1979-80 season was nothing special – the Portuguese First Division was sharply divided into two groups: the top 4 clubs and the rest. The top itself was divided into three distinct parts, which tells enough about competitiveness. A bit of trivia, then. Sporting (Lisbon) won all home games they played. FC Porto finished the season with unique record: they allowed only 9 goals in 30 matches! And interestingly they received less goals on away matches – 4. Benfica was the highest scoring team by far – 79 goals, 12 more than Sporting. Varzim was the only team without a win away from home. Ties were not in vogue – only 4 clubs tied 10 or more matches, Estoril had the most – 11.
One club seemingly improved this year.
Belenenses (Lisbon) finished 5th, suggesting perhaps recovery, but was the club going to recover its once upon a time strong place remained to be seen.
One club was a hopeless outsider, finishing last was 13 points – Rio Ave.
Rio Ave – dead last in the league.
The battle for survival went between 4 clubs Beira Mar, Estoril, Leiria, and Vitoria (Setubal).
Usually, Setubal was found in the upper half of the table, but they had weak season and fought for survival – lucky to escape relegation with 23 points, which placed the 12th. The other three participants in the race for survival joined Rio Ave in relegation.
Leiria – 13th with 21 points.
Estoril – 14th, also with 21 points, but worse goal-difference. This team distinguish itself with the worst scoring record in the league – 18 goals.
Beira Mar – 15th with 20 points.
At the top of the league, Boavista continued its good run – late 1970s were great years for the club and the 1980s started well.
Boavista finished 4th with 37 points – 3 points ahead of Belenenses and thus separated from the bulk of the league, but 8 points behind the bronze medalists. Apparently, Boavista was unable to build and maintain really strong squad, but nevertheless helped shaping the new Portuguese establishment: the opposition between Lisbon and Porto.
Benfica got the bronze medals – a miserable season by their standards. They ended 8 points ahead of Boavista, and had the highest scoring strikers in the league, but finished 5 points behind the silver medalists.
Two clubs contested the title and the pursuit was close to the end. Curiously, home record separated the winner from the loser. FC Porto won 13 home matches and tied 2 – and lost the title by 2 points, for Sporting Lisbon had perfect home record – 15 wins. Both teams had the same away records.
Standing from left: Eurico, Fraguito, Jordão, Barão, Meneses, Bastos, Vaz.
First row: Marinho, Manoel, José Eduardo, Manuel Fernandes (captain).
Great victory for Sporting, but it was not a great squad – Jordao and Eurico were practically the only stars.
One more look at the champions, this time at their full squad – they deserve it, for Sporting was out of the spotlights for the most of the 1970s.