Braga president expresses frustration at start to the season: "Braga cannot be this"
Pressure is building on Braga manager Ricardo Sa Pinto after the club make their joint worst start to the Primeira Liga since the start of the century.
After losing 2-0 to Boavista in midweek, Braga failed to bounce back with a victory, drawing 2-2 against a Famalicao side that played the majority of the match with just 10 men.
That match summed up Braga’s start to the domestic campaign; with the scores level at half time and Braga with a man advantage, they were fully expected to capitalise and go on to win the match with relative ease.
However, it was Famalicao that took the lead just after the break, and as the 75th minute arrived, the score was still 0-1 to the visitors.
Two goals in the space of a minute for Braga looked set to surely wrap up all three points for the Minho club and ease the pressure on Sa Pinto, but Famalicao’s Anderson Silva tapped home in the 89th minute to deliver a suckerpunch to a Braga side in need of points.
Indeed, that draw means that Braga have just 12 points from their opening 10 league games, leaving them 10th in the table and already 11 points off Famalicao in 3rd.
They are actually closer to last-placed Aves, who have just 3 points, than league leaders Benfica, only 9 points above the base of the table and 14 points behind the reigning champions.
This is actually Braga’s joint worst start to the season since the start of the century; the only other time Braga have had as few as 12 points after 10 games was in the 2013-14 season, and they went on to finish just 9th come the end of the season on just 37 points.
And club president Antonio Salvador has expressed his deep dissatisfaction at the club’s current situation, making it clear that things simply had to improve.
“We realise that our fans are sad and I want to say that representing SC Braga requires a sense of responsibility and SC Braga cannot be this” Salvador told the media.
“SC Braga cannot obtain 12 points from 10 games. We have to see what we have done less well [and improve].”
When asked directly whether Ricardo Sa Pinto’s position at the helm of the club may well be under threat, Salvador simply responded by saying “That is not the point.”
“The next game against Besiktas [in the Europa League] is crucial for progression to the next stage of the Europa League. I ask our fans to support us. After that, we want to win in Guimaraes.”
Braga’s Europa League campaign has certainly been a real contrast to their Primeira Liga campaign, with Braga currently sitting top of their Europa League group with 7 points from their opening 3 games, above Wolverhampton Wanderers, Slovan Bratislava and Besiktas.
They know there is no room for complacency though as they get set to host Besiktas, a side who are in desperate need of getting some points on the board.
Ricardo Sa Pinto. Photo author: Руденко Денис. License link.
