Marítimo had different phases on the season, and despite not having reached the European places on the table, it was far from being a negative season for ‘Insulares’. During the first half of the season, Marítimo took the league by surprise by adopting a speculative approach, even when playing at home against supposedly weaker opponents. Daniel Ramos set up his team to defend well and explore the quick transitions to attack.
The first 14 rounds were really good for Marítimo. Verde-rubros only collected three defeats, and all of them while travelling. As usual, Marítimo relied on their home matches to be their fortress, where they only lost points to Moreirense and the title contenders Benfica. At this point, Marítimo was only one point away from the 4th placed Braga, and six points away from the top-3.
The expected defeat at Dragão started a different moment for Insulares. It was visible that the rest of the teams were now warned against Marítimo’s “cynical” approach. As a result, Marítimo went through a cycle of bad results: it were nine consecutive matches with no victories at all, which included home defeats to Chaves and Portimonense (this last one being a heavy 0-3 defeat).
During this period, Daniel Ramos started to make some lineup changes that implied the fault may have been on a couple of players, and the team spirit was visibly affected.
In the meantime, two important new players had arrived at Funchal, during the winter transfer window: the attacking midfielder Jorge Correa and the Cameroonian striker Joel. These two took a while to settle in in the team, but once they finally did, Marítimo improved significantly. It was by the time where Daniel Soares decided to insist with one constant outlook, a flat 4-4-2, with Joel teaming up with Rodrigo Pinho in the front and Jorge Correa playing as a wide playmaker, in the right side of the midfield. Marítimo had then an 8 games sequence with only a defeat to Benfica, in Lisbon. This good sequence allowed Marítimo to settle back in the top 7 of the table and mount a final race with Rio Ave and Chaves for the fifth place. However, two consecutive draws against teams involved in the relegation race, and then three defeats including one against the direct competitors Chaves were decisive to send Marítimo away to the 7th place. The final match was motivating home win over big team Sporting, which can only serve as an inspiring memory for the beginning of the next season.
Aside from the two important January signings Correa and Joel, there were other players that had their good contribution to Marítimo’s season. Rodrigo Pinho had a good start, but slowly started to fade away in brilliance and ended the season completely overshadowed by his Cameroonian partner in the attack. The winger Ricardo Valente had a similar progression in the season. At the back, Pablo impressed right from the start, but a severe injury took him out of a significant part of the season. Coincidentally or not, Pablo was absent during the darkest period of the season for Marítimo. The most regular player of the season for Insulares was unquestionably the right full-back Bebeto, who impressed from early on in his debut season, and continued playing on a high level regardless of the team’s overall moment of form.
A final word regarding the goalkeeper Amir. The Iranian was a reserve option during a big part of the season, and only got a chance at first team after Charles breakdown at Estádio da Luz (0-5). Ever since, Amir never left his spot between the posts, and was quite impressive. If Marítimo manages to keep him, he will certainly be one of the interesting players to watch during the next season.
