S.C. Braga - Next big thing in Portugal?

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sorry not been on today guys, been at work all day and was at the pub watching arsenal match, home all day tomorrow and I will carry on :)

---------- Post added at 02:07 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 11:31 PM ----------

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When the Braga players finished training, they all gathered in the players lounge, which shows the team harmony at the club, with them all having a nice cool glass of Carlsberg in their hand they watched the Champions Leage Qual. draw, as the teams came out, the players got more and more nervous, with Braga un-seeded and the seeded teams been the likes of Ajax, Fenerbache and Shaktar, the players got nervous, with two teams left, they knew they had to go and play at Parkhead which on a European night had an amazing atmosphere, and they knew they would need to do something special. After the draw had been made the manager got back to work looking for a left winger, with the chairman making more transfer funds available, which rose to €3million, which maybe enough to tempt Sao Paulo to sell Sergio Mota, which Braga have been linked to. In a press conference Pauleta stated this is the only position he is looking to buy for..

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Just about to play some friendlies then I will write them up, should hopefully get the season started today as well.​

---------- Post added at 05:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:07 PM ----------

FRIENDLIES​

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First friendly for Pauleta was a nice win, Guingamp are currently in the third tier of French football after been relagated from Ligue 2 last year. Pauleta opted for a 4-3-3, a very attacking formation. Lima, Elton and Meyong up front, Lima played the full 90mins bagging the two goals, both goal poachers finishes, the defence was strong, only letting Guingamp have two shots on goal, compared to Braga's 13, Braga also controlled the game having 58% possession. Pauleta was happy with a win under his belt although not the best opposition it was still a test.​

Next game wasn't a very hard game, up against our affilated club Penafiel, which we play against them every year, and gives us the chance to send some of our youngsters on loan there to gain experience.
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A confident performance from the Braga players here, this time Pauleta only decided to go with one up front, which was Elton due to his strength and ability to hold the ball up, however he didn't really get to see much of the ball, Pauleta stated that this tactic related more to the midefield rather than the lone striker. Pauleta decided to go for three MC's in Vandinho, Hugo Viana and Luis Aguiar, who all did their bit, Vandinho on the score sheet with two goals, both powerfull efforts, while Hugo Viana scored from outside the box from a corner. Alan got man of the match in this match creating two goals, he was a constant threat down the wing, wipping in crosses.​

UEFA Champions Leage Qual.​


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Reporter: Pauleta, can we have a few words please for tomorrow's game against Celtic?
Pauleta: We are looking forward to tomorrow's game, we have been training hard in pre-season and have had some good results so far. I'm looking forward to playing at Parkhead tomorrow evening, Celtic were kind in letting us train on their pitch.
Reporter: Can you tell us your starting 11?
Pauleta: I won't be telling you any of my starting 11 the day before a game, you will find out when I give the teamsheet in, we have a squad of 25 players to pick from in this game, and none of them are injured so we have depth in our team.
Reporter: What would you like to get out of the game?
Pauleta: An away win would be nice of course, but if our defence is good, then that is all that matters, if we can keep a clean sheet in every game we play, then we have a chance, we hope to boss the midfield and get them on the break, I would be happy with a score draw, meaning we get an away goal which we will be pushing for, that is all for now, thanks..​

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUAL.​


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The time had come round for Pauleta's first competitive game at S.C. Braga, they went in as underdogs to a Celtic team which had strengthened their team during the summer. It would be a big task to go to Parkhead and get a win, could he do it...​


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After a positive start by Braga, they were awarded a penalty in the 12th minute, it was up to ex Newcastle United and Valencia player Hugo Viana to score it, however Zaluska dived the right way and pushed his penatly around the post. Celtic then piled on the misery for Braga, scoring in the 22nd minute with Anthony Stokes scoring after a nice bit of play down Celtic's left hand side, cutting in and curling around the keeper. More misery for Braga as they conceded a penalty just before the break, after Pinto tugged back Stokes, Centre Back Majstorovic calmly slotted down the middle. ​

During the half time interval, Pauleta was calm in the dressing room, he knew it was possible, even if they just got the one away goal and they didn't concede, they knew they had something to build on, at half time he brought on Lima, the brazillian striker, could anything be salvaged in this match?​

In the second half Braga had gone half an hour with conceding, however bad news was about to come, Hugo Viana wasn't able to run off his knock, and had to be subbed, on came Rafael Bastos. Braga started to play the long ball game, and finally it paid off, in the 83rd minute, Moises hoofed the ball foward, where Lima was playing with his back to goal and took the ball down on his chest, turned the defender and slotted past the Celtic keeper, the 1000 travelling fans went estatic, this is all they needed, just that one away goal. After the match Pauleta thought he would have got more out of the game, after having 59% possession, but he stated that he was still happy with the performance, he felt that the turning point of the game was when Lima came on.​

RETURN LEG​


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45 minutes before the match the Braga fans started entering the stadium in their thousands, the match was expected to be a sell-out, the fans set out their flags, hanging them over the tiers, and putting them wherever they could find space, they knew this game was going to be a cracker, Pauleta's first home game in charge of Braga.​

The match kicked off, Braga fans out singing Celtic fans throughout the game, also intimidating the Celtic fans by chanting "Glasgow Rangers", Pauleta opted to play his 4-5-1 formation, and within 15 minutes it paid off, Braga took the lead through a ferocious effort from the holding midfielder Vandinho, he was known for doing this. From here on Braga controlled the game, and Celtic didn't get a sniff of the ball. Alan latching on to a Mattheus throughball, and crossing in, for Andreas Hinkel to head into his own goal, this sent the Braga fans into raptures, they took a 3-2 aggregate lead with an away goal, now all they had to do was make sure that they didn't concede, otherwise luck may have gone against them. Braga went into the half time break with a 2-0 lead, Pauleta didn't really say much, he just wanted the players to be calm, and think about the first half, he had full confidance in them, he wanted more of the same. The bell rang for the players to go back out, Celtic kicked off the second half, and with sloppy play from Loovens, Alan took the ball off him, and found himself one on one with Zaluska, if he scored this it would put the game to bed, "GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL GOAL GOAL GOAL!" shouted the announcer, to get the fans going, this was definatly going to see Braga go through. Braga kept the ball, keeping the passing short, they finished the game with 61% possession and having 18 shots, compared to the 8 Celtic had, and they didn't get one on target. The final whistle blew, there were chants of Pauleta going all around they stadium, could this be a new Era for Braga? ...​
 
HUGO VIANA OUT FOR 7 WEEKS
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The injury sustained by Hugo Viana has put him out on the sidelines for 7 weeks, he has been ever present in pre season for Braga, however during the Celtic game in the 1st leg, he fell awkwardly and broke his arm.

Statement:

"Obviously I am gutted about my injury, I have had a good pre-season, training well and with us having a new manager, I am dissapointed to be injured, however I am looking forward to my recovery, I am looking foward to playing again, as I don't like been injured, I have had a record of injuries at every club I have been at, and some reporters label me as injury prone which I am not happy about, this was just a bizzare one during the Celtic game. I was at the return leg, watching from the stands, and I was very pleased with what I saw, and I really hope the team do well"
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PAULETA PRESS CONFERENCE
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"Is Hugo's injury a big loss for you?"​
​
"I am shocked by the loss of one of our star players, but I am sure we will get by it, we have good squad depth, with players fighting for their position, Hugo didn't play in the return leg due to his injury, and look what happened, one player doesn't make a team, we can get by it."

"Are you planning on bringing in any new faces to the club?"

"Like I said, we already have a good squad depth players, with all our first team pushing to start, obviously I won't rule out buying anyone, because you can always improve your team, Barcelona and Manchester United can improve theirs, so im not ruling out that possibitily, however if I do bring people in, then I would most likely be moving some players on as well, due to our financial situation, and our wage structure."​

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BEST PLACED PLAYOFF
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After beating Celtic 3-0 on their own soil to advance to the next stage, the players and manager at the club, knew that this was going to be a lot tougher, in the seeded teams were Tottenham, Seville, Werder Bremen, who are no easy teams, so they knew it was difficult. The players watched the draw anxiously, the first team out the hat was Tottenham, and the second, was Braga, the players looked at each other and thought that this would be no push-over, could they advance to the group stages?​

---------- Post added at 05:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:00 PM ----------

BRAGA GET THEIR MAN
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Braga have today announced their new signing, Sergio Mota on
a loan deal. It is understood that Braga will pay 825k to Sao Paulo
for their services. It is the first signing under new manager Pauleta,
who was understood to be looking for a left winger, Mota is both
pacey and also good on the ball, and has a good left foot. Pauleta
stated "Sergio is a player that I have been admiring for some time
now, I was watching him when I was working with PSG, before my
current job, I feel like he can do a good job here at Braga, and I
am looking forward to working with him, as are the players" Sergio
Mota is only 19 years of age, and is tipped for a big future, he has
been given the number 23 shirt here at S.C. Braga, this is what he
had to say, "I am glad to have finally got a move away from Sao Paulo,
I enjoyed playing there however I thought it was time to move on,
and I feel that I can achieve a great deal at Braga working
under Pauleta. I just want to say to the fans be patient
and I will show you what I can do."​



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---------- Post added at 03:12 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 05:19 PM ----------

Sorry not updated for a while, having a busy weekend, will try and update sometime tomorrow, played about 6 games in the league so far
 
Good signing in Mota, personally I really like him. Look forward to your next update kid :)
 
TRANSFER WINDOW ROUNDUP
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Pauleta had already got one of his men he wanted, however now that he knew what formation he was going to stick with, he decided it would be best to bring in another centre midfielder, to give him more options,as Hugo Viana is injured, and incase there were any more injuries to be picked up. On the last day of the transfer window Pauleta decided to look for a centre midfielder, he didn't want to spend too much, and also wanted someone who knew the Liga Sagres well. ​

After weighing up his options, Pauleta decided to make a move for Bruno Amaro, who played his football for Nacional de Madeira, where he had started the season well, averaging 7.41. Pauleta picked up the phone, and made a firm bid of 325k. He has caps for Portugal at youth level, however hasn't broke into the first team at Portugal, he is a strong player, with good stamina and work rate, and passing, and can hit shots from distance, perfect cover for Hugo. ​

2 hours before the transfer deadline, Madeira decided to accept the offer from Braga for him, this then gave Pauleta enough time to get a contract signed and even a medical. This wasn't the last piece of transfer dealings for Pauleta, although he didn't bring anymore signings in, he let Paulo Cesar go to Racing Club. over the border for a fee of 750k, which was a good piece of business, as the manager felt like he had too many strikers at the club. He also let Joao Mendes leave on loan and sold Kalaba to Belenenses for a fee of 85k, as he didn't feature in the plans. In the whole transfer window Pauleta had only spent €1.2million, which is a fraction of what he was given, and also brought in €870k.
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---------- Post added at 04:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:25 PM ----------

LIGA SAGRES​

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The season started on Sunday 16th August for Pauleta's team, they were all looking forward to it, he felt that the team had trained hard in training, and was impressed at how much effort the players were giving, and at the same time they looked as though they were enjoying it, which under the previous manager it didn't look like they were. Braga were to travel to Pacos de Ferreira on the first day of the season, they knew that this would be a hard game, Pauleta didn't know much about his opponents, so it could have been tricky.​

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Pauleta's men enjoyed a good start to the league, right winger Alan had put them 1-0 up just after the break on the 47th minute, latching on to a through ball played by Vandinho, between the full back and centre back, which found Alan one on one with the keeper, and slotted home infron of the travelling fans. Braga then controlled the game on from here, they didn't have too many chances, as Ferreira kept their defence tight, but on the 72nd minute Lima went off and on came Elton, who wriggled his way past 2 players, from a pass from Rafael Bastos, and then calmly rounded the keeper and again scored infront of the travelling fans, this was a good start to Braga, however it won't be the most itimidating crowd they will play infront of as the attendence was only 4000.​

Manager Statement: "I felt that the team played well, we controlled the game from the first whistle, we kept the ball well and had movement up front, when we lost the ball we put pressure on them and they made mistakes, overall I am happy with the result, we scored twice and kept a clean sheet."​


UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUAL.​

Braga drew Tottenham in the next round of qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League proper, the first leg they found themselves playing at White Hart Lane. This result is not what the manager was expecting, the home side cruised through the game winning 5-0. Tottenham found themselves two up inside 20mins, which silenced the away fans. The away team then started to find their feet, stringing together a few passes, however Tottenham again found themselves through on goal, making it 3-0, as the night went on Spurs were having a field day, again finding the net, and with the next game in mind, Pauleta made changes, to keep the players fresh for the league game, but beofre the changes were made, Tottenham then scored again...​

Scorers: Lennon, Keane, Crouch (x2), Palacios​

LIGA SAGRES​

With the humiliating defeat to Tottenham behind them, Pauleta was determined the players kept their focus on the league, not changing mindsets and finding a dip in morale, with Maritimo up next, at home, Pauleta had decided to make some changes, starting Sergio Mota, who was making his debut..​

Braga found themselves 2-0 up after 34 minutes, Lima who was having a good start to the season, scored after 12minutes, using his speed to latch onto a pass made by Sergio Mota, and then slotting the ball in the far corner from just inside the penalty area. Rafael Bastos then put Braga 2-0 with a screamer, must have been about 25 yards out atleast, the home fans went crazy, surely a contender for goal of the month. Braga found themselves going into half time 2-0 up, Pauleta wanted more of the same. Maritimo had made 3 changes at half time, and this paid off, and they scored on the 68th minute, and then with the home players shocked, Maritimo then scored again on the 70th minute, shocking everyone in the stadium, hopefully this wasn't going to be an early upset. As the end of the game got closer and closer, Maritimo fans were wanting the final whistle, the fourth official held up 3mins of stoppage time, Braga felt like they could still win the game, and on the 92nd minute, Maritimo had mis-communication, Sergio Mota intercepted a pass, he was bearing down at goal, and found himself one on one with the keeper, can he win it for Braga right at the death..."GOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!" the place errupted, on his home debut Sergio Mota lashed home in the top corner, what a finish, that had won Braga the game.​


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"I never for one minute believed that we would lose the game, even when the fourth official held up the added minutes, I knew we still had it in us to win the game, Sergio Mota played outstanding, getting man of the match, and I think today he showed what he is capable of doing"​

---------- Post added at 05:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:53 PM ----------

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUAL.​

It was time for the return leg of the champions league, Braga had it all to do, believing that they couldn't do it, Pauleta decided to rest some of his players for the next game in the league. Braga started the game strongly, but with them knowing that they had to score atleast five goals, they knew they didn't have what it takes, but Pauleta just told them to go out there and enjoy it. Defoe scored within the 1st minute, which ended the tie as the contest, Braga then went 2-1 up, both goals coming from Alan, one of them a penalty, and then Crouch getting one back for Spurs towards the end of the game, it was an even contest, and the fans applaused the team at the final whistle, a nice touch..​

With Braga out of the Champions League, they knew they would atleast get UEFA Europa League football, which would also bring in a nice financial package, the groups were drawn, Braga were drawn in group E alongside Ajax, who are a very strong team, and also Dinamo, the current champions of Croatian football, and then the final team was APOEL, who Pauleta thought are an average side.​

"I believe that we can advance to the next stages of this competition, at home we are a very strong team to beat, and if we don't conede any goals then we always have a chance of winning."​


LIGA SAGRES​


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After Braga found out their fate in the European competitions, they then went away to Olhanense, who were without a doubt the underdogs in this game, the attendance was only 3500, which was very low. This should be an easy win for Braga...​

Braga started the game more brightly, finding their feet very quickly, and Rafael Bastos hitting the back of the net after just 3 minutes, Bastos was having a very good first season at the club. From here, it was then the home side who had more chances, having 7 shots in the entire game, but it was Braga who scored again, with Lima poking home in the 59th minute. The game then looked to be over, as Olhanense couldn't get a sniff of the ball. The away fans went home happy, as they found out that Sporting Lisbon had drawn which but Braga at the top of the table after a strong start in the league.​


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"Although we were the favourites to win, I knew that this game wasn't going to be easy, we got the early goal however Olhanense battled on, creating more chances and having more possession, we just couldn't find our passing touch, I just told the players at half time to get one more goal and then the game would be safe, I am happy with how the team came out second half, and im glad we put on a show for the fans, lets not get too far ahead of ourselves though been top of the table."​

The next game was a home game against Nacional de Madeira, which is where Pauleta completed the signing of midfielder Amaro, who made his debut in this game. The game was expected to be a sell out, with it been the toughest opponents Braga have faced in the league so far, and it was just that, with the away team hitting the back of the net first. Aurelio scored after 33 minutes, a mistake from the defence put him through on goal and he couldnt miss. Braga were all over the place, not the team we have been seeing tearing teams apart of late, however, Braga battled on, and they got to half time without conceding again, Pauleta took off Lima who had scored a few lately, and put Elton on up front, he also took off Sergio Mota as he had picked up a knock, but nothing too serious. Braga started the second half the better side, creating chances left right and centre, and it was debutent Bruno Amaro, who scored a headed goal after a cross from Matheus, he made a late run into the box, no Madeira player had picked him up, and the keeper was in no mans land for him to head into an open net against his old club, as you would expect, he respected his old club and chose not to celebrate. Pauleta wouldn't be happy with this game, it finished 1-1, however Braga were the better side, having 22 shots, but only finding the net once, looks like the players have to work on their finishing. Also having 61% possession. ​


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"Obviously I felt as though we should have won the game, but I am happy with the players performance, I am not a person who would give the hairdryer treatment, as I believe in players having high morale, and their been a good vibe around the club, yes we should have won, but we are only four games into the season and we are joint top of the table, anything can happen yet"​

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---------- Post added at 12:59 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 05:18 PM ----------

Another update coming later today :)

---------- Post added at 04:51 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 12:59 PM ----------

Bad news guys, my save corrupted, I dont think I will start a new story till the new fm now, will still be following others though, hopefully you enjoyed it and i will look to do one in 37 days when new one comes out :D
 
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