Billy Davies Visits SL Benfica and Sporting Lisbon During Trip To Portugal

Billy Davies attended Benfica and Sporting Lisbon training bases during trip to Portugal.

We were delighted to have received an invitation over to Portugal last week with our client Billy Davies to attend Liga Portugal clubs consisting of tours, training sessions, meetings with club officials, presentations and league matches. It was great to be joined by Fraser Williamson from the Sport Dispute Unit and Andre Duarte Costa throughout our trip.

It was a pleasure to meet club officials in Portugal and to learn a lot about the culture of foreign clubs and take in different coaching strategies. During our five-day trip we were fortunate enough to visit FC Alverca, currently competing in Liga Portugal 2, followed by European giants Sporting Lisbon and SL Benfica.

After a very busy schedule touring each club and attending several matches, we rounded our trip off at the Portuguese National Association Football Hub in Alges on the outskirts of Lisbon.

SPORTING LISBON

On Sunday we attended the Estadio Jose Alvalade to witness Sporting Lisbon v AVS in Liga Portugal. Prior to kick off we toured the trophy room, media room and were served first class hospitality before taking our seats. Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory and extended their advantage to 3 points at the top of Liga Portugal. A loud and vibrant atmosphere inside the arena followed by a young, hungry and energised football team was great to watch.

FC ALVERCA

The following morning, we moved north of the capital to visit the Estadio Alverca. On arrival we were greeted by club CEO Mathues Ornelas. It was a pleasure to meet Mathues, who showed us around the club’s stadium and the aspects of his and the coaching staff’s job roles on a daily basis.

After the conclusion of our tour, we spent time watching the clubs First Team training session led by manager Vasco Botelho da Costa. The club currently sit in tenth position in Liga Portugal 2 and were preparing for their next league match against Leixoes Sport Club on Sunday.

SL BENFICA

A massive thank you to Andre Duarte Costa and all at the Sport Dispute Unit for organising this trip and we were excited by our third club visit which was a trip to the Benfica Campus to meet club officials and management staff at European giants SL Benfica. To see the structure and running of such a prestigious club was an honour. The Benfica Campus is a first-class training base with facilities that are built to enhance first team performance and to see the culture of a foreign club was truly inspiring.

Shortly following our look around the Campus, we were taken to the outdoor training pitches to meet the academy coaching staff. To see coaches, academy players and club officials all greet us and introduce themselves shows the professionalism and respect they have for their peers.

Lastly, we were taken to meet First Team Manager Bruno Lage. It was a great insight for our client Billy Davies to have a discussion with the former Wolves manager about different coaching methods and on how he has settled at Benfica since arriving earlier this month.

PORTUGUESE ASSOCIATION NATIONAL FOOTBALL HUB

As our trip was coming to a close, we were pleased to have received an invitation to the Portuguese Football Headquarters in Lisbon to be shown around the National Football Hub, the main complex where the national team train. The history and glory of the Portuguese National Team was remarkable to see.

On arrival we were greeted by Gil Martin Alves (National Serious Case Panel Member) who offered his expert tour guide services for the day. The facilities were again amongst the worlds best and it was truly inspiring to see how officials run the Portuguese Football Association from their headquarters base.

After viewing the trophy room, museum, pitches and other training facilities followed by meeting all club officials our trip concluded.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Fraser Williamson, The Sport Dispute Unit, Andre Duarte Costa, Thura KT Win, Matheus Ornelas, Bruno Lage and Gil Martin Alves for their help and hospitality on what was a fascinating trip.

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