Sport-Porto Today

Porto is the other team from Caruaru, the first team being Central. Porto is a relatively new club, founded in 1983, and has risen to become a middling power at the state level. Porto was runner-up in the state championship in 1997 and 1998, a feat that no team from the interior of the state had ever achieved. No team from the interior would match that feat until 2007, when Central equaled its kid brother’s best. Porto has had more success developing players who go on to star with other teams (Araújo, Josué, Diogo, and Nildo chief among them, although I know people who refuse to say Josué’s name, and as we speak Diogo is squandering a not inconsiderable talent) than it has had in official competitions. In this sense Porto is a little like Canada (Bruce Grobbelaar and Owen Hargreaves), which surely makes Pernambuco the only state with two Canadas in the first division. Take that, Bahia!

Porto’s latest promise is Guega, a 22-year old midfielder who is currently the Campeonato Pernambucano’s leading scorer with five goals. If he can keep it up, he will be the third player from a small team to lead the goal scorers, after Porto’s Lêniton in 1998 and Itacuruba’s Kelson in 2004.

The game has been moved from Porto’s Estádio Antônio Inácio da Silva, which has a maximum capacity of 4,000 to 6,000, depending on the source, (and if 6,000 ever fit into that stadium it will be with 3,000 sitting on the shoulders of the people unlucky enough to arrive first), to Central’s Lacerdão. The Lacerdão is a cool stadium, occupying an entire block in the very center of Caruaru, which can hold 20,000 fans. Sport promises to take twelve busses of fans to the game, and many more will make the ninety minute trip in their cars.

Nelsinho has said that Sport will return to the 3-5-2 formation that the team used to being the championship, and Sport will dress only two forwards, Ciro and Guto. Luciano Henrique is more than capable of playing as a forward, so Sport will probably start with Ciro and Luciano Henrique as the forwards, with Guto on the bench, Paulo Baier, Hamilton, and Sandro Goiano in the midfield along with Dutra, and someone else on the right side. Sidny has not shown that he is capable or willing to be Sport’s right fullback, and Jonas just isn’t very good. At some point, if Sport doesn’t sign a new player, Moacir will probably make a start at that position. Today may not be the day, but Nelsinho is quickly losing confidence in his obvious options.

The two teams are tied for first place, but Porto has the edge on goal difference. Sport’s support will be much larger and more vocal than Porto’s, and Porto is playing in the same city but not in the normal stadium, so the home-field advantage may be negligible. That said, Porto is a fast team and could certainly cause problems for Sport. Porto’s manager, Adelmo Soares, surely knows about Sport’s problems on the right side and will take advantage of them. Santa Cruz is three points behind the leaders and Náutico is four points back, so a win today will put Sport in a commanding position halfway through the first round of the championship.