Taça da Liga: a business model, not a football model | OneFootball

Even if the football news agenda in Portugal had not been hijacked this week by another coach heading to the El Dorado that is the English Premier League, the matches played in the Taça da Liga (Portuguese League Cup) would have garnered little interest.

A potentially interesting competition has increasingly turned into an ugly cash cow, with a farcical format, and with the sole intention of generating more money for the football authorities, as explained by José Ricardo Leite.

The Taça da Liga (the Portuguese League Cup) is a competition that started in the 2007-08 season. At that time, it was a football centred competition. The teams from the top two divisions (at the time, the only divisions that were professional) had a chance. Of course it was first division favoured, because the second-tier teams would go head-to-head, divided into four groups of four teams each. But that was understandable. The top clubs just couldn’t afford to have a competition with 32 teams in the middle of the season alongside the Champions League, Europa League, Cup and the championship.

So, the Taça da Liga has always been seen as a weak trophy to win. It just wasn’t important, the fans did not get excited about it (except for the second-tier clubs and fans who, in Portugal, just don’t move a lot of money). But still, it was based purely on meritocracy, from the current season or from the previous one. So, in an attempt to make it more appealing, the Liga Portugal administration board changed the format.

The second format

Football in Portugal is simple to understand: you have the “Big 3” Porto, Benfica and Sporting. Then you have Braga and Vitória de Guimarães who fight for 4th place every season. And finally, you have 3-4 teams who get really good because of a new talent or a new coach who changes their style of play and their mentality. These 3-4 teams are really good at the beginning of the season; they are the so called “one-season wonders”. They are never the same 3-4 teams from season to season, and they shift frequently.

The Taça da Liga was in fact more appealing under this new format: second-tier teams would still go head-to-head, but in an elimination match. The ones who got through then faced in a single match elimination format the top-tier clubs EXCEPT for the top-4 from the previous season, who had a ticket straight to phase three. The winners of those matches would join the top-4 in a group format, where the winners of said groups would go to the “Final Four”, played at a neutral ground. In theory, all the clubs still have a chance. But this format made it too easy for the top-4 teams of the top tier to go through. And then, business called.

Money is king

Last season, the President of Liga Portugal, Pedro Proença, announced a new format for the Taça da Liga and the will of the administration board to “internationalize the Liga Portugal brand”. This meant one thing: the “Final Four” is going abroad, probably to an Arabic country. The fans weren’t happy about this because not everyone has the easiness in life to, on a random Wednesday night, pull up in Qatar to see their favourite team. There is no better way to say it: the clubs (especially the more modest ones) and the fans were extremely unhappy. But if they thought they were unhappy then, the format concocted to make everything worse.

The new format makes the Taça da Liga very small: only the top-6 teams in first division from the previous season would get to play, joined by the top-2 (TWO) from the second-tier from the previous season. Which meant that ONLY top-tier teams would have a chance, because the top-two second-tier teams from a previous season are promoted to the first division. I can’t stress this enough: the top-4 teams are miles ahead of the other ones. Moneywise and ability wise. The second-tier clubs were furious, the smaller clubs in top tier were raging. But that just didn’t matter. Money is King. Internationalize the brand of Liga Portugal is a priority for the administration. So, the fans marched into this movie.

The fan boycott

Earlier this week the fanbase of all the clubs participating in the Taça da Liga this year made a statement: the ultras (who create the atmosphere in the stands in this country) will NOT be attending any Taça da Liga matches for as long as this format remains. Looks simple right? Wrong. We are talking about the biggest rivalries in Portugal: Braga and Vitória, Porto, Benfica and Sporting: all united against Liga Portugal and their ridiculous plans to go abroad and try to “farm” the money from the Arabic countries. Maybe it is just because Cristiano Ronaldo is there and he would love to go to a Penafiel v Benfica in Riyad. But that’s bananas, so it is to think that the “Money is King” theory is more accurate.

During this week, the matches had no ultras in the stands: Juve Leo from Sporting, Super Dragões and Colectivo 95 from Porto, Diabos Vermelhos from Benfica, White Angels and Insane from Vitória, Red Boys from Braga. No-one showed up. The stands of the ultras were empty. All the clubs, from biggest to smallest, united (at least their supporters did) against the power of money. Football is football. Sure, it moves a lot of money. But football is passion, it is love, it is for the fans, the reason for making us happy or sad or anxious. Football is for the fans. Football, and its passion, it is not a business.

The matches this week

Sporting 3-1 Nacional

In a week where all the news, and honestly all of the world, was waiting for Amorim in Manchester, Sporting has shown a top mentality. It was a boring game, where Nacional knew that the best chance they had was to hold on to a nil-nil result and try to win it on penalties. Amorim showed up with an alternative team. This conjugation resulted in the most boring game possible to imagine in the first half. Thankfully, Gyökeres and his friends came on in the second half, tearing up the pitch and producing opportunities from one side and another.

+ Gyökeres. He is just too good. Second time writing on this platform, second time putting this beast up top. A monster inside the pitch (if you haven’t seen the video from the stands of his freekick goal, please go check it, it is outrageous).

- José Gomes. The left-back, usually known for his defensive safety and offensive ability, especially when crossing the ball, was completely out of this game. A shame, maybe the game would have gone differently if he was on his day.

Benfica 3-0 Santa Clara

A copy cat of Sporting-Nacional. An insular team dropped back trying to waste time and move the game up to a penalty shootout and a big team with no ideas in the first half. Di María came on in the second half and he was a game changer. Maybe, as he grows old, this is his favourite spot. Get on the pitch in the second half and grace the beautiful game with his skills.

+ Ángel Di María. A game changer on the wing and on the inside line. When he is not tired of running after the ball lending his hand to a high-pressure defence style, he shows why he is one of the best players of his generation.

- Sidney. If football is a playground, he would have been a slide in that game. Everything got past him.

Braga 2-1 Vitória

A disgrace of a game. Not because of the football on the pitch, but the obvious Braga favoured refereeing: that penalty is outrageous. This game was supposed to be the most fun to watch (and football-wise it was). Two teams, eternal rivals, going at it for a chance to win a trophy. The ref was able to send it all to hell.

+ Niakaté. A monster in the defensive line and scoring an important goal. Always ready to move up on the pitch to cut the inside play that Vitória loves so much. Amazing performance.

- Referee Fábio Veríssimo. That red card and penalty are one of the most disgraceful things I have ever seen in 22 years of existence. If it was 2009, this would be a Chelsea-Barcelona, where Braga is Barcelona and Vitória is Chelsea. It is difficult to shake the idea he favoured Braga, in order for the “Final Four” to be played by Braga, Porto, Benfica and Sporting. Disgraceful.

Porto 2-0 Moreirense

It is obvious that Porto isn’t quite settled with Vítor Bruno’s style of play. Honestly, not even Vítor Bruno is settled with his own style of play. Thankfully, the special players under his command are saving his life constantly. It was a good match, where Moreirense didn’t want to hold back and tried to go forward with their wide players. Porto responded well enough, but not brilliantly.

+ Eustáquio. A goal and a strong match by the Canadian-Portuguese. Good with the ball, brilliant without it, reading the game almost a perfect level. A good headache for Vítor Bruno.

- Namaso. Namaso is just too weak to be a player for a team like Porto. Three seasons in and the fans still don’t know where he should play: as a number 10? As a winger? As a striker? Bruno seems to like him but if his output does not improve soon, he will be out of the team.

By José Ricardo Leite