2007–08 FC Porto season explained

Season:	2007–08
League Result:	1st
League Topscorer:	Lisandro López (24)
Season Topscorer:	Lisandro López (27)
Highest Attendance:	50,199 vs Benfica (15 October 2006)^[1]
Lowest Attendance:	12,117 vs Gil Vicente (24 February 2008)^[2]
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The 2007–08 season was Futebol Clube do Porto's 97th competitive season, 74th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football, and 114th year in existence as a football club.

Porto's season began on 11 August 2007 with the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. The Azuis e Brancos were defeated by Sporting CP, 1–0.^[3] Porto's league campaign began a week later on the 18. Going into the 2007–08 season, Porto were the holders of the Primeira Liga after claiming the league title on the last day of the season.^[4] The 2007–08 league campaign saw the Portistas claim a 23rd Portuguese top-flight title on 5 April 2008 over Estrela da Amadora.^{[5] [6]}

Porto competed in the two domestic cups, the Taça de Portugal and the Taça da Liga. In the Taça de Portugal, the Dragões progressed through five rounds to reach the final, where they were defeated by Sporting CP at the Jamor.^[7] Porto entered the Taça da Liga in the third round, where they were eliminated by Liga de Honra side Fátima.^[8]

In Europe, Porto progressed through a group consisting of Liverpool, Marseille and Beşiktaş to reach the first knockout round. For a second consecutive season, Porto were eliminated at the first knockout round stage as they lost on penalties to German side Schalke after 1–1 scoreline over two legs.

First-team squad

2007-2008 Season

Stats as of the end of the 2007–08 season. Games played and goals scored only refers to appearances and goals in the Primeira Liga.

	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Since	Date of Birth (Age)	Signed from
Goalkeepers
0	Helton		GK	2005	2008 5, df=yes	União de Leiria	0	0
0	Mariano Gonzalez		GK	2008	20 May 2008	US Palermo	0	0
0	Nuno Espirito Santo		GK	1974	20 May 2008	Desportivo Aves	0	0
0	Hugo Ventura		GK	2007	20 May 2008	Porto Academy	0	0
Defenders
0	Milan Stepanov		CB	2004	20 May 2008	Trabzonspor	0	0
0	Pedro Emanuel		CB	2002	20 May 2008	Boavista	0	0
0	Marek Čech		LB	2005	20 May 2008	Sparta Prague	0	0
0	José Bosingwa		RB	2003	20 May 2008	Boavista	0	0
0	Jorge Fucile		RB	2006	20 May 2008	Liverpool de Montevideo	0	0
0	Bruno Alves (VC)		CB	2001	20 May 2008	Porto Academy	0	0
0	Lino		LB	2007	20 May 2008	Académica de Coimbra	0	0
0	Andre Pinto		CB	2006	20 May 2008	Porto Academy	0	0
0	João Paulo		CB	2006	20 May 2008	União de Leiria	0	0
Midfielders
0	Przemyslaw Kazmierczak		DM	2007	20 May 2008	Pogon Szczecin	0	0
0	Lucho González (C)		CM / AM	2005	20 May 2008	River Plate	0	0
0	Raul Meireles		CM	2004	20 May 2008	Boavista	0	0
0	Paulo Assunção		DM	2004	20 May 2008	Nacional	0	0
0	André Castro		CM	2007	20 May 2008	Porto Academy	0	0
Forwards
0	Ricardo Quaresma		LW / RW	2004	20 May 2008	Barcelona	0	0
0	Lisandro López		CF	2005	20 May 2008	Racing Club	0	0
0	Tarik Sektioui		LW / RW	2006	20 May 2008	AZ	0	0
0	Leandro Lima		AM	2007	20 May 2008	São Caetano	0	0
0	Ernesto Farias		CF	2007	20 May 2008	River Plate	0	0
0	Edgar		CF	2007	20 May 2008	Marítimo	0	0
0	Rabiola		CF	2007	20 May 2008	Vitória S.C.	0	0
0	Hélder Postiga		CF	2004	20 May 2008	Tottenham Hotspur	0	0
0	Adriano		CF	2006	20 May 2008	Cruzeiro	0	0
0	Bruno Moraes		CF	2003	20 May 2008	Santos	0	0

Key events

May

• 25: After five years at the club where he was primarily used as a back up in the full-back position to Nuno Valente, Pedro Emanuel and Ricardo Costa, César Peixoto leaves the Dragões to join Primeira Liga club Braga on a free transfer.^[9]
• 31: English club Manchester United sign Brazilian midfielder Anderson for €30 million.^[10]

June

• 2: Porto announce the signing of Brazilian defensive midfielder Fernando from Vila Nova as a replacement for Anderson.^[11]
• 15: Porto sign Polish midfielder Przemysław Kaźmierczak from Pogoń Szczecin for €1.3 million. Kaźmierczak had been on loan to Portuguese side Boavista during the 2006–07 season where his displays attracted interest from several European clubs.^[12]

July

• 7: Porto defeat third side division side Tourizense in their first pre-season game of the season. In a match which saw nine goals, the Portistas would six score of those. Porto's goals came from Adriano, Edgar, Hélder Postiga, Ricardo Quaresma and Luis Aguiar, who scored twice.^[13]
• 10: Spanish club Real Madrid sign Pepe from Porto for €30 million.^[14]
• 11: In the first game of their tour of the Netherlands, Porto thrash amateur Dutch side Sportclub Irene 10–0.^[15]
• 14: Porto follow up their thrashing of Sportclub Irene, with a 4–0 victory over second division Den Bosch to claim their third consecutive pre-season win.^[16]
• 16: Argentine midfielder Mariano González signs for the Portistas from Italian side Palermo on a season-long loan.^[17]
• 18: Belgian side Genk inflict on the Azuis e Brancos their first defeat of the pre-season campaign.^[18]
• 19: Serbian defender Milan Stepanov signs from Trabzonspor for fee of €3.4 million.^[19]
• 21: In Porto's official presentation to its members of their 2007–08 squad, the Dragões defeat French side Monaco, 2–1. Lisandro López and Hélder Postiga scored Porto's goals.^[20]
• 26: Porto win the Centenarian Atlanta Tournament after claiming two 1–0 victories over Serbian side Red Star Belgrade and tournament hosts Atalanta.^{[21] [22]}

August

• 3: Porto start off their last tournament of the pre-season campaign with a 0–0 draw against Feyenoord in the Rotterdam Tournament.^[23]
• 5: Porto claim a 3–0 a victory over Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua,^[24] to win the Rotterdam pre-season tournament.^[25]
• 11: The Dragões begin their season with a defeat to Sporting CP in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.^[26]
• 18: Porto start off their 2007–08 league campaign with a 2–1 win away to Braga. Ricardo Quaresma's late free-kick provided the away side with the three points.^[27]
• 26: Just two weeks after losing the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira to Sporting CP, Porto defeat the Lisbon side 1–0. Raul Meireles scored Porto's only goal of the game.^[28]
• 30: Porto draws Beşiktaş, Liverpool and Marseille in the Champions League draw.^[29]

September

• 27: Porto suffer a shock third round exit at the hands of Fátima in the Taça da Liga. After the match ended 0–0 in normal time, the game proceeded to penalties where Fátima's Marinho scored the winning penalty to send his side through to the next round after Porto's Mariano González missed his spot kick.^[30]

October

• 29: The Azuis e Brancos defeat Leixões, 3–0 in game week 8 to win their eighth consecutive league game of the campaign.^[31]

December

• 1: Porto defeat Benfica on match day 12. Ricardo Quaresma's 42nd-minute strike gave Porto the victory over the Encarnados to give his team a seven-point lead over their Lisbon rivals.^[32]

January

• 15: After only two league starts during the first half of the 2007–08 season, Portuguese striker Hélder Postiga moves to Greek side Panathinaikos on a six-month loan.^[33]

February

• 10: Porto comfortably defeat fourth division side Sertanense 4–0 to progress to the quarter-finals of the cup. Ernesto Farías, Tarik Sektioui and Przemysław Kaźmierczak scored Porto's goals.^[34]

April

• 30: Porto renews the contracts of Tarik Sektioui and Leandro Lima. The Moroccan's contract was renewed for another season, whilst Lima's was renewed until 2013.^{[35] [36]}

May

Pre-season and friendlies

Matches

Competitions

Overall

Competition	Started round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira	Final	Runners-up	11 August 2007
Primeira Liga		1st	18 August 2007	10 May 2008
Taça de Portugal	Fourth round	Runners-up	7 December 2007	18 May 2008
Taça da Liga	Third round	Third round	26 September 2007
UEFA Champions League	Group stage	First knockout round	18 September 2007	5 March 2008

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

See main article: 2007 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

Taça de Portugal

See main article: 2007–08 Taça de Portugal.

Taça da Liga

See main article: 2007–08 Taça da Liga.

UEFA Champions League

See main article: 2007–08 UEFA Champions League.

Round of 16

Notes and References

1. Web site: Liga Bwin.com – Jornada 27. League Bwin.com – Gameweek 27. ForaDeJogo. pt. 3 January 2014.
2. Web site: Taça de Portugal – 1/4Final. Cup of Portugal – 1/4Final. ForaDeJogo. pt. 3 January 2014.
3. Web site: Supertaça: Sporting vence FC Porto e conquista troféu pela sexta vez. Supertaça: Sporting defeats FC Porto and conquers trophy for a sixth time. Público. 7 August 2007. 19 June 2013. pt.
4. Web site: Baía: "Importância como nas épocas em que joguei". Baía: "Importance like the other seasons where I played". Record. pt. 20 May 2007. 3 January 2014.
5. Web site: Festa no Dragão. Party in the Dragão. Record. pt. 5 April 2008. 3 January 2014.
6. Web site: FC PORTO-E. AMADORA, 6–0 (Lucho 9', Tarik 11', Quaresma 65', Maurício p.b. 70', Bruno Alves 78', Lisandro 87'). FC PORTO-E. AMADORA, 6–0 (Lucho 9, Tarik 11, Quaresma 65, Maurício o.g. 70, Bruno Alves 78, Lisandro 87). Record. pt. 5 April 2008. 3 January 2014.
7. News: É uma vitória justa no jogo e na competição. It's a fair win for the match and competition. Expresso. 18 May 2008. 3 January 2014.
8. News: FÁTIMA-FC PORTO, 0–0 (4–2 gp). FÁTIMA-FC PORTO, 0–0 (4–2 ps). Record. pt. 26 September 2007. 3 January 2014.
9. News: César Peixoto ruma ao Sp. Braga. César Peixoto goes to Sp. Braga. Record. pt. 25 May 2007. 4 January 2014.
10. News: Anderson sai por 30 milhões. Anderson leaves for 30 million. Record. pt. 31 May 2007. 4 January 2014.
11. News: Porto put faith in Fernando. UEFA. 2 June 2007. 4 January 2014.
12. News: Kaz já não vai fugir. Kaz is not going to escape. Record. pt. 15 June 2007. 4 January 2014.
13. News: Luís Aguiar bisa no particular com o Tourizense (6–3). Luís Aguiar brace in a friendly with Tourizense (6–3). Record. pt. 7 July 2007. 7 January 2014.
14. News: Madrid pick up Pepe from Porto. UEFA. 10 July 2008. 4 January 2014.
15. News: Dragões goleiam SC Irene. Dragões thrash SC Irene. Record. pt. 11 July 2007. 7 January 2014.
16. News: Dragões goleiam Den Bosch (4–0). Dragões thrash Den Bosch (4–0). Record. pt. 14 July 2007. 7 January 2014.
17. News: Mariano González está no Porto. Mariano González is in Porto. Record. pt. 16 July 2007. 3 January 2014.
18. News: GENK-FC PORTO, 1–0 (Barda 15). GENK-FC PORTO, 1–0 (Barda 15). Record. pt. 18 July 2007. 7 January 2014.
19. News: Stepanov a caminho do Dragão. Stepanov on his way to the Dragão. Record. pt. 19 July 2007. 3 January 2014.
20. News: FC PORTO-MONACO, 2–1 (Lisandro 38, Postiga 53 g.p.; Pino 80). FC PORTO-MONACO, 2–1 (Lisandro 38, Postiga 53 p.k.; Pino 80). Record. pt. 21 July 2007. 7 January 2014.
21. News: ATALANTA-FC PORTO, 0–1 (Lisandro 8). ATALANTA-FC PORTO, 0–1 (Lisandro 8). Record. pt. 26 July 2007. 7 January 2014.
22. News: FC PORTO-ESTRELA VERMELHA, 1–0 (Adriano 9). FC PORTO-ESTRELA VERMELHA, 1–0 (Adriano 9). Record. pt. 26 July 2007. 7 January 2014.
23. News: FEYENOORD-FC PORTO, 0–0. FEYENOORD-FC PORTO, 0–0. Record. pt. 3 August 2007. 7 January 2014.
24. News: FC PORTO-S. SHENHUA, 3–0 (Tarik 5, Leandro Lima 38, 41). FC PORTO-S. SHENHUA, 3–0 (Tarik 5, Leandro Lima 38, 41). Record. pt. 5 August 2007. 7 January 2014.
25. News: Liverpool e Feyenoord empatam e dão título ao FC Porto. Liverpool and Feyenoord draw and give the title to FC Porto. Record. pt. 5 August 2007. 7 January 2014.
26. News: FC PORTO-SPORTING, 0–1 (Izmailov 75). Record. pt. 11 August 2007. 7 January 2014.
27. News: SC Braga 1–2 FC Porto. ZeroZero. pt. 7 January 2014.
28. News: FC Porto 1–0 Sporting. ZeroZero. pt. 7 January 2014.
29. Web site: Reds face Porto, Marseille and Besiktas. Liverpool. 24 August 2006. 7 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140107231258/http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/reds-face-porto-marseille-and-besiktas. 7 January 2014. dead. dmy-all.
30. News: FC Porto foi a Fátima perder a fé na vitória. FC Porto went to Fátima to lose faith in victory. Diário de Notícias. pt. 27 September 2007. 3 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140104210835/http://www.dn.pt/inicio/interior.aspx?content_id=985647. 4 January 2014. dead.
31. News: FC Porto 3–0 Leixões. ZeroZero. pt. 7 January 2014.
32. News: O clássico e a Liga. The classic of the league. Record. pt. 2 December 2007. 3 January 2014.
33. News: Panathinaikos take on Porto's Postiga. UEFA. 15 January 2008. 4 January 2014.
34. News: SERTANENSE-FC PORTO, 0–4 (Tarik Sektioui 7, Farías 35, 49, Kazmierczak 45+2). SERTANENSE-FC PORTO, 0–4 (Tarik Sektioui 7, Farías 35, 49, Kazmierczak 45+2). Record. pt. 10 February 2008. 4 January 2014.
35. News: Tarik assegurado por mais um ano. Tarik secured for another year. Record. 26 September 2007. 3 January 2014.
36. News: Leandro Lima até 2013. Leandro Lima until 2013. Record. pt. 30 April 2008. 3 January 2014.