Project Boavista - Ambitious Boavista plot outrageous summer window to climb back up the Primeira Liga

Boavista are looking to make some impressive moves in the market, and there’s palpable excitement surrounding the club as they look to challenge for Europe yet again.

At this rate, we could see one of the most competitive Portuguese league seasons in recent memory. The top 4 look pretty established, of course. The traditional Big Three of Benfica, Porto and Sporting look strong enough to maintain their place at the top end of the Primeira Liga table with few issues, while Braga, with a talented squad, good recruitment and in a safe pair of hands in Carlos Carvalhal, should be pushing those established three clubs for a Champions League berth.

The chasing pack behind them, though, could be tighter than ever. Vitoria Guimarães, after missing out on the European qualification for this season, have no continental distractions, so should be looking to regain a top 6 spot that should guarantee them a Europa League place for the 2021-22 campaign.

They aren’t the only side that will be pushing for a top 6 place, though. Rio Ave were the side that finished 5th last season, and though they have lost their manager and could go on to see Mehdi Taremi and Nuno Santos leave this summer, they have a good core to their side that could go a long way towards repeating last season’s exploits.

Similarly, Famalicão, with a strong connection to Atletico Madrid and an equally enviable relationship with superagent Jorge Mendes, should again exploit the loan market to assemble another excellent squad for the short term to yet again challenge for Europa League football. That looks even more likely with an excellent manager at the helm in João Pedro Sousa.

Then you have the fringe players in the battle for European qualification. Moreirense, for example, have again impressed and defied the odds, following up their 6th place finish two seasons ago with an 8th place finish this time. If they can keep hold of their key players such as Fabio Abreu and Filipe Soares, they could well push for a top 6 spot. Santa Clara are another side with an outside chance.

However, there is one club that are really making strides to become increasingly relevant on the domestic stage, looking to reclaim the glory days of the late ‘90s and early 2000s. It will be a long, perhaps impossible, task to reach those heights again, but they are making strides towards doing so - and they appear to be taking it up a notch this season.

Is this the start of a Boavista comeback?

In many ways, Boavista is the perfect club to witness success. With a proud history and an excellent fanbase, there is the core of a club that should be performing better domestically year on year.

Since their exceptional title victory in 2001 which rocked the foundations of the Portuguese establishment and marked an historic moment in Portuguese footballing history, matters away from the football pitch quickly saw them fall away from not only being title challengers, but top flight regulars too. Demotion to the second division through court ruling, followed up with relegation to the third tier the very next season, saw Boavista plying their trade in the third tier of Portuguese football by 2009 - before a court ruling then later reversed the decision made by the first, and saw Boavista promoted straight back into the Portuguese Primeira Liga five years later in 2014.

Since then, they’ve very much established themselves as a top flight team again. Two seasons of consolidation and narrow survival from relegation in 2014-15 and 2015-16 were followed up by top half finishes, with Boavista finishing 9th, 8th and 8th between 2016 and 2019. Last season was underwhelming; a 12th place finish and unable to even break the 40 point barrier meant they took a couple of steps back - but there is a clear intention to rectify that this season and make up for lost time.

The significant fanbase of a significant club

Indeed, their fanbase has only blossomed with time since their return to the top flight. They have always been one of the best-supported clubs in the country, but finally the attendance figures are beginning to show it.

In their first season back in the Primeira Liga in 2014-15, for example, their average home attendance was just about 4,500, a sad indictment of the current attendance levels in Portuguese football. That, however, has gradually increased almost season on season, and last campaign, up to the point at which the season was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and football was forced to be played out behind closed doors, Boavista’s average attendance increased to an incredible 12,000, ensuring Boavista had the 5th best spectatorship in the entire league, ahead of SC Braga, who ended up finishing 3rd in the league standings.

With such a loyal fanbase behind them, it seems those at the top of the club are finally making strides towards repaying their unwavering support, and are looking to get Boavista back towards the upper echelon of the Portuguese game.

Ownership with exciting connections

Right from the off, Boavista may well be at an advantage in comparison to other clubs. That’s because the very well run Lille, who have secured 2nd and 4th place finishes in the two most recent Ligue 1 seasons, have a strong connection with Boavista.

That’s because the Luxembourg owner of the Ligue 1 club, Gerard Lopez, has already sought to buy a significant stake in the Portuguese outfit - and he has shown his fair share of ambition already, looking to make Boavista the fourth biggest club in Portugal again.

The association between the clubs means that players will be moving between the two, giving Lille a platform to give their young players some game time in Portugal, while Lille’s highly acclaimed director of football, Luis Campos, will be helping out at Boavista, which can only be a good thing for the Portuguese club.

A transfer window to remember?

Boavista have already moved in the market - but the most exciting transfers are still to come. There is perhaps no better place to start than Portuguese legend, and Euro 2016 champion, Bruno Alves. The ex-Porto defender is Portugal’s seventh most capped player in history, having represented his country 96 times at senior level, and is currently on the books of Parma. Despite now being 38 - set to turn 39 in November - he played a huge 34 games last season for the Serie A club, captaining the side in virtually every game.

Indeed, a lot is made of Portugal’s hero Cristiano Ronaldo’s fitness levels, though one player that surely beat him in that department is Bruno Alves, whose physical shape remains extroardinary despite closing in on 40. His leadership, strength and defensive awareness would be huge in taking Boavista to the next level in the short-term, and would no doubt be a huge coup for the club in terms of his reputation and stature.

Alves has such an impressive season with Parma in the 2018-19 season that he was even linked with a move to Juventus, though a transfer never materialised.

Boavista had also been linked with a shock move for fellow Euro 2016 champions Ricardo Quaresma. In a true boom in the market, Boavista, according to O Jogo, are plotting an outrageous move for the veteran winger, hoping to bring in the ex-Porto star and the proclaimed 'King of Travelas' to add some flair and quality to their ranks - although Quaresma has seemingly since quashed any of those rumours.

Alves (and Quaresma) is not the only experienced household name that Boavista are targeting, either. Former Benfica and Manchester City midfielder Javi Garcia is another that is firmly associated with the Portuguese club, the 33-year old midfielder currently on the books of Real Betis. The two-time Spain international played 132 games for Benfica during his time in Portugal, as well as 76 matches for Manchester City and 108 for Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg. He too would surely be categorised as a major signing for Boavista.

There's also the lesser known Jorge Benguche on the way. On the surface, little may be thought of regarding this transfer, the 24-year old not well-known in Europe. However, the Honduran international striker, who has already represented his country 3 times and scored twice, has come off the back of an excellent campaign, helping his side, Club Deportivo Olimpia, to 1st place in the Honduran Liga Nacional Apertura, scoring an exceptional 22 goals in 37 matches for Olimpia across 2019.

Though the Honduran league may not be the highest standard of competition, Benguche has plenty of admirers, having been compared to the likes of Karim Benzema, and was linked to high-profile clubs such as Serie A side Cagliari and Scottish champions Celtic. Boavista, however, are the side that are set to capture Benguche, and it should be an excellent signing for the Portuguese outfit.

There are then some more transfers that may not be quite as exciting on paper, but should prove shrewd additions. The signing of youngster Angel Gomes on loan is certainly one of them; the 19-year old Anglo-Portuguese midfielder joined Lille from Manchester United this summer, and that he has been sent straight on loan to Boavista is unsurprising, considering the relationship between the two clubs. It should be to the great advantage of all parties.

He’s not the only player brought in from Lille, either. Indeed, Boavista’s connection with the French club could well prove to be a real asset, with Show, who was on loan at Belenenses last season, joining Boavista for the upcoming campaign on a temporary basis. He did well for Belenenses in the 2019-20 campaign and has gained crucial knowledge of the league, so should be a useful signing. Similarly, Ricardo Mangas, 22, has joined from fellow Portuguese outfit Aves on a free transfer, and could be another decent squad player.

Jackson Porozo is also set to join the club, and though he is likely more one for the future, currently just 20 years of age, there is understandable excitement that he will be an excellent signing, having even represented Ecuador once already in his career, and having been on the books of Brazilian giants Santos. The central defender could well get some regular game time as soon as he arrives due to the promise he possesses.

There is therefore plenty to be excited about for Boavista fans - and this may still only be the beginning, with plenty of time still remaining in the transfer market. Could they challenge for European football next season? We don’t have too long to wait to find out.

Bruno Alves. Photo author: Анна Нэсси. License link.

Javi Garcia. Photo author: Вячеслав Евдокимов. License link.