March Update

Exclude the Man United result and you have a very strong March. It is becoming clearer with every game that we won't be battling for the title this year after shifting most of our focus this season to money making in the Champions League, which to be honest, I'm disappointed at. We have to pray that Porto go on a mass losing streak, doubtful but hopeful is all I will say right now.

Lets look at our results!

Marítimo 1 - 3 Braga

Jorge Amorim (32)
Stefano Padovan (50)
Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik (55)
Eduardo Vargas (56)

Vitória Setúbal 1 - 1 Braga

Jérémy Ménez (51)
Wilder Cartagena (pen 83)

Manchester United 5 - 0 Braga

Ryan Giggs (49)
Adnan Januzaj (56, 64)
Dante (70)
Juan Manuel Mata (85)

Braga 5 - 2 Olhanense

Ivan Cavaleiro (19)
Éder (26, 80)
Tibor Cica (31)
Rodrigo Battaglia (40)
Sadio Mané (46)
Jérémy Ménez (75)

Braga 2 - 0 Vitória Guimaraes

Alex (29)
Bibras Natkho (31)

FC Porto 0 - 2 Braga

Jorge Amorim (37)
Jérémy Ménez (85)



We play Porto a ridiculous three times in April, and being honest, I'm not looking forward to it. Along with this, we play 16th placed Beira-Mar and 12th placed Moreirense in the league. You'll have to wish me luck going into April!

Player of the Month

Alex


He's been the main man at the back this season and has thrived this month with his new center back partner Kana-Biyik since January. He picked up an average rating of 7.06 in his past five games, capping it off by scoring against our dearest rivals, Vitória Guimaraes!

Amorim Will be Special - Azevedo

Ever since he was presented to the Braga faithful for the first time against Gil Vicente, Jorge Amorim has become nothing less of a revelation at the Estádio AXA.

Before his time as a first-team regular, Amorim was tearing up Group 1 of the under-19's leagues, taking Braga's youngsters to the top of the table single-handedly with 11 goals, he was also a shining light in an unsuccessful under-19's Champions League campaign.

Fans were quick to warm to Amorim as he is a Braga boy himself, being born in the city in 1997 and growing up as a loyal supporter of S.C. Braga. He spoke to a local journalist about his early love for his local team and said it was a 'dream come true' appearing in the Gil Vicente match, in which Amorim got himself an assist to Rodrigo Battaglia's goal in the 17th minute. Amorim went onto say how he wants to spend his career at Braga and become a legend at his favourite side.

Azevedo's praise of Amorim has always been high, hence why he chose to make him take the step up to first-team football. This is what the boss said about his new striker: "Amorim is quality. Not many 17 year olds can handle the pressure of first team football and need several years to be prepared, but Jorge. Jorge is on another level. In all my time as a fan and manager, I've never seen a youth team quite like it is now. I can guarantee our fans that we have a bright future here at Braga with homegrown talent coming through, I will give them every chance, but they must prove why they should stay there to me. I want to stay here for many years, and I believe I can bring these prospects through the ranks to become legends here. Not just Braga legends, Portuguese legends. Not just Portuguese legends, world legends. That is my ultimate aim for this team"

Amorim's Stats:

Played: 16
Goals: 10
Assists: 8
Pass completion ratio: 81%
Average goals per game ratio: 0.62 goals per game
Average rating: 7.38

April Update

Unbelievable. That's the only way to put it. Just 31 days ago I was writing off our chances of a league title, 31 days later. We're 1 point off of reaching top spot, with the title race going down to the last game, undoubtedly.

Lets see the results which brings us so close to a second consecutive league title!

Beira-Mar 0 - 2 Braga

Michy Batshuayi (29)
Jérémy Ménez (37)

FC Porto 0 - 4 Braga

Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik (31)
Éder (59)
Jorge Amorim (68, 86)

Braga 0 (2) - (1) 1 FC Porto

Nabil Ghilas (pen 19)

Braga 1 - 0 Moreirense

Sandro (o.g. 74)

Braga 2 - 3 FC Porto

André Castro (5)
Eduardo Vargas (27)
Maicon (o.g. 42)
Jackson Martínez (61, 85)




Next month will be the ultimate decider. Porto must win to guarantee the title but could draw or lose should we mess up against Estoril. I want my second league title in a row at Braga more than anything before, this is massive. This is May.

Player of the Month

Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik


Following Alex's success in March, Kana-Biyik has settled into the side so well after joining a few months ago. He's stolen Kadu's place, which is why he is currently out on loan and rightly so. He and Alex have been an integral part to our success this season.

Last Day 2014/15

Presenter: It's here, the last day. Braga vs Estoril and Rio Ave vs FC Porto. Definitely the most important set of fixtures for the title runners. Also a very important day for relegation fighters Olhanense and Pacos de Ferreira.

15:00 The teams are out, Serginho to kick off, the ref blows the whistle. Here we go! Final day on A BOLA TV begins!

2 mins: Emidio Rafael takes the corner for Estoril. Weeks heads it! Saved! It falls to Sebá at the other post now, tackled by Kana-Biyik! Ménez has it now in his own box. Sadio Mané with the ball on the left here, Estoril begin retreating back now. Mané goes past a slide tackle and lays it into Éder's feet. Battaglia now. Diarra, who will be leaving Braga in the summer. Jérémy Ménez receives the ball outside the box. Into the path of Batshuayi!!! GOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!! MICHY BATSHUAYI PUT BRAGA TOP OF THE TABLE!!! BRAGA ONE, ESTORIL NIL. A BRILLIANT START TO THE GAME!!! Hang on, hang on. The linesman's flag is up. NO GOAL. 0-0 STILL.

12 mins: Éder has a free-kick right on the edge of the box, a perfect position to hit one. Over the wall... And hits the post! Unlucky Éder! Goncalo puts it out for a throw-in.

16 mins: Serginho spreads the play... Intercepted by Ménez. A counter attack on the cards? Played at knee height to Batshuayi, Diarra now. Ménez, Cédric Soares for Braga. Plays a one-two with Ménez. Beautiful play on the right-hand side between the two. Knocked back to Diarra in acres of space here. Battaglia, Éder on the edge of the box, turns. Batshuayi! Laid off to Mané!!! GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOR DEFINITE THIS TIME!!!!! SADIO MANÉ OFFICIALLY PUTS BRAGA TOP OF LIGA ZON SAGRES! BRAGA ONE, ESTORIL, NIL!

21 mins: Bad news for Braga, Porto go top again through a goal from Nabil Ghilas.

40 mins: Estádio AXA has practically erupted! Rio Ave have equalised against FC Porto! Raphael Augusto with the goal for Rio Ave!

41 mins: Ménez, with the ball deep in his own half. Batshuayi meets it near the halfway line. Played into space for left-back Antonelli. Brilliantly executed pass to Diarra with absolutely nobody around him. Ménez receives it from Diarra. Whips it in... It meets Éder's head... Saved! Batshuayi on the rebouuuuuuuuuund!!!!!!!!!! GOAL FOR BRAGA!!!!! 2-0 AND IT COUNTS THIS TIME FOR BATSHUAYI!!!!

Half-Time
Braga 2 - 0 Estoril
Rio Ave 1 - 1 FC Porto
Braga win the title as it stands

54 mins: Terrible news for Braga again, Diego Reyes has taken the lead at Rio Ave. It's 2-1 to Porto over there.

59 mins: Diarra chases the cleared ball. Long ball to Éder, found exquisitely. Crossed in and cleared by Castro. Éder heads it down for the arriving Mané. Battaglia on the edge. Éder, Antonelli, Éder in the box this time. Laid back to Battaglia, Antonelli again. Battaglia plays it into the box... Straight into Carvalho's hands. Kana-Biyik heads the cleared ball to Ménez, gets down the line... Whips it in! Batshuayi!!! GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!!!!! NODDED IN BY THE BELGIAN! 3-0 TO BRAGA!!!!

82 mins: IT'S GOING ABSOLUTELY MENTAL HERE IN BRAGA!!! RIO AVE'S UKRA HAS EQUALISED AGAINST PORTO!!! IT'S 2-2 AND AS IT STANDS BRAGA ARE ON COURSE TO WIN THE TITLE!!!

90+2 mins: Azevedo is keeping a straight face on the touchline for Braga, the bench behind however cannot hide their smiles. Azevedo knows anything can happen at any given moment in football. Carlitos, Weeks, Castro, Mano. Five seconds to go...

IT'S ALL OVER!!! BRAGA HAVE WON IT!!! IT'S FINISHED 2-2 AT RIO AVE MUCH TO THE DELIGHT OF BRAGA FANS AND DESPAIR OF PORTO FANS. ESTORIL ARE APPLAUDING AND CHANTING 'CAMPEONES' TOWARDS THE BRAGA TEAM AND FANS. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!

Azevedo goes over to the Estoril fans and applauds them in thanks. This is what football is all about. Azevedo will now go to the other side of Estádio AXA and receive the biggest reception he will ever get! Azevedo, a fan two years ago, now consecutive title winner whilst in charge! What a story he'll be able to tell to his grandchildren, knowing his loyalty towards Braga, he'll still be in charge!

Great news for Olhanense as well for managing to stay up after a very entertaining 4-3 win at Marítimo, that means that Pacos de Ferreira are relegated to the Second Division. Only two seasons ago they were in the Champions League group stages! What a shock! But today is all about Azevedo. What a great manager! He's seen the 'big three' and he's totally gone against the system and won back-to-back league titles. Absolutely brilliant. He should be so happy with himself right now!

Thank You Braga - Éder

Ezekiel Signs Deal With Braga

In the dawn of Braga's first match in the league against Sporting, Braga's press team have released the news that Standard Leige striker Imoh Ezekiel has signed a 3 year deal with Braga. Although, Ezekiel will be returned on loan to his former team for the rest of the season as part of the agreed deal.

Azevedo has already started his mass revamp of the squad at Braga, selling all players but Antonelli over the age of 25 years old.

Although this is a big fee for a team of Braga's stature, it is not the biggest spent on one player this season. That goes to Bruma who signed from Serie A's Lazio for €8.5m earlier in July!

The loan part of this deal could be extremely beneficial for both parties involved here. Braga already possess the presence of Michy Bathsuayi, the consistency of Jorge Amorim and flair of Federico Pardini so a first-eleven place is not guaranteed yet, which is at Standard. The loan could raise his game to prove he is starting material.

The deal is reportedly worth €7.25m