A strange season for Bracarenses. There was often the feeling that the club was underachieving, but in the end they celebrated a relatively deserved 3rd place.
Braga had a total of 5 coaches during the season, which will never be good news. Abel built the team but left before kick-off; Sá Pinto made a great run in Europa League but compromised domestically.
Then Rúben Amorim arrived and lasted only 9 rounds… but for the best possible reason: Braga was so good under Amorim that big team Sporting paid a record 10M fee to sign with him immediately. 25 points in possible 27 and, most importantly, a cup title: a dream period in just 2 months.
Custódio and Artur Jorge were never able to keep the standards of Amorim’s period, but the team was still able to compete for the 3rd place against big team Sporting and finish the season on the ‘medals’.
The squad confirmed that amazing quality, very close from the level of the top 2 teams in the country and arguably stronger than Sporting. Many options for every place and some youngsters popping up as a promise for the future.
Future ‘Culé’, Trincão had a fantastic end of season, proving “a posteriori” what motivated Barcelona to sign with him. Fransérgio and Ricardo Horta were also impressive. But the best player can’t be other than striker Paulinho, possibly the best forward currently in Primeira League.
Next season will be the 100th anniversary for the club. It will perhaps be too soon to fight for the title but, should chairman Salvador find a suitable manager, it can be the definite season for Braga to become the 4th big in the country.
