Portuguese dominance

At the top level of European football there exist several teams that tend to dominate and claim the majority of titles available. Portugal has this situation with FC Porto and Benfica, although in recent years the gap between these two clubs and the rest is starting to get much bigger and it is no exaggeration to say that the title race could be over for the rest of the league as early as half way through the season. Whilst this allows for two teams to develop strong and competitive squads and progress in European competitions, how is it affecting the remaining sides?

Jose Mourinho brought unexpected Champions League success to Porto in 2004 when his side thrashed Monaco 3-0 in Germany. Although the French side themselves were surprise finalists it was still one of the most one-sided finals in recent history, and allowed a first Portuguese triumph in the competition for 42 years. This followed on from a fantastic 2002/2003 season where Mourinho led the side to a historic treble of league, domestic cup and UEFA cup glory; to date the only club from the country to have achieved this.

Whilst the ‘special one’ moved on to manage in England, Italy and Spain, Porto continued to add to their trophy haul, winning a further six championships from a possible eight available. Mourinho’s protege, Andre Villas Boas, led them to an undefeated league season in 2010/2011 where they only dropped six points from a possible maximum of ninety. They also won the Europa League and the Portuguese Cup to claim a second treble success and although the following season they did lose a league game, they still went on to lift title number 26. This season they are as yet undefeated, with 15 wins and 4 draws, which means that in almost three years of domestic league football they have lost only one match! Amazingly they are not sitting alone at the top of the standings but share the position with Benfica, who have the same unbeaten record. 

The emergence of these two sides as a force to be reckoned with in Europe is clear; UEFA’s ranking of European leagues has seen Portugal enter the top 5 for the first ever time (although they are now 6th) and this was seen as a moment when the traditional powers within Europe started to shift. France has traditionally held the fifth spot after England, Spain, Germany and Italy, but with oil rich clubs from Russia and Ukraine seriously challenging the status-quo, Portugal are also muscling in on the party; how long before a struggling Serie A or Ligue 1 are overtaken?

Whilst the two dominant sides in Portugal continue to get stronger with each passing season, what is the situation for the rest of the teams in the league? Are they also benefiting from a thriving co-efficient with UEFA and able to improve their own fortunes?

Although there appears to be an increase of strength in depth in the league, evidenced by Braga’s run to the final of the 2011 Europa League, this is not really a true reflection of the current state of affairs and the majority of clubs have not witnessed development like that which occurs at Porto and Benfica. Braga finished as runners up to none other than Porto in that final, and they haven’t really been up with the best since then. League attendances are also very low for all but the main two sides, although Sporting Lisbon can probably be added to this list with an average crowd of about 25,000. The table below illustrates just how few supporters turn up to watch most of the teams.

These statistics are taken from several seasons ago but they perfectly highlight the trouble experienced by the league; both Porto and Benfica have a higher average attendance than the teams ranked 6th to 16th combined average. Most people choose to support one of the two superpowers, regardless of whether they are from the area, and then follow their local team as a sort of second choice. This phenomenon also occurs in Spain whereby fans across the country have a preference for either Barcelona or Real Madrid whilst maintaining support for the side nearest to where they live.

Due to language and cultural similarities, Portugal has always been a stepping stone for emerging Brazilian players to begin their European career. Immigration rules also favour clubs such as Porto and Benfica in acquiring South American talent that clubs from other countries are unable to access, particularly England and Germany where laws are tighter. Consequently there is a conveyor belt of players moving from Latin America to Portugal and then onto bigger leagues once they have forged a reputation for themselves. A huge bonus to Porto and Benfica is that they can sign players for relatively small fees with the purpose of seeing if they are good enough to make the grade. If they are of the desired ability then they will be pushed into first team action and possibly sold after a few seasons for a much larger fee than the initial outlay, most likely to Spain, England or Italy. If the player fails to perform as hoped then he can either be sold to a smaller Portuguese side or sent back to Latin America, with no great financial loss incurred by the club. 

Overall it seems like a win-win situation; Porto sold star striker Hulk to Zenit for £35 million in the summer and the Russian market at this moment is particularly desirable for clubs looking to sell. Re-investment has naturally occurred but they have certainly not had to spend anywhere close to the same amount on signing a new player.

Will these two clubs maintain a grip over the Portuguese league for many years to come? Almost certainly, although perhaps the financial benefits they receive will start to trickle through to the rest of the clubs and result in an increased European presence for other Portuguese sides. We can only hope that championship titles in the future aren’t decided by goal difference when both Porto and Benfica manage a perfect ninety points…