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2013 Learning from the best: FC Porto

Dec

By Dec,
in Series & Older Games

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Introduction:

FC Porto may not be the most well known football team in the world by a long shot but they are one that hold my respect more than others. The "Porto" philosophy is one that aspiring managers look at and dream of, this is more than one man and his mission as their managers (9 since 2003-04)  have come and gone yet every time the Portuguese rise to the challenge and the Estádio do Dragão is always entertained. So what makes Porto so admirable? Well apart from 8 out of the last 10 Portuguese titles in a league where rivals Benfica show their weight by constantly doing well in the Champions and Europa Leagues, Porto also are consistently on top of Europe managing a Champions League win, 1 quarter final spot, 5 appearances in the round of 16 and a Europa League medal to their name in the same timeframe. To put it into perspective of this feet, Arsenal have never won the Champions League, Manchester City have never progressed past the group stages and they have the same amount of European medals as Chelsea!

 

Now one may argue that while Europe is all well and good the Portuguese league isn't the strongest and I have to agree but this also hinders them as it means less players will be attracted to the club and more will want to leave. This is something that I am going to talk about as it isn't the success that makes Porto so admirable but it is the way they achieve that by buying and selling. Imagine Barcelona without Pique, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. Do you think they will survive if they only spent 1/10th of what they got from one of them players (15-20m)? Probably not, yet Porto manage to do this every year and while more teams continue to get invested in by rich people with more cash than sense who would rather spend £50m on Fernando Torres to flop than £10m on a risk for a talented youngster who if given the chance will shine like Hulk did.

 

Strategy:

Porto's strategy is pretty simple on the face of things and is something Arsene Wenger tries to do with his Arsenal team. The "buy low/young, sell high" policy is one Porto have mastered over the years and works really well for them considering the stars they sell aren't just successful at the club but afterwards too. Managing to 'steal' Portugal's talent from other Portuguese teams is one of these reasons managing to buy players;  such as getting Ricardo Carvalho into the junior team then selling him on for £20m 7 years later as he helped guide them to the Champions League picking up the title of "best European defender" given by UEFA in his last year at the club. This wasn't the end of Carvalho's success though, he won 3 Premier League titles with Chelsea, picked up the players' player of the year at the club and got into the 2006 World Cup best XI for Portugal. This applies to Deco too winning UEFA's best midfielder of the year at Porto and then Barcelona.

 

Porto have a distinct advantage of also being a stepping stone for a lot of South American players into Europe. Players such as Falcao, Hulk and Anderson who have stepped into the Portuguese League and come out with big money transfers of roughly around £90m combined! When you take into consideration these players cost Porto a measly maximum of £20m that makes a £70m profit on players who have won titles and individual awards at their new clubs with the most notable being Falcao's naming in the 2012 UEFA best XI. These players all had the core ethos and natural talent to play the "FCP way" but were from unknown or smaller clubs to the European giants.

While many think this is the end of the story it isn't, Porto have another trick up their sleeve. They buy back! If a star hasn't done that well abroad or his time is coming to an end they get him back. Current captain Lucho González is an example of that by selling him for £15m then bringing him back on a free just 3 years later, it is a method that works as a back up when the youngsters aren't performing or ready and while some won't move on it brings together a stability and knowhow of the club along with players who have been playing at great clubs while help lining Porto's "next generation".

 

But why does this work? Now while it is safe to say 9 managers in 10 seasons is a lot and each one will have their own style it has to be said that the core of the team while changing still mirrors what has gone. Ferreira for example is mirrored by Alex Sandro, Deco was replaced by Moutinho and Hulk had Jackson Martinez as back up. For Porto it is about finding the right spine of the team with similar traits to what has gone or is going. They know their top performers will move on after a while so they use this to their advantage spending on the next generation or bringing players back that have done the job before meaning they make a profit and get back a player who is not only a more mature player, but also a mentor for the next wave of players and a pinnacle go to point in order to keep consistency and the winning mentality.

 

Using this in FMH:

Now let's translate this into FMH. We've admired the success and the methods but what can we take away from this to put into our management? Firstly I think it is don't be afraid to go for younger players who aren't well known, if Porto didn't sign Hulk from Japan he'd probably still be there but they gave him a chance and it made them a nice profit and got them a few trophies along the way. The next is about age, while I have focused a lot of this article on how they bought young you cannot forget the older stars. Paulo Ferreira was 23 when he was bought to the club but his two years there earned him a move to Chelsea and Porto a wad of cash. The player doesn't have to be under 21 to be the best player or make a profit and Deco, Ferreira and co are prime examples of this.

 

Porto also go against a common rule in football of never going back, many say this but why? How come Porto break this rule and do well? The answer is simple, Porto sell them for a lot, some love the club for being that stepping stone to the big leagues and if they don't do as well as expected against tougher competition then Porto welcomes them back for a nominal fee or nothing at all, in which they perform well again as they are loved and against lesser opponents for a lot of the season giving them confidence. Lastly it is important to note that while Porto sell their key players they still have a spine of the team to help the signings gel and give the youngsters confidence. These don't have to be the most technically gifted players nor do they have to be the important players but they just have to be around the first team, in between the patches and stitching the team together.

 

Closing Words:

So Mr 'Future Wenger', why not look at Porto for your inspiration instead of a flailing Frenchman who tries to emulate the Portuguese side but cannot win a trophy despite spending £15m on players? Play the Porto way, not the Wenger way and you get success and profit. This is the secret middle step in Football Manager Handheld and one you should take if you aren't Manchester City, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain or any other club with money for synapses.



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Amazing read Dec, fantastic work! I've always wanted to read more into Portuguese teams' transfer policies, such as Porto.. So this is very informative indeed :).

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Thanks guys.

 

Goonie - Why not? Doesn't Wenger buy mainly young then sell his star players for big money? The theories are the same, just Wenger does it poorly.

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Thanks guys.

 

Goonie - Why not? Doesn't Wenger buy mainly young then sell his star players for big money? The theories are the same, just Wenger does it poorly.

The players we've sold who were bought in young were from a while ago. Most of our recent buys have been older more proven players because we haven't had the luxury of being able to take risk on players. The move to the Emirates Etc.... is part of this. We're in a much more stable position now as shown with the Higuain transfer. I don't see us selling star players anymore. Wengers will be truely appreciated when we see what Arsenal gain from the job he has done in the next 10 years. He has transformed us

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He had a plan and he has had to abandon it in recent years, nothing to do with finances really as your chairman came out and said he had money EVERY year. It was the fact his first wave failed, his second wave was failing and his job was in jeopardy as fans get restless. You had money but you are slipping down the Premier League and Wenger has had to abandon his ship as players who came to win trophies haven't done so and their performances got them into the sights of teams who have potential to win trophies in the short term. Also Higuain hasn't signed, I wouldn't count your chickens as you may find it is another David Villa.

Really Arsenal tried to do what Porto do but without being the stepping stone, the success they once had though meant this was inevitable to happen if the trophies dried up. Players see them as the easiest English team to get into  while still being in the Champions League and feel if they can prove themselves there then they can move to Manchester United, Manchester City, Barcelona or another big team. This is exactly the same way Porto operates but they have learnt to use that as an advantage.

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In 08 he said we had to sell players like Adebayor and then 12 months later we had 70m to spend. It simply can't change that fast. Our new sponsorships deal with Emirates and Puma will bring in a hell of a lot of more money. Debts drastically lowered too. That's why we can now spend like we can. Wengers job was never under threat btw. I know it's not a done deal but it seems highly likely.

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I don't really see how this is different to Porto? You are just saying a possibility for the future. The fact is Wenger has bought young and sold high to bigger teams just like Porto, situation doesn't really matter the fact is the method is the same so I don't see what leg you are trying to stand on.

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Of course it wasn't but things change, Porto never wanted to sell Falcao and co I am sure but they have had to adapt and accept the selling as Wenger did.

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Congratulations on the article Dec. ;)

 

As a Porto supporter it's hard to see all these players leave but we all know they'll get a good replacement who will end up being as good as the one who's departing, or even better.

 

About what you said about some players returning to Porto, can't be sure if these players really mean what they say, but most of them express their love for the club, the city and the fans. I'm sure the city we're located in has some influence in falling in love with the club, and the support they get from the fans, and our high expectation as a big importance in all this.

 

If we tie one game, even if it is against the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, etc, we're pissed off as hell! We're used to win, we want to win, always. A draw isn't good enough for us. We stand by our club, we stand by our managers (even if they're not doing so well).

 

Everyone here knows (and trust me on this, not being biased here) that there's a big difference in the team mentality when Porto and Benfica face eachother. When they play at our home stadium, you can almost smell the fear of losing in them. But when we play at Estádio da Luz we're all over them, fearless.

 

 

Anyway, about your Wenger/Porto discussion, Wenger is also a fan of the Porto system, in his words.

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Strange. I wonder why the others haven't followed suit. Much in the same way Schalke are in so much dept for refusing to go down the Bayern/Dortmund mode route.

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If it was never the plan it's not a philosophy. It was forced upon him.

I never said it was a Wenger Philosophy I just said Wenger does it and he is the person most people look at when thinking of this. Whether this was his plan or not, he is the one who is most recognised for doing this. End of the day Wenger embraced it and accepted it into his plan.

 

Thanks for the feedback Graveluth, I was waiting for you to comment :).

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Thing is, in order for you to buy cheap and selling them for profit...they have to win. But since we're doing all the winning, they're players don't get their value up like ours do.

Fair point. From the rumours though a lot of Benfica players are highly sort after.

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Great read. Porto definitely is a team to try to emulate in FMH. 

 

For those interested in reading more about Porto's transfer philosophy (and how Benfica are trying to emulate), look here: http://espnfc.com/columns/story/_/id/1484258/brassell-benfica-challenge-rivals-transfer-kings?cc=5901

 

I know this strays away from FMH, but it is an interesting take on the top two teams in Portugal and their differing transfer policies--which can definitely be applied in the game. 

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