Guess who’s back? Tondela and Alverca secure promotion, Vizela eye final spot | OneFootball

In the final round of Liga II, three teams were fighting for direct promotion to the main stage in Portuguese football, Alverca, Vizela and Tondela. Any of them could finish in one of the two direct promotion spots or have their hopes put on hold by landing in the playoff.

José Ricardo Leite talks us through the drama of the last matchday and gives his assessment of the winners and losers of the Liga II campaign in 2024/25.

As the action unfolded on Friday night Vizela gained a head-start, by taking a first-half lead in Madeira against Marítimo. With that result, and the other two matches – Alverca v Portimonense and União de Leiria v Tondela – still goalless at halftime, they were going up.

However, things changed in the second half. Alverca scored in the 63rd minute through Fernando Varela, a very experienced player (his son plays for Benfica B). At that point, with Vizela and Alverca winning, the long-time leader of Liga II Tondela were facing the prospect of dropping into the playoff position against a Primeira Liga team. They desperately needed a goal.

And, as always, Tondela found it late in the game. In the 83rd minute, Miro found the Leiria net despite the few chances created for the Beirões. In a counter attack in the 94th minute, Tondela sealed the win, their promotion and the Segunda Liga title, kicking Vizela back into the playoff spot.

União de Leiria 0-2 Tondela highlights

Are Vizela bouncing straight back up?

Vizela will be facing AFS in the playoff for the final spot of the Primeira Liga in the 2025/26 season. It is a shame that historical clubs such as Boavista and Farense are going down to the second tier while a club like AFS, who bent the rules to be in the Primeira Liga, gets a second chance.

Boavista and Farense join the likes of Marítimo, Leixões, Paços de Ferreira, Académica de Coimbra, Vitória de Setúbal, Fabril, Belenenses and so many more former big names in Portugal’s lower leagues. The struggle to get back to being in the limelight is a long, harsh and unfair journey. Especially when you have so many “dispensable” clubs playing on the main stage.

Tumbling further down

Oliveirense and Mafra ended up signing their lifelong known sentence of going down to Liga 3. A shame for a club like Mafra, with real expectations of growing inside professional football and within the community. Oliveirense are forever marked as a team that is too good for the third tier and too bad for the second tier. I hope they find success, even if it means creating a Division Two and Half.

Positives and negatives of the season

+ Tondela. Leaders almost since day one, except for a small stint when Penafiel rose to the summit. They did not practice the epitome of football, but they always found strength in the most difficult moments.

+ Alverca. 21 years later, they are back and ready to make a statement, even more if they maintain Vasco Botelho as their manager. In terms of young football minds, Portugal is well served a lot thanks to Alverca (João Pereira from Casa Pia coached them from Liga 3 to the Segunda Liga).

+ Benfica B. Even with a weak manager (Nelson Veríssimo), they managed to stay fighting at the top. An important step to grow their young talents in a competitive championship.

- FC Porto B. Yes, they escaped relegation in the final breath of the season, but it was horrendous either way. The Dragões already have financial and structural problems. Investing in the formation of young players ESPECIALLY through the B team is a more than valid way to find success in the future. Hope someone reads this and realizes that.

- Académico de Viseu and Leixões. Millions invested. A lot of expectations created around the fanbase of a better future, the promises of fighting for promotion. Académico couldn’t even fight for the playoff in the middle of the season. Leixões gambled on José Mota, one of the mysterious managers that always has a job even without getting results and ended up in the bottom half of the table. Next time, invest in players and staff who understand how much passion you have to have to get a promotion.

- Paços de Ferreira. Not really the team’s fault. Internal fights that pitted the fans against each other and, at some stages, the team itself, made everything difficult. They are now in the playoff against Belenenses, another historical club. I hope that football wins.