Could Vitoria Guimarães actually win the Europa Conference League?
A Portuguese side hasn't won a major European trophy since Andre Vilas-Boas’ impressive Porto side lifted the Europa League trophy in 2011. Are Guimarães Portugal's best hope of breaking that 13 year barren spell this season? And could they actually do it?
At the time of writing, Guimarães are joint 5th favourites to win the Europa Conference League, level at around 25/1 to win Europe's tertiary club competition with the likes of Panathinaikos and Copenhagen. They do seem like two sides of similar standing to Guimarães, and if they are considered fifth favourites to win the contest, you have to think that the Portuguese outfit do have at least a small chance of doing something truly extraordinary.
The main issue, however, is that there are 3 genuine heavyweights in the competition alongside them who are far and away the standout contenders, those being Chelsea, Real Betis and two time finalists Fiorentina. They will be incredibly tough to overcome - but perhaps not impossible.
It has already become quite clear that Chelsea aren't exactly going full throttle in this competition; Cole Palmer has even been excluded from the Chelsea squad for the league phase such is the nature of their priorities being elsewhere.
Real Betis, meanwhile, started the Conference League campaign with a shock 1-0 loss to Legia Warsaw, which does indicate that they very much can be beaten. As for Fiorentina, though they did manage to overcome Welsh debutants TNS in their opener, it was far from convincing, and have had a poor start to the season so far, sitting adrift of the European places in Serie A and earned victory in just one of their opening 6 outings.
Guimarães, while also having their attention divided as they look to secure a high league finish to qualify for European football again next season, have, by contrast, been imperious in the Conference League, winning all 6 of their qualifying fixtures without conceding a goal, demolishing Floriana, Zurich and Zrinjski Mostar in the process, and are extra motivated to make a real statement in this competition, having become the first ever Portuguese side to qualify for the Conference League group stage.
If there's a risk of the likes of Chelsea or Betis becoming complacent not giving this competition too much importance, that's certainly not the case for Guimarães.
Vitoria got off to a good start in the league phase too. A convincing 3-1 victory over Celje - who were actually the side to eliminate them from the Conference League qualifiers last season - shows remarkable progress from the Portuguese side, who are finally beginning to live up to their potential.
A well supported club from the north of Portugal, loyal Guimarães fans have not had a huge amount to cheer about in recent years, often finishing as ‘best of the rest’ in Portugal but rarely threatening the established teams in the nation and living in the shadow of local rivals SC Braga. This season, that could very much change.
While Guimarães soar in the Conference League, Braga have stuttered in the Europa League, recording an incredibly fortuitous 2-1 victory over much unfancied Maccabi Tel Aviv in their league phase opener before falling to a 3-0 thrashing in a chaotic performance away to Olympiakos and a 1-2 home defeat to Bodø Glimt. Guimarães also reside above Braga in the Primeira Liga too, having beaten Carlos Carvalhal’s side 1-2 at the Quarry.
This is very much shaping up to be a potentially exceptional season for Guimarães. Though winning the Conference League seems fanciful, a deep run in the competition certainly isn't beyond them, and a strong showing on the continental stage could really help them get to the next level.
