announced his retirement from playing football Friday. In his career, he also represented Benfica, Vitória de Guimarães and Oviedo of Spain, among others. Bento moves to coaching Sporting juniors.
The district council of Vila Nova de Gaia in the north of Portugal has named a housing estate after Eusébio in recognition of his contribution to Portuguese football and culture.
09/07/04
The former president of Benfica, João Vale e Azevedo, was released from prison on bail Thursday. He is accused of involvement in a real estate scam surrounding the land on and around the site of the old
Estádio da Luz.
08/07/04
Samuel Eto'o and Emerson are the latest additions to the All Star Game roster (see 07/07 below). Other players signed up are: Luís Figo, Rui Costa, Fernando Couto, Marco Caneira, Ricardo,
Danny, Miguel Garcia, Liedson, Andersson Polga, Pedro Barbosa, Peter Schmeichel and Frank and Ronald de Boer, as wella s Michael Schumacher.
07/07/04
Felipe Scolari, Fernando Couto and Rui Costa have all confirmed they will take part in this year's All Star Game, the charity match organised by the Luis Figo Foundation
and the Laureus Sport Foundation, to be played at the Estádio do Algarve on 12 July. Also present will be Michael Schumacher and Portuguese ref Lucilio Baptista.
06/07/04
Giovanni Trapattoni, fresh from a disappointing Euro 2004 in chargeof the Italian national team, has signed as coach of Benfica
for two years. On his first day, he promised that the club has all the conditions to become champion, something that hasn't happened since 1994.
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