It’s how it ends, they say, and surely Luís Castro will benefit from this saying. After having been much criticized near the end, a victory in the last round granted Guimarães the 5th place and it all seemed peaceful by the end.
It was a very hard season for Luís Castro and his men. Vitória were quite poor when playing away from Guimarães: only 5 victories on the road. The months of March and April were awful and raised a lot of critics.
Some injuries help explain some of the mishaps the team had during the year. Key midfielder Andre André played only three times in 2019, for example. The low productivity of some attacking pieces like Ola John and Guedes weren’t on the plans either.
Still, Vimaranenses reached minimal services by getting the 5th place and granting a spot in European competitions for next season. This was enough for Luís Castro to hold his place, but he will be expected to do better: a minimum of 60 points and a more confident team on the pitch.
Guimarães signed with Jonathan, from Moreirense, and that can be a good start since neither Douglas nor Miguel Silva showed solid hands in goal. Key players like Tozé and Osório are expected to leave and there’s an obvious need for firepower in attack.