The Expert: Guimaraes win derby to shake up Portugal’s European race
“Besides his evident qualities as a player, Soares always showed himself to be an exemplary professional and teammate, so Vitória Sport Clube wish him all the best personally and professionally.” As Vitória Guimarães waved goodbye to their Brazilian forward this week, they couldn’t have provided a more glowing testimonial.
It is especially notable when you bear in mind that the 26-year-old has been at the club for less than a year, but he has pitched well into what is turning into a very promising season for Pedro Martins’ team. It is also a question of context, with Guimarães basking in the glory of Sunday’s Dérbi do Minho win over Braga, having emerged victorious at the home of their rivals for the first time in 14 years.
Soares’ imperious first-half header eventually proved to be the winner, with Vitória racing into a two-goal lead in the opening period and Nikola Stojilijkovic netting a last-gasp consolation for the hosts. With this being - as had been expected - Soares’ last game for the club before joining Porto, it was one heck of a parting gift.
Moments like this tend to cement a player’s legend, and as Soares celebrated in front of the travelling fans, it was a poignant moment, with both player and supporters understanding the finality of the act. The rivalry between Braga and Guimarães is perhaps not one that is particularly acknowledged outside Portugal, but it is an intense one between two cities situated 25km apart, and two clubs founded within a year of one another in the 1920s.
This victory, achieved with no little poise and style by Martins’ players, edged Vitória ahead in the historical stats. They have now won 53 of the 133 games between the two sides, ahead of Braga’s 52. This was as keenly contested as any, with 10 cards dished out by referee Fábio Veríssimo including two to Emiliano Velázquez in less than a minute towards the end of the match. The Uruguayan defender was enraged, and had to be dragged away from the official by his teammates.
It could easily be taken as a metaphor for the game as a whole. Vitória were more calm and collected throughout, and despite having just 33% of possession, were rarely under the cosh after centre-back Josué poked them into a 10th-minute lead. Braga also had 14 shots at goal to the visitors’ eight but crucially, Vitória landed five of theirs on target, as opposed to Braga’s three.
This was a consummate away performance from Vitória. They contained their rivals expertly - Braga’s tackle count of 24, to Vitória’s 11, is one endorsement of the anxiety with which they played. Martins and his men had a plan and stuck to it. Playing in their regular 4-2-3-1 shape, the full-backs played a pivotal role; notably Bruno Gaspar on the right. He kept the dangerous Wilson Eduardo quiet - who has scored six times and provided eight assists for Braga this season, but was restricted to just two key passes and an off-target shot here - while also contributing offensively, providing the perfect cross for Soares’ goal.
It’s all the more impressive when you consider that Vitória are having to do without their 10-goal top scorer Moussa Marega, with the Porto loanee on AFCON duty with Mali. Not that they are reliant him anyway, mind you - partly due to suspension and partly because of injury, Marega hasn’t added to that total in the Liga since the end of October. They have much more than that in their list of assets, and they are in a rich vein of form. Vitória now have five wins and a draw in their last seven Liga matches.
Sunday’s win has certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons in terms of the race not just for the European places, but for the top three. Sporting’s second successive draw, prolonging a run of just two Liga wins in the last six, means that they are 10 points behind Benfica at the top but perhaps more perturbingly, are only a single point ahead of Guimarães. Braga are in third, a point in front of Sporting, and the race for the podium is now really on, with Benfica and Porto breaking away.
Vitória’s fans might soon begin to recall their glorious 3rd-placed finish of the 2007/08 season, after which only a controversially disallowed goal in a play-off with Basel denied them a spot in the Champions League group stages. No wonder they feel a debt of gratitude to Soares, not just for his vital goal, but for his all-action performance, where he won four aerial duels and crashed another shot against the woodwork.
“With me, there’s no such thing as losing the ball,” he said on Monday as he was presented by his new club. That never-say-die attitude will be vital for Porto as they seek to eat into Benfica’s four-point cushion at the top, with the Liga title tussle crystallising into a two-horse race. As for Vitória, they are in the familiar position of having to start again - but they will continue to be grateful for having an ideal platform from which to do so.
