Portugal, like most of Europe, loves its football, and the world’s top club competition, the UEFA Champions League, is coming to its knockout rounds. Sixteen teams remain, and unfortunately none of them are Portuguese, with both Braga and Benfica missing out in the group stage. However, there are a number of Portuguese stars playing on foreign teams that still have a great chance to do something on club football’s biggest stage. Remaining Portuguese players include:
Vitorino Antunes (Defender – AS Roma)
Ricardo Costa (Defender – Valencia)
Miguel Monteiro (Defender – Valencia)
Ricardo Carvalho (Defender – Real Madrid)
Pepe (Defender – Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Forward – Real Madrid)
Nani (Midfielder – Manchester United)
Bebe (Forward – Manchester United)
Paulo Ferreira (Defender – Chelsea)
Henrique Hilario (Backup goalkeeper – Chelsea)
So if you’re looking for a team to support, based purely on number of Portuguese players, Real Madrid is your team with the combination of their two strong Portuguese defenders and of course Portugal’s captain, Cristiano Ronaldo. With Ronaldo scoring pretty much at will this season, it’s a good bet that he’ll take them to the later rounds of the tournament. If you’re looking for more of an underdog to support, Valencia has never won a Champions League, and has only reached the final twice, losing both. Hopefully, next season, Porto or Benfica can return to the late stages of the Champions League, which a Portuguese team hasn’t won since 2004.