Vilas Morenas full of spikes and without the ball: Alentejo is absent from the main level

The conquest of freedom 50 years ago, profound political and social changes, the Carnation Revolution, Zeca Afonso’s Grandola Vila Morena, the agrarian reform begun and then stopped, the end of repression and dictatorship – all this has been experienced in the Alentejo since April 25, 1974. What did not happen was a paradigm shift that would have brought the region onto the football map of our country – with rare exceptions.

All things considered, the revolution ultimately consolidated the state of the “desert” at the highest level of our existing football from Setúbal to the Algarve. The last Alentejo stronghold in the 1st division was Campomaiorense… 23 years ago.

In the historic 1945/46 season, when Belenenses became champions, Sport Lisbon e Elvas became the first club to put the Alentejo on the football map. The role later passed to O’Elvas and Lusitano de Évora, and they were eventually “forgotten” at Campo Mayor in 2001. On April 25, 1974, there was no club in the Alentejo 1st club for the next 50 years, with only seven seasons of first-class football being played in the Alentejo. “This is the price for the interior. To bring a player, you need to pay more, provide a house, a car…” notes Pedro Caldeira, president of Lusitano de Évora, the Alentejo club that spent the most time in the 1st.

Even Juanito, the Elvas midfielder who played in the top flight from 1986 to 1988, notes: “The city was doing well, there were people willing to invest in the club, and this was the only way it was possible. At that time there was strong trade, now there are difficulties, unemployment, no industry, no funds. I played for Campomaiorense, but in the 2nd League, Delta supported everyone and we had good conditions.”

From the Portuguese Championship down

Away from the main levels of national football for more than two decades, Alentejo clubs have been battling this season to stay in the Portuguese Championship or avoid relegation to county level. In Serie D, Lusitano de Évora finished third, while the places in Ligue 3 went to V. Setúbal and Moncarapachense. Elvas finished 6th and Serpa 9th, while Juventude de Évora and Vasco Gama Vidigueira, 10th and 11th respectively, went to districts. Moura, champion of Beja, follows in the opposite direction.

Unexpected dream did not happen again

The last “ambassador” of Alentejo football at the main national level was Campomaiorense in 2001. A player until April 25, 1974, director of football when the Ryanos were in first place, Pedro Morsela leaves us with his experience. “When I played, even in the first team, it was all local silverware. About 90% of the composition were people from Campo Mayor. I joined the troops on April 23, 1974 in Santarem. I still went home on the weekends, and on May 1 I was already in the barracks,” he recalled.

“I graduated around 1982. Rui Nabeiro was the great developer of the Campomaiorense project, the goals were never set, no one imagined what would follow. In the early 90s it was the son [João Manuel] It took root at the club, things took a natural course, we rose up and played ten years of professional football. Nothing lasts forever, but it has reached a level that has never been thought of,” said Pedro Morsela, who does not hesitate to point out the reasons why Alentejo has not appeared on the main football maps for 23 years: “Interior has always been a hallmark and will continue to celebrate. Passion, narrow-mindedness and competition are gone, football is increasingly becoming a business. In football it pays off, politically and socially. The major urban centers, Lisbon, Porto, Braga, are all crowded. Aveiro deserved to have a club in the 1st League, but this is not happening. Chaves is an exception, but a trip to Castelo Branca, Guarda, Braganza… This is desertification. Portalegre has less than 100 thousand inhabitants,” he notes with regret.