Astonishing relegation for one of the strongest squads in league. It’s hard to understand how a team with so much talented players in their ranks failed so miserably this season.
Paulinho left early on the season and Nakajima was sold during the summer, but Lucas Fernandes was brought back, Tabata stayed despite links with many clubs, and the solid squad from last year was generally kept.
António Folha resisted for several weeks, despite a very poor start. However, a heavy defeat to struggling Aves in the closing of the first half of the season left the board no other option but to sack him.
The problem was evidently not the coach, as Alvinegros kept losing one game after the other until Covid-19 forced the league to stop. Portimonense had only 16 points when lockdown was inforced, 6 points short from a safe place.
After league resumed, a miracle was almost achieved.
Algarvios collected more points (17) in those final 10 rounds than they had in the rest of the season. But in the end it was still not enough to save the Southern Eagles.
Jackson’s constant physical problems left the team without a true reference in attack. Vaz Tê was only decent after restart. Bruno Tabata superior quality was evident but also only during the final 10 rounds; otherwise, the talented winger had his mind elsewhere. Lucas Fernandes was very irregular in showing his unquestionable quality.
