Benfica Interested In Suazo

Reports in Portugal have suggested that Benfica are ready to move for Inter Milan's Honduran striker David Suazo.

According to Portuguese daily sports publication A Bola, Benfica have made an inquiry with regarding the availability of their Honduran striker. The Portuguese club has had difficulties up front in recent times, and are therefore interested in a striker with proven pedigree.

Benfica have competition in the race to sign the player however, as Italian club Roma are rumoured to be another interested party. Roma management see the Honduran as a perfect solution to their problems in attack, where backup for Mirko Vucinic and Francesco Totti was seriously lacking last season.

Maniche Poised For Atléti Comeback

After an eventful pre-season, Maniche will finally return to the Atletico Madrid squad tonight for the Copa Teresa Herrera semi-final clash with Sporting Gijon...

With his Atletico Madrid future in doubt and transfer options seemingly running out, Portuguese international Maniche has been granted a place in the squad to face Sporting Gijon tonight. Mexican coach Javier Aguirre has included the midfielder amidst rumours that he will be leaving Madrid this summer and that the club are actively trying to find a buyer for him.

Quaresma To Inter By August 31

Ricardo Quaresma will be an Inter player by the end of the transfer window on August 31, according to the Corriere dello Sport.

The Nerazzurri have been in negotiations to sign the skilful winger all summer, and it was even, wrongly, reported last month that the transfer had been completed.

However, over the past few weeks it had seemed that all hope of the transfer going through had ended, as sources in Italy claimed that due to Porto’s excessive price demands, Inter had given up on their chase.

Sporting beat Porto 2-0 to lift Portuguese Super Cup

Cup holders Sporting beat league champions Porto 2-0 to win the Portuguese Super Cup for the second straight year on Saturday with a Yannick Djalo double.

Striker Djalo got his first goal on the stroke of halftime with a close range shot after a cross by defender Abel and his second when he capitalised on poor defending after 58 minutes.

Sporting also won the traditional curtain-raiser to the Portuguese season last year when they beat Porto 1-0.

Porto aim to end Sporting final hoodoo

Only one thing stopped FC Porto achieving a clean sweep in domestic competition last season – the dominance of Sporting Clube de Portugal when the two teams met. The Lisbon club prevailed in the Portuguese Cup and Super Cup finals, though Porto hope to avenge the latter loss at the Estádio do Algarve on Saturday night.

Sporting danger
Porto ended the season 14 points clear of Sporting in the Liga despite a six-point deduction, but they were beaten in three out of four meetings between the pair. Not that Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira has any inferiority complex. "Sporting won the Super Cup and the Portuguese Cup against us last season, but we won the title so the trophies were split between us," he said. "Of the three title candidates [including SL Benfica], Sporting are probably the team that have changed least and have strengthened with players that already knew very well. They are stronger than last term."

Quaresma Left Out Of Squad For Supercup

Porto winger Ricardo Quaresma was left out of the squad for the Supercup match against Sporting Lisbon, fuelling rumours of an imminent move to Inter.

Porto are about to start the official season with the Portuguese Supercup against Cup winners Sporting Lisbon, but once again their most representative player will be missing: winger Ricardo Quaresma, strongly wanted by Jose Mourinho at Inter, will take place on the stands to follow tonight's match.

It seems that the Portuguese international is by now a fringe player of the champions, who have kept the player away from action throughout most of the pre-season period, when it became clear the Nerazzurri were strongly interested.

Inter Beat Benfica, On Penalties

Inter's preseason form continues to impress as they were victorious against Benfica after penalty kicks...

The Nerazzuri started with Mourinho's favoured trident attack once again, Zlatan Ibrahimovic being flanked by Amantino Mancini and Portuguese playmaker Luis Figo. Esteban Cambiasso continued in central defence as Inter have a host of injuries in that position.

The game started brightly as Oscar Cardozo's effort hit the post just 14 minutes into the match. That seemed to wake Inter up and they were in the ascendency for a majority of the match. Figo spurned a great opportunity before Benfica goalkeeper Quim shoved aside Ibrahimovic's effort. The game ended goalless at the Estadio de Luz, meaning Inter kept their fourth clean sheet in a row.

Ronaldo recovery on course

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is confident that Cristiano Ronaldo's recovery is on schedule and that he will be back in action by October.

The Portugal international, who has stated he will stay at Old Trafford after a summer of speculation linking him with Real Madrid, is currently sidelined as he recovers from ankle surgery.

The star winger, who scored an astonishing 42 goals in all competitions last season, is back at the club's Carrington training ground undergoing rehabilitation under the watchful eye of United's medical team.

Jesualdo Ferreira: We want the stadium full of F.C. Porto fans

With the first official match of the season approaching, the Portuguese Champions’ coach is thrilled with the fans massive devotion towards the team and wants to respond to that support with a triumph on the Supercup. The clash with Sporting is scheduled to Saturday, 20h45, at the Algarve Stadium.

Quaresma is part of the group
«Quaresma has four years of F.C. Porto, two under my responsability, and he knows well all the team’s routines and procedures and whenever he’s called he will have all the conditions to be an important part of the team. With that in mind, I don’t think that our daily work is anyhow affected by the speculation around him».

Branca In Portugal For Quaresma

Inter sporting director Marco Branca is in Portugal and ready to re-launch negotiations for Porto midfielder Ricardo Quaresma according to Sportmediaset.

The Nerazzurri have been after the Dragoes star all summer as Jose Mourinho tries to bring in another midfielder to complement his side.

The San Siro based club are currently in Lisbon as they prepare to take on Benfica in the Eusebio Cup.