Best of the rest

The name Sporting Braga is synonymous with consistency in Portugal. Over the last 20 years, the club from the north of Portugal has only finished the domestic campaign outside the top five in the league twice. However, they have also only finished in the top three three times. Sporting Braga are the best team in Portugal after the two tradition-steeped Lisbon clubs (Benfica and Sporting) and FC Porto.

Operating with much smaller financial resources, Braga have performed exceptionally well and have won five of their six titles in total in the last 11 years. During this period, Braga have twice won the national cup competition "Taça de Portugal" (2016 and 2021), while there have been three league cup triumphs (2013, 2020 and 2024). Their first title came when they won the domestic cup in 1965/66.

In the recent past, Braga have always been regarded as a highly reputable development club. Many young Portuguese players, but also Brazilian ones, have repeatedly used the club located approximately 50 kilometres from Porto as a springboard. There are also several exciting young talents in the current squad, such as winger Roger and the German central defender Bright Arrey-Mbi. But there are also experienced players such as the 38-year-old Joao Moutinho, a European champion in 2016, and the two record appearance-makers Ricardo Horta (30) and Matheus (32).

Sporting Braga are in familiar territory in the table this season too and will be hoping to qualify for European football next year – despite a turbulent summer. The club dismissed coach Daniel Sousa after Matchday 1, even though he had only been appointed to the role over the summer. According to media reports, there were significant differences between Sousa and the club's leadership. Now there is a familiar face in the dugout: Carlos Carvalhal is the head coach in Braga for the third time, having already coached the club in 2006 and from 2020 to 2022. The 58-year-old has been charged with putting the club back on an upward trajectory. The UEFA Europa League represents familiar territory for Braga: the Portuguese outfit occupy ninth place in the all-time table in the competition, which was launched in the 2009/10 season, with 128 points from an impressive 82 games, alongside top clubs such as Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven.

In May 2011, Sporting Clube de Braga – as it is officially known – even made it to the final of the UEFA Europa League, where they lost 1-0 to league rivals FC Porto in Dublin. How fitting.

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