This Saturday is a historic day for Porto and Portuguese football in general. The second most successful club in the neighboring country is holding elections for the presidency that are being truly traumatic for the entire Porto ecosystem (not only do they have the football section: handball, basketball, roller hockey, volleyball, billiards, boxing, swimming, sports adapted…). Jorge Pinto da Costa’s position is being strongly threatened by André Villas-Boas. A reign of 42 years during which he was first team coach, and with overwhelming success, in 2010-11. They are not the only ones, because Nuno Lobo (already presented in 2020) is the third option, but he does seem far from the two main candidates.
Jorge Pinto da Costa, at 86 years old, still has the strength for one more term. He is supported by the most traditional followers and by some of the players he has had during all these years. Futre declared last Tuesday: “The partners are ungrateful. This man is the father of world football, for the many miracles he performed.” In his very long journey as president, the entity has experienced the best years in its history. The two Champions Leagues and the two Europa Leagues were with him in the box. In fact, until his arrival, the biggest clubs in the country were Benfica (24 league titles) and Sporting (15).
However, André Villas-Boas has emerged as the most modern alternative. He is only 46 years old and his reputation, first as Mourinho’s assistant (2002-2009) and then as first team coach (he achieved a string of titles: league, cup, super cup and Europa League), supports him. His stance has been aggressive. “Vote for freedom, vote for democracy, vote for a transparent, organized, structured Porto, free of leeches that insist on sinking it to the bottom,” he said in his final campaign speech.. One of the main aspects that the current board criticizes is the delicate economic situation in which the club finds itself. “They leave us a ruined Porto, hiding a one-year ban in UEFA competitions that is suspended for three years,” he said Wednesday.
In the last daysPinto da Costa has given two coups by signing more years than the two Conceiçao that are in the team. The first, the son. Francisco was signed on Tuesday, exercising the purchase option he had with Ajax for 10 million euros. And on Thursday it was the father’s turn to renew. Sérgio, who has held the position since 2017 and has won three leagues, four cups (one of them, the League Cup) and three super cups.
Of course, both movements have had an important impact on the electoral campaign. From the side of Villas-Boas, they claim that It was not necessary to give 20% of a future sale to the player himself, something that Da Costa has given him to compensate him for accepting a lower salary than he could have received at Ajax. For its part, Sérgio Conceiçao’s renewal has small print. Both parties (club and coach) may terminate the contract without any cost in the event that Pinto da Costa does not win.
These last few months of the campaign have been very hard for Porto fans. The club’s problems have been debated very aggressively, at the same time that they moved away from the fight for the leadership (today, at 18 points), but They fell with honors in the Champions League and they reached the Cup final (May 26). In the future, in addition to fighting for the last title in which they have a chance of the season, they will have to rebuild a squad that is far from being competitive in Portugal. Recently, Toni Martínez, Iván Jaime and Jorge Sánchez were removed from the first team. “To work at Porto it is not enough to have a contract, more is necessary,” Conceiçao said when asked for explanations at a press conference. Taremi’s departure (presumably to Inter) is an open secret and fans wonder if, with this situation, it is possible to retain Diogo Costa for another season. This Saturday, April 27, the future of Porto will be decided.
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