Porto wrestle back their crown

FC Porto completed a devastating turnaround of fortunes in Portuguese football when they romped to a 25th league title, and a seventh of the decade, on the weekend by defeating fierce rivals Benfica 2-1 at the Estadio De Luz.

Completely expected perhaps given the significant lead that the Dragao’s had developed in their unbeaten season to date, yet this title win has sent shockwaves through the country due to the sheer dominance marking a dramatic turnaround from last season when they relinquished the crown to their arch enemy.

Scoring let alone winning has been hard against Porto this season and again they weren’t particularly troubled here.

Colombian midfielder Freddy Guarin was once everybody’s favourite football manager bargain when he was playing at Saint Etienne and the in-form midfield did his statistics on the game due diligence, netting the opener when Eagles goalkeeper Roberto had a ‘Kasey Keller’ moment.

Another ‘once wonderkid’ Javier Saviola temporarily cast doubt to the travelling supporters but another South American in top-scorer Hulk restored the advantage, and it all got too frustrating for Oscar Cardozo, shown red late on when he lashed out at Fernando Belluschi and walked in shame to a chorus of boos.

Even Nicolas Otamendi’s dismissal couldn’t sour this monumental victory which ensured that Porto lead their opponents by 16 points with just five games to play.

Usually title races are built upon the fortunes of teams in heavyweight league fixtures and there was no exception here. The other contest this season between the sides ended 5-0 to Porto at the Dragao Stadium and no doubt the momentum taken from that was a springboard for this incredible season.

Statistics are often rubbished, but in this case they speak for themselves.

71 points acquired in 25 league matches. 58 goals scored, 37 at home where they boast a 100 per cent record. Draws against Sporting Lisbon and Guimares remain the only blemish away from home, where they have still only conceded three goals

However, it was so different 12 months ago when Porto’s domination had been ended by a Benfica side that reclaimed the Superliga and crushed the northern club 3-0 in the League cup final to complete a famous double.

Porto’s halt was further emphasised by their omission from this seasons Champions League following Braga’s surprising title challenge last term and they finished third, at a time when Portuguese football had lost its third place in Europe’s top competition.

This meant that their impressive record of the most group stage qualifications was lost to Manchester United, for whom they held that prize with for quite some time.

It all made for an intriguing battle for the title this time around with Porto desperate to bounce back and Benfica well and truly wanting to shift the balance in power.

As it turned out though, the capital club crumbled early underlining the fact that the silverware was only there on a year-long loan.

Perhaps Benfica could have learnt from their conquerors when they recruited well despite losing many key players to bigger clubs following their triumph in the 2004 Champions League Final.

It makes you wonder how much of an impact the loss of Angel Di Maria and the unsettled speculation of Fabio Coentaro and David Luiz moving on has had, the latter of course is now at Chelsea, but three defeats in their opening four fixtures this term left the Lisbon club desperately clutching the bottom of the blue and white jersey from the off.

While the turnaround from the clubs point of view has been remarkable, another who has completed a meteoric rise in the world of football is manager Luis Villa Boas. Dubbed the new ‘special one’ by many around the globe, ambitious 33 year-old Villas Boas became the third youngest manager to ever win the title having undertaken an immense apprenticeship as part of Jose Mourinho’s staff at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

Management was clearly not too far off, and in late 2009 he farewelled Mourinho to take on a job of his own at struggling Academica back in his homeland.

His appointment turned the fortunes of the Coimbran club from bottom of the league to an attacking mid-table outfit that also made the semi-finals of the Portuguese cup.

Seeing this, Porto had no hesitation in bringing the young manager back to his former stomping ground.

It didn’t take him long to make a mark there either, breaking his tutors record of 33 unbeaten matches in all competitions as well as achieving the most wins ever in Europe by a Portuguese club with ten this campaign after they knocked out CSKA Moscow recently. All of which has culminated in lifting the league title just three days into April.

Presently, there are five ‘meaningless’ league matches left for Villas Boas to negotiate, with more attention will be turned towards the Taca de Portugal (Portuguese cup) and the Europa League.

Though, an unbeaten season to go with the treble (matched only by Benfica in 1972/73) will send another crashing statement too.