What ever happened to Bunyodkor?

In the summer of 2008 the transfer merry-go-round featured the usual suspects, Barcelona looking to cut Ronaldinho lose, Chelsea taking on Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo pledging another year to Manchester United. However there was a team that were making headlines that summer. They were the little known club from Tashkent, Uzbekistan called Kuruvchi.

What made this club part of the headlines wasn't the fact that they changed their name to Bunyodkor, but they announced they had "signed" Samuel Eto'o on a six-month deal from Barcelona. At the time it seemed legit as newly installed Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola didn't quiet fancy Eto'o in his side and was available to sign. However as it turned out the Eto'o "signing" was false but it did have the club in the headlines.

With this fame they did sign big in August 2008. They had lured 2002 World cup winner Rivaldo to the club along with Zico as manager. This seemed to be the start of something big with the club aiming to dominate at home and abroad. 

The club did end up winning their first ever Uzbek league title that November. Zico however didn't stay around long and by January 2009 he was in Moscow in charge of CSKA. Rivaldo however extended his contract with the club. 

In 2009 Bunyodkor ran away with the title, finishing 22 points ahead of Pakhtakor. Rivaldo was the top scorer in that campaign with 20 goals and the club reached the quarter-finals of the AFC champions league, going out to Pohang Steelers. 

2010 under Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari saw the club exit the AFC champions league at the last 16 stage but did retain the league title as well as winning the cup. 

However 2010 was to be the turning point for the club. The major financial force behind the club was folded. Luiz Felipe Scolari resigned as manager and Rivaldo terminated his contract in August 2010. 

The following season did see the club win it's 4th straight league title but they fell again at the last 16 stage in the AFC champions league to Sepahan from Iran. The big stars were gone at this stage and the club was preparing a move into a brand new stadium which would happen in 2012. 

Traditional Uzbek powerhouse Pakhtakor won back the league title in 2012 by two points from Bunyodkor. Abroad the club did have a better season. The reached the semi-finals of the AFC champions league falling to Korean's Ulsan Hyundai in a fairly one-sided tie. 

By 2013 the club was forgotten about in the greater world media. Long gone were the days of Rivaldo, Zico, Scolari and of course Eto'o. The league title returned in 2013 edging out Lokomotiv Tashkent by a point. Their AFC champions league campaign was a disappointment as they bowed out at the last 16 stage being beaten by Thai side Buriram United. 

The club are now operating on a more sound footing but without the riches to attract the big stars. They are also no longer a dominant force at home as 2014 showed with them finishing 4th and another last 16 exit in the champions league. 

This season they exited the champions league at the group stage with just a single point won and are currently lying in 4th in the league. The glow from their fame well and truly faded. 

Portuguese contender?

The Superliga is now 7 games old this season and leading the way is the familiar name of Porto but they have company at the top, and no it's not Benfica.
Instead sitting in second place level on points with Porto is Sporting Club de Portugal (Sporting CP to most). Now those who knows their Portugese football know that Sporting are one of the "Os Três Grandes" in Portugal which means they are historically one of the dominant three I'm sure you don't need me to tell you the other two. However in the last decade they have fallen quiet a bit behind their rivals Porto and Benfica. So far in fact that in 2012-13 Sporting finished 7th and missed out on Europe altogether.
That 2012-13 season was a disaster for Sporting. They were at one point actually flirting with relegation but for a revival in the second half of the season to push them to 7th. What is surprising is that the previous season Sporting were outdone in the Europa league semi-finals by Athletic Bilbao.

Proud winners of the Superliga on 18 occasions throughout history their last title was back in 2001-02 when they finished five points ahead of Boavista. What helped them win the league that season was probably star striker Mário Jardel. The Brazilian hit-man struck a phenomenal 42 league goals that season which was long before Messi and Ronaldo started posting such figures. However the league wasn't as highly ranked as it is now and so Sporting entered the following seasons' champions league at the 3rd qualifying round stage which they lost to Inter Milan. They missed out on the riches the group stage had to offer and fell in round 1 of the UEFA cup to Partizan.
The challenged for the league title in 2006-07 which they missed out on by an agonizing point to Porto. Again in 2008-09 they finished 2nd to Porto but four points off in the end. They fell away after that and didn't finish in the top 2 until 2013-14. Last season Sporting were never in the title equation but this season they could be.

Why the sudden surge up the table? well during the summer the club completed one of the most fascinating yet controversial moves in Portuguese football in recent history. They managed to get Jorge Jesus installed as manager. Jesus had turned around Benfica's fortunes in a six year spell which ended with him winning Benfica's 34th league title, which is a record. A former Sporting player Jorge Jesus' move across town was controversial given the intense rivalry between Sporting and Benfica but it is his winning mentality that seems to have got Sporting on the rise into contention.
Goalkeeper Rui Patricío is still about as is midfield general William Carvalho who has recently returned from injury. Algerian striker Islam Slimani is their top scorer with five so far and his form will also be key, as will Adrien Silva's goals from midfield. Sporting are also able to call upon some familiar names from abroad. The likes of Bryan Ruíz and Alberto Aquilani are about as is Colombian Teofilio Gutierrez so the depth seems to be there to juggle both league and Europa league this season. In Europe they are in group H with Lokomotiv Moskva, Besiktas and Skenderbeu Korce with one point from two games thus far.

With the two week international break now upon us, fans of Sporting are eager to see what will happen in their first game back. Sporting are away to Benfica in the Lisbon derby. A massive test to their title credentials. Should Sporting emerge with a victory then that could give them the confidence to go ahead and push Porto and Benfica for that first title since 2002.