FC Porto, Portugal
UEFA
Ranking: 8
Champions
League participations: 17 (missed only 1994-95, 2002-03, 2010-11) - - best result – Champions
(2003-04)
Total
transfer amount of all players: 173,8 mln €
The most
expensive players: Joao
Moutinho
(26 mln €), James Rodriguez (18 mln €), Fernando (16 mln €), Rolando (12 mln €), Danilo (10 mln €), Steven Defour (10 mln €), Nicolas Otamendi (9,5 mln €), Maicon (9 mln €).
(26 mln €), James Rodriguez (18 mln €), Fernando (16 mln €), Rolando (12 mln €), Danilo (10 mln €), Steven Defour (10 mln €), Nicolas Otamendi (9,5 mln €), Maicon (9 mln €).
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Malaga FC, Spain
UEFA
Ranking: 77
Champions
League participations:
0
Total
transfer amount of all players: 94,8 mln €
The most
expensive players: Jeremy
Toulalan (15 mln €), Isco (12 mln €), Oguchi Onyewu (7 mln €), Nacho Monreal (6
mln €), Jesus Gamez (5 mln €), Eliseu (5 mln €), Javier Saviola (5 mln €).
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We are continuing
to study the non-capital teams in this year’s Champions League edition. Only
two teams have shown a 100% defensive result so far. These teams are Porto and
Malaga from the Iberian Peninsula.
Porto was
founded in 1893 and has become the symbol of the region ever since. The
Portuguese champions represent the Os
Tres Grandes or The Big 3 of the Portuguese football, the other two being
Lisbon clubs Benfica and Sporting. The
rivalry between Porto and these teams is, of course, extremely hot, especially
the one with Benfica. The recent years have been victorious for the Dragons,
who have never occupied a place lower than the 3rd in the domestic
league since 1976. They have achieved 26 league, 16 cup and 19 supercup titles
in their history.
The history of Malaga is different. Los Boquerones (The Anchovies) have had a very complicated history. There is no need in going into details of the two teams, which eventually formed Malaga Club de Futbol S. A. D. Some highlights of the modern history would include a couple of notes: the team carries its current name since 1994. In 2007 they were still struggling not to be relegated from Segunda. Only 5 years later they are thrashing everyone in UEFA Champions League.
The history of Malaga is different. Los Boquerones (The Anchovies) have had a very complicated history. There is no need in going into details of the two teams, which eventually formed Malaga Club de Futbol S. A. D. Some highlights of the modern history would include a couple of notes: the team carries its current name since 1994. In 2007 they were still struggling not to be relegated from Segunda. Only 5 years later they are thrashing everyone in UEFA Champions League.
The common between
the teams could be their presidents, who are central figures in the current
football life of their countries. And both of them represent the two classical
president types of modern football. Jorge Pinto da Costa is a local authority,
having a huge investment in his team’s recent successes. The fact that 19 of
the 26 Porto league titles were earned since 1982, when da Costa overtook the
presidency, speaks a lot. On the other hand he is a usual topic of football-
and non-football-related scandalous stories. Malaga’s president is Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, who joined the
team in June 2010. Then rumors of a new Manchester City or PSG started to
develop. The scenarios were similar. The Sheikhs looked serious in the
beginning. They converted the team into sports ambassador in the world,
replacing the betting company logo with UNESCO on their shirt, signed stars like Demichelis,
Julio Baptista, Toulalan, Santa Cruz and Saviola, and occupied the history
highest 4th place in the domestic league. But the billionaire got tired of a
funny toy pretty soon. Already 2 years after Al Thani’s appearance team members
bumped into some major problems: they weren’t paid salaries. Cazorla and van
Nistelrooy publicly accused the club and left it in the summer. The story is to
be continued…
Thanks to
its successful European history Porto beats rivals Benfica in the count of
overall titles. Porto’s museum is full of trophies. The fact that makes
Portistas proud over Benfica fans is that The Dragons have earned part of these
trophies in the 21st century and not in the distant past. Bright
heads like Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas got promoted to Chelsea exactly
after conquering everything around in the European arenas. These two are golden
heroes of FC Porto history, each of them having won a treble (in 2003 and 2011)
for the team. But we’d rather concentrate on the achievements of the current
coach, Vitor Pereira, 44.
Malaga’s
European story is shorter. They won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2002.
Full stop. This is their second season in Europe, so the history is just being
built. However, a keen statistician could find something for Malaga CF to be
proud of; they have never lost any European two-match tie by a score. The only
time they left the tournament was after losing to neighbors Boavista on
penalties.
Both of the
teams can boast historical stadiums. The Dragons play at Estadio do Dragao,
which means Dragon’s Stadium. It was inaugurated before the Euro 2004 and was
one of the main venues at the tournament. It has got a capacity of 50 399.
Malaga’s venue is La Rosaleda, the capacity of which was increased from 28 963 to
29 500 spectators, thanks to UEFA-required adjustments. The stadium has also
been a major tournament arena, hosting three matches at the 1982 World Cup. This
is where the famous pre-season Costa del Sol Trophy is taken place. Malaga’s
new president promised a new stadium for 65 000 spectators.
The Porto
fans are called Portistas or Tripeiros, and the most dedicated ones have
organized communities called SuperDragoes and Colectivo Ultras 95. Malaka
Hinchas are their Andalusian response. The Malaga fans are typical noisy happy
Spanish fans, getting noisier when meeting rivals Sevilla. They have their own
anthem, La Bombonera. The club has introduced a 2D barcode on the shirt, to
interact with the fans, who want to be up to date.
And again
we don’t know what to expect from Porto. Year after year several major profiles
leave the club, but the team wins on and on. When Jardel, Deco, Lisandro Lopez, Mourinho, Villas-Boas
were leaving, there were always new names flourishing instead. This year
departures included players like Alvaro Pereira (10 mln €), Fredy Guarin (12,5
mln €), and the biggest star of recent years Hulk (40 mln €). Still, they come
and win matches against Sporting and PSG. They have 7 wins and 2 draws in their
active in the season so far.
The Anchovies
are having a pretty good season so far, too. Cazorla, van Nistelrooy or Rondon
are not with the team any more, but it hasn’t turned into a complete disaster
for the Andalusians, though. Their youth school has got a reputation of
producing talented youngsters, who are going to overtake the starting line-up positions
soon. And while they are on their way, likes of Joaquin, Eliseu, Isco and
Saviola are there to bring glory to Malaga. It is not known whether they will get
tired of their president’s attitude or not, BUT as long as they play, they
deliver. Let’s enjoy. They are currently in a comfortable number three position
in the BBVA league, ahead of Real Madrid, Valencia and others.
A Porto Profile: James Rodriguez, or “El Nuevo Pibe”
(the new Carlos Valderrama), or the South American Cristiano Ronaldo is one of
the main global uprising stars. He is the captain of the new Colombian golden
generation; Toulon 2011 best player. There is no need to doubt, that we’ll see
this generation in action at the upcoming World Cup. As the two nicknames
suggest, there are two different types of players in James Rodriguez. He is a
fantastic playmaker, whose sharp passes contribute to most of the goals scored
by his teams. On the other side he is a great winger with some amazing
dribbling ability, famous for scoring some tight angle goals from time to time.
He has got no problems with either right or left feet. After a more-than
impressive month James was rewarded the Portuguese Player of the Month award in
September. The Porto nr. 10 has got a 45 million Euro release clause, so shocking
bids for the 21 year old player are welcome.
A Malaga
Profile: Isco is
not worse than James. He is a year younger and has also been invited to defend
his country flag, though in the youth sections. But Isco is interesting to the
all-star Spain national team; he has already been sitting on the bench there
for a couple of matches. This proves the high rank of the Malaga youngster. He
is a future Spanish superstar, typically possessing exceptional technique, vision,
accurate passing, agility and dribbling. After Isco made the Zenit defenders
turn into spectators in the Champions League opener, pundits have started to
talk about him. The topic is by far not covered yet.
Porto
tactics: 4-3-3, 4-5-1;
Helton - Danilo, Maicon, Otamendi, Alex Sandro - Fernando, João Moutinho, Lucho -
Varela, Jackson Martínez, James.
Malaga
tactics: 4-2-3-1, 4-1-3-2,
4-2-2-2; Willy - Jesus Gamez, Demichelis, Weligton, Monreal - Toulalan (Iturra),
Camacho, Eliseu, Joaquin, Isco – Saviola (Santa Cruz).
Porto
coach: Vitor
Pereira; the Porto defense is pretty consistent, with 4 + Fernando, while Lucho
and Moutinho, dictate the play with their crucial passing. Everything that has
to become an attack is made in midfield. Then they assist one of the talented forwards,
depending on the weaknesses of the opponent. The attack is really interesting
this year, where the main actors are James, with his witty movements, Varela,
with his speed, and Jackson, with his finishing abilities. The combinations are
always clever and the attacks are wide. Surprisingly, Rolando, who is valued 12
million Euros, is not a part of Pereira’s team. His transfer to another club
didn’t happen this summer. He played only 1 game this season.
Malaga
coach: Manuel
Pellegrini; the famous Chilean appeared in charge of Malaga after his
adventures with Villareal and Real Madrid were over. He doesn’t have as many resources
here as at Real, but some quality players are still there to shape results. One
of the main weapons of Pellegrini is the positioning of Joaquin and Eliseu, who
both smoothly move to the center, thus increasing the threat caused by Isco and
Saviola, meanwhile leaving space for the full backs to cover their wings.
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