Football Season Guide

25 years later, Famalicão returns to the main division on the country, and all thanks to a very solid season at Segunda Liga that saw Famalicenses grabbing a promotion spot with a very comfortable lead over 3rd place. Coach João Pedro Sousa will be having his first experience as a main coach after having been assistant manager in England in the last three years. His methods, experience and competence are obviously unknown and will be tested this season already at top flight level. Despite the relatively successful season last year, Famalicão went into a very big squad overhaul, having signed 19 players so far. João Pedro Sousa’s contacts in British football allowed Famalicão to bring quite a few young players from EPL teams. A lot of players are also arriving from Atletico Madrid youth system. Famalicão will try to prove one wrong, obviously, but it didn’t seem like the most careful and sensible approach on the market. There are however some safe bets on the likes of full-back José Lionn and wingers Fábio Martins and Diogo Gonçalves but, like these last two, a lot of new signings arrived on loan from their parent clubs which can also be an issue down the road. A 0-2 defeat in an early round of Portuguese Cup, at home, against a second division team, showed a few weaknesses that will hurt Famalicão spell on top flight if not quickly and properly addressed.