Galatasaray in on the hunt for Benfica's Javier Saviola

Galatasaray look to be back in the hunt for Benfica's Javier Saviola. The Turkish club knows that the striker has fallen to third choice striker behind Cardozo and Rodrigo.

Benfica also look to be leaning towards using U21 portuguese sensation Nelson Oliveira, Saviola could find himself further down the pecking order, with the transfer window set to open in a few weeks. Saviola could be in his final days with the club.

Euro 2012 simulation of possible groups

The Euro 2012 group draw is upon us this week, with the draw taking place on Friday in Kiev. The Euro is always one of the toughest tournaments to win and this edition will be no different.

We decide to take a look at what the groups could look like through our own simulation and this is what we got.

Check out the seedings and pots, CLICK HERE

First Simulation

Group A: Poland, Italy, Sweden, France

Group B: Netherlands, Russia, Greece, Ireland

Group C: Spain, Germany, PORTUGAL, Denmark

Group D: Ukraine, England, Croatia, Czech Republic

What we see in our first simulation is that Portugal has been place in the "Group of Death" facing the defending champs, the second favoured Germans and the country that defeated them in the Group Stage of qualifying.

Second Simulation

Group A: Poland, England, PORTUGAL, Denmark

Group B: Netherlands, Russia, Croatia, Ireland

Group C: Spain, Italy, Sweden, Czech Republic

Group D: Ukraine, Germany, Greece, France

The Portuguese avoid the group of death but barely but would find themselves in tough with the hosts, the English and a Danish side that just keeps joining us in group stages.

One thing is for certain, no matter where Portugal find themselves come Friday, the Euro 2012 will be one tough tournament.

Looking back at Week 11 in the Portuguese League

Week 11 kicked off after a long hiatus due to International play and the Taca de Portugal qualifying. Beira Mar defeated Academica 1-0 to move into sixth place in the league.

Saturday was Derby day in the league as Nacional played Martimo to a 2-2 draw in Madeira, while Benfica hosted Sporting at the Luz. Benfica who were down to 10 men for most of the second half, held off Sporting 1-0 and move into top spot in Portugal.

Sunday saw Feirense move out of the basement with a 2-0 victory over Rio Ave, Gil Vicente then got the best of Leiria with a 2-1 win. FC Porto held of a late charge by Braga at the Drago to win 3-2 and Olhanense and Pacos Ferreira played to a 1-1 draw.

On Monday, Guimaraes whipped a 10 man Setubal 3-0 moving them into 8th place in Portugal after a poor start to the season.

Road Team of the Week: Beira Mar

Home Team of the Week: Guimaraes

Player of the Week: Toscano (Guimaraes)

Euro 2012 Finals Seeding revealed

The final seedings for Euro 2012 have been revealed ahead of the group stage draw on December 2nd. The hosts Ukraine and Poland have already been placed in their groups with Poland in Group A and Ukraine in Group D.

The remaining pots will have two countries in pot one and four countries in the other three pots, no team in the same pot can be placed in the same group.

Pot A: Spain, Netherlands

Pot B: Germany, Italy, England, Russia

Pot C: Croatia, Greece, PORTUGAL, Sweden

Pot D: Denmark, France, Czech Republic, Ireland

This means that you could see a Group of Death with Spain, Germany, Portugal and France, scary though.

Portuguese Players that could be heading to Euro 2012

Portugal are ready to head to Euro 2012 in Poland-Ukraine and now the next task for coach Paulo Bento will be to select a 23 man squad. Bento has made it be known that Ricardo Carvalho and Bosingwa will not be a part of the team but which players do have a chance?

We name our Top 50 list of players that could be a part of the Portugal National side come Euro 2012.

Goalkeepers:

Rui Patricio (Sporting)
Beto (CFR Cluj)
Eduardo (Benfica)
Daniel Fernandes (CFR Cluj)
Mika (Benfica)
Quim (Braga)
Hilario (Chelsea)
Mario Felgueiras (Brasov)

Defenders:

Bruno Alves (Zenit)
Pepe (Real Madrid)
Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid)
Joao Pereira (Sporting)
Silvio (Atletico Madrid)
Rolando (FC Porto)
Daniel Carrico (Sporting)
Sereno (Cologne)
Ricardo Costa (Valencia)
Pedrinho (Lorient)
Tiago Pinto (Rio Ave)
Miguel (Valencia)
Miguel Garcia (Orduspor)
Nuno Coelho (Braga)

Midfielders:

Raul Meireles (Chelsea)
Miguel Veloso (Genoa)
Joao Moutinho (FC Porto)
Eliseu (Malaga)
Vieirinha (PAOK)
Duda (Malaga)
Paulo Machado (Toulouse)
Sergio Pinto (Hannover 96)
Ruben Amorim (Benfica)
Hugo Viana (Braga)
Andre Santos (Sporting)
Castro (Sporting Gijon)
Manuel Fernandes (Besiktas)
Carlos Martins (Granada)
Ruben Micael (Zaragoza)

Forwards:

Crisitiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Nani (Manchester United)
Helder Postiga (Zaragoza)
Hugo Almeida (Besiktas)
Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas)
Danny (Zenit)
Varela (FC Porto)
Liedson (Corinthians)
Wilson Eduardo (Olhanense)
Nuno Gomes (Braga)
Eder (Academica)
Nelson Oliveira (Benfica)
Helder Barbosa (Braga)

Portugal get it right in Bosnian thrashing

Portugal finally put all the pieces together today in Lisbon with a 6-2 thrashing of a outplayed Bosnia and Herzegovina squad. This was a game many felt could have gone either way before the whistle to start this game was even blown.

Ronaldo played what may have been his best game for Portugal scoring early in both halfs, silencing his critics at least for one game, that he does not show up for Portugal when their is a big game on the line.

Portugal knew coming in that a win was the most likely route to Euro 2012 with just about any draw giving the Bosnians a spot instead. The Portuguese dominated both halfs controlling the ball possession. The Portugese earned 10 corners to Bosnia's 0 and scored 6 goals on 9 shots.

Ronaldo and Nani scored in the first half with two beauties from a distance to give the Quinas the 2-0 lead just 24 minutes in. The Bosnians only bright spot of the half, was earning a penalty kick late in the half to cut the lead at the half to 2-1.

Ronaldo then timed a Moutinho pass to perfection and undressed the Bosnia keeper Begovic o restore the two goal lead. Lulic then earned a double yellow card right after the goal, a dumb move by the midfielder who though it was a great time to mouth off to the referee.

The Bosnians then once again cut the lead to one as the Portuguese defense fell asleep at the back end but this was to not happen again in the game. Postiga with a pair between a Veloso free kick goal pushed the Portugal lead to 6-2 and their ticket to Euro 2012 was complete.

Congratulations to the Portuguese Squad for making next summers tournament attractive to all the fans around the world, who would we cheer for if not the Quinas, now if only Bento would kiss and make up with Carvalho and Bosingwa before then.

The Keys to Portugal victory at home

Portugal get side to play the second leg after a disappointing scoreless draw in Bosnia. The Portuguese face a tough task knowing that a victory is essential, with Bosnia holding the upper hand on away goals with virtually any draw except 0-0.

The Keys to Portugal victory over Bosnia:

Score First

Portugal will need to find the net first in this encounter and the earlier the better, an early Portuguese goal will have Bosnia opening up from their defensive shell. Portugal have the fire power to punish the Bosnians if this happens.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The Captain missed a glorious chance in the first leg, some may say the bad condition of the field had something to do with that but never the less # 7 will need to bring his game to another level. A Ronaldo goal not only inspires the confidence in the player but also the squad.

Control the set pieces

The kryptonite of the Portugal National team, Portugal will need to contain the Bosnians on set pieces, the game could be won or lost with just one miscoverage.

The keys to Portugal victory in Bosnia

Portugal get side to play the first leg of two on the road today against Bosnia. The Portuguese face a better Bosnia side then the played two years ago in qualifying for the World Cup and require some keys to victory today.

The Keys to Portugal victory over Bosnia:

Ball Control

Portugal will need to control the ball in the midfield, with rumours that the pitch in Bosnia is in poor condition, is all part of the game plan by the Bosnians who know Portugal love to work the ball around.

Cover Dzeko

The Bosnian and Manchester City striker is a dangerous striker better then any we have in the Portugal squad. Alves and Pepe would do well to stick to him like glue

Shoot

The Bosnians will be without the service of 3 of their regular four starters on the backline (sound famaliar?), Portugal will need to light up the Bosnian backend with shot after shot from inside the penalty box area.

Looking Back at Week 10 in the Portuguese League

Week 10 kicked off with a loud bang as Guimaraes thumped Pacos Ferreira 5-1 leaping them out of the cellar and into a tie for 10th place in Portugal. Maritimo then on Saturday defeated Academica 3-2 temporarily moving the club into third place in the league. Porto was then held on the road by Olhanense, playing the Algarve club to a scoreless draw.

Sunday saw Rio Ave win over Nacional 2-1, while Beira Mar took the win against Feirense 2-1. Setubal and Gil Vicente also played to a scoreless draw on the day. Benfica and Braga then played the match of the week at Braga's Axa Stadium where a late goal by Benfica earned the club a 1-1 draw. Benfica failed to take advantage of Porto's stumble the day before to move into the top spot alone. .

Sporting though did take full advantage of the loss points by both Porto and Benfica, winning 3-1 over U. Leiria and now sit third one point behind both clubs for top spot in Portugal.

Road Team of the Week: Guimaraes

Home Team of the Week: Sporting

Player of the Week: Edgar Silva (Guimaraes)

No Bosingwa, as Danny and Silvio replaced

Portugal coach Paulo Bento has replaced Danny & Silvio who have withdrawn from the squad before their crucial playoff with Bosnia due to injuries. Bento though did not call up Bosingwa which leaves many of us Portuguese fans scratching our heads. Malaga winger Eliseu and PAOK midfielder Vieirinha have replaced the injured players as the club prepares for Fridays first leg.

Portugal announce squad for Euro playoff against Bosnia

Portugal announce squad for Euro 2012 playoff against Bosnia. Coach Bento made a surprise omission leaving Chelsea starter Jose Bosingwa off the squad but the National side do have Pepe, Fabio Coentrao, Danny and Hugo Almeida back in the fold.

Portugal roster for November 11 & 15 playoff:

Goalies

Rui Patricio (Sporting)
Beto (Cluj)
Eduardo (Benfica)

Defense

Bruno Alves (Zenit)
Pepe (Real Madrid)
Joao Pereira (Sporting)
Silvio (Atletico Madrid)
Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid)
Sereno (Cologne)
Rolando (FC Porto)

Midfield

Carlos Martins (Granada)
Raul Meireles (Chelsea)
Miguel Veloso (Genoa)
Ruben Micael (Zaragoza)
Ruben Amorim (Benfica)
Danny (Zenit)
Joao Moutinho (FC Porto)

Forwards

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Nani (Manchester United)
Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas)
Hugo Almeida (Besiktas)
Nuno Gomes (Braga)
Helder Postiga (Zaragoza)

Jose Mourinho & Andre Villas-Boas, finalists for FIFA coach of the year

Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas are both nominated finalists for the FIFA Coach of the Year along with eight other coaches from around the World.

Mourinho the 2010 winner, snapped Real Madrid's run of 18 years without a Copa del Ray and took the club to the final four of the Champions League, while Villas-Boas won a treble with Porto taking home the Portuguese League, the Portuguese Cup and the Europa League.

The Finalists are:

Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid)
Andre Villas-Boas (FC Porto/Chelsea)
Vicente del Bosque (Spain National Team)
Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
Rudi Garcia (Lille)
Pep Guardiola (Barcelona)
Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund)
Joachim Low (Germany National team)
Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay national team)
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal).

Looking Back at Week 9 in the Portuguese League

Week 9 started off with FC Porto earning a 3-0 victory over Pacos Ferreira and moving the club into sole position of first place in Portugal, this lasted less then 24 hours as Benfica earned a 2-1 victory  over Olhanense while Braga lost ground on the leaders slipping five points back after playing Academica to a scoreless draw.

Sunday saw Nacional defeat Beira Mar 2-1, while Leiria and Guimaraes moved away from the cellar with 2-0 and 2-1 victories over Setubal and Rio Ave. Sporting continued their torrid play of late with a 2-0 victory over Feirense and sit in third spot in the Portuguese League.

On Monday, Maritimo's and Gil Vicente encounter was called of in the 80th minute due to heavy fog with the game scoreless, the game will conclude today if conditions permit.

Road Team of the Week: Sporting

Home Team of the Week: FC Porto

Player of the Week: Rodrigo (Benfica)