First Division. On the surface, nothing really new – one leader, two more teams well above the rest of the league, and another familiar name right behind them. The usual suspects. No matter how good or bad Portuguese football was at any particular time, the leaders remained the same. However, the heart of Portuguese rivalry already shifted from purely Lisbon affair to a battle between two cities – Lisbon vs Porto – and there was no reversal to the old status quo. And the champion of this year was not just champion, but a team getting closer and closer to its very exciting peak.
The bottom of the league had its own drama, largely thanks to the structure: 4 relegated teams. Two were obvious outsiders and in another country that would have been enough for serene existence of many others, but not in Portugal: 6 teams were preoccupied with finding a way of escaping relegation.
FC Vizela was too weak for anything – last with 15 points. Standing from left: Russo,Toni,Berto,Manuel Correia,José Carlos,Sérgio.
First row: Barbosa,Fernando Jorge,Pita,Salvador,Faria.
Varzim SC was also too weak – 15th with 17 points. Like many times before, unable to last long in the top division.
SC Farense – 14th with 22 points. It was not that they did not try to survive, but failed and were directly relegated.
Rio Ave FC was also unable to climb to safety, but at least had hopes for survival – 13th with 23 points. Weaker goal-difference was their misfortune, but there was still the promotion/relegation tournament. Perhaps they most unlucky exactly at this final stage – they finished it wit the best record, but took 2nd place and were relegated.
SC Salgueiros secured a place in the league for at least one more season, but it was after fretting to the end – like Rio Ave, they ended with 23 points. Better goal-difference put them above Rio Ave – 11th and safe.
Vitoria (Setubal) – often presented as VFC Setubal, largely to avoid duplication of names – generally tried to survive this year and they barely succeeded: 10th with 25 points.
FC Penafiel, which, unlike Setubal, was generally found in this situation, also managed to escape relegation – 10th with 25 points.
Vitoria (Guimaraes) – or VSC Guimaraes – slipped dangerously close to relegation, but at the end was 9th with 25 points. Better goal-difference placed then above Penafiel and Vitoria (Setubal).
Sportng (Braga) – or SC Braga – preserved its normal mid-table position in Portuguese pyramid: 8th with 28 points. Should be noticed that they were among the only 6 teams with positive goal-difference.
Academica (Coimbra) – 7th with 29 points. Looked like revival of sorts, but was it really going to last?
CF Belenenses (Lisbon) – 6th with 30 points. Nothing much in the general state of affairs, but on smaller scale – quite a promising season. Belenenses hit rock bottom just recently and looked like the learned their lesson and were trying to reestablish their lost leading position. However, it was far from clear they would succeed.
Portimonense SC – 5th with 36 points. Now, this was a club enjoying progress and reflecting the shift in Portuguese football: looked like Porto was going to have 3 strong teams in the league, replacing Lisbon as the center of the country’s football. Was it really possible was another matter, but at the moment hopes were strong – Portimonense was quite stronger than Belenenses, the third club of Lisbon.
Boavista FC (Porto) – 4th with 37 points. Enjoying strong period, but also questioning the possibility of Porto, as a whole, replacing Lisbon – presently, Boavista was challenged by Portimonense for the 2nd position in the order of Porto, and was not coming close to the leading clubs of Lisbon.
Benfica – 3rd with 43 points. Poor season and no surprise: it was slightly aging team – compared to those of the rivals – and Pal Csernai could not do more with it.
Sporting (Lisbon) – not their season either: 2nd, but distant second with 47 points. They lost only 2 games, but had too many ties. John Toshack paid the price for that, but he could be hardly blamed: even when strong, Sporting was not a truly great team: having less money than Benfica and, the recent years, FC Porto too, Sporting was always in a bit of disadvantage. Small things… they rarely had enough first-rate players. More likely, they had second-best. Point in case: look at the goalkeepers – neither Damas, nor Katzirz in his native Hungary, were number one. National team players, yes, but back-ups, not regulars. Winning was more of a heroic act rather than superiority even in their strongest years.
FC Porto dominated the championship. It was a squad almost at its peak, coached by talented and ambitious Artur Jorge, still young and pushing up. It a season revealing what this team could really do – they simply rolled over everybody. Almost a perfect record at home – 14 wins and 1 tie. Away, they were just as strong: 12 wins, 2 ties, and their single lost match. But they allowed less goals away than at home: only 6! True, they scored less than half goals when visiting, but were formidable at home turf: 25 goals scored away and 53 at home. Anyway, they were best in every aspect this season, finishing with 55 points – 8 points ahead of Sporting and 12 more than Benfica. Perhaps their only weaker post was the goalkeeper – that compared post by post to the rivals’ squads – but it was going to be balanced quickly. Theirs were the current stars, younger than what Benfica had, and more numerous than Sporting’s, and not only that, but new talent was theirs as well – Futre was already a regular and hailed as one of the most promising youngsters in Europe. Not an accidental victory at all – this was perhaps the season which revealed FC Porto not only as a strong club, but a club which was going as a top European club.