Football Season Guide

Rio Ave was slightly disappointing last season after having been the club-sensation of the league in previous years. Vilacondenses were building an image of a cult-club that played an uncompromised beautiful game, and that was ruined by a couple of questionable decisions last season. The board made a very good choice by appointing Carlos Carvalhal who is the ideal man to bring back that spirit of attractive style without compromising competitiveness. Despite the departure of some important players, inevitable result for teams signing players on loan, Rio Ave managed to have a stable summer and will be having a team very similar to last season. Galeno, Coentrao, Dala and Rúben Semedo will be very hard to replace, but the players that were kept should be enough to keep up the level. Vilacondenses’ midfield will be particularly impressive with Filipe Augusto, Jambor, Diego Lopes and Tarantini pulling the strings for the team. At the back, it will be vital to properly recover Nelson Monte from severe injury; in attack, it’s the make or break season for the likes of Nuno Santos, Gabrielzinho and new signing Carlos Mané. However, there’s the feeling that these two areas could use some improvement in personal. It’s also questionable that goalkeeper Pawel Kieszek will still have what it takes to properly replace the exciting Leo Jardim.