Braga, Rio Ave and Chaves were unquestionably above expectations in this season, but the most pleasant and unexpected surprise was that of Portimonense. The team from Algarve was just arriving to top flight after several seasons out on inferior divisions. Unlike the other newly promoted team, there was not a significant investment on this squad, so it was mostly the team that had granted the promotion, last season, to attack this one at Top Flight level, including the head coach Vítor Oliveira, who usually leaves his clubs after getting the promotion. This time, Oliveira continued in and drove Portimonense into excelling in top flight as well.
Things even started quite bad for ‘Algarvios’. They conceded 5 defeats in the first seven rounds. But looking closer to their schedule, they had a very tough start, playing the likes of Benfica, Porto, Braga, Marítimo and Rio Ave. After the rough start, things got much better, and ‘Alvinegros’. From round 8 to the end of the first half of the season, Portimonense only conceded two more defeats, one of which against the remaining top team that was yet to be played: Sporting.
By the time the league was going to the second lap, Portimonense was sitting on a good mid-table position, but still only 6 points above relegation zone. It was during the second part of the season that Portimonense really impressed, ironically when they saw arguably their biggest star, the midfielder Paulinho, leave to join the league leaders Porto. During this second half, Portimonense oscillated between defeats and victories, which for a team trying to get away from relegation spots is actually quite satisfactory. Having three points for every two matches played will definitely get a team out of trouble soon enough.
While Paulinho was the classiest player during the first months of the competition, it was clear that a new star was rising within the squad. The Japanese Shoya Nakajima, the only relevant new signing in the summer, was becoming more and more of a hassle for the opponents to handle. His influence become bigger after the departure of Paulinho in January, as Portimonense’s level of production didn’t drop at all despite the big blow. Another great season was that of Fabrício. The Brazilian started the season as a midfielder, like he has always been in whole his career. However, with Vítor Oliveira’s pleas for a new striker were being denied, and the veteran Jorge Pires being the only option, the experienced coach decided to adapt Fabrício to the number 9 position, first as a false-nine, and then as a full-blown striker. The result was a whole new player discovered right there. The Brazilian had the best season of his entire career, having scored 15 goals in league.
