# 2010–11 Primeira Liga

The 2010–11 Primeira Liga (also known as Liga ZON Sagres for sponsorship reasons) was the 77th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. It began on 15 August 2010 and ended on 14 May 2011. A total of 16 teams contested the league, 14 of which already took part in the previous season and two of which were promoted from the Liga de Honra. Benfica were the defending champions but finished runners-up to Porto, who won their 25th league title in the club's first-ever unbeaten season. Porto's forward Hulk was the top scorer with 23 goals.

## Teams

Belenenses and Leixões were relegated at the end of the 2009–10 season after finishing in the bottom two places of the table. Belenenses ended an 11-year spell at the highest level of Portuguese football, while Leixões returned to the Liga de Honra after three years.
The two relegated teams were replaced by Liga de Honra champions Beira-Mar and runners-up Portimonense. Beira-Mar returned to the top-level league after three years of absence, and Portimonense made their first appearance in their league since being relegated at the end of the 1989–90 season.

### Team summaries

| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | 2009–10 season |
| Académica | Coimbra | Estádio Cidade de Coimbra | 30,210 | 11th |
| Beira-Mar | Aveiro | Estádio Municipal de Aveiro | 30,127 | Liga de Honra Champion |
| Benfica | Lisbon | Estádio da Luz | 65,400 | Champion |
| Braga | Braga | Estádio Municipal de Braga | 30,152 | Runner-up |
| Marítimo | Funchal | Estádio dos Barreiros | 8,922 | 5th |
| Nacional | Funchal | Estádio da Madeira | 5,132 | 7th |
| Naval 1º de Maio | Figueira da Foz | Estádio Municipal José Bento Pessoa | 12,630 | 8th |
| Olhanense | Olhão | Estádio José Arcanjo | 10,000 | 13th |
| Paços de Ferreira | Paços de Ferreira | Estádio da Mata Real | 5,255 | 10th |
| Portimonense | Portimão | Estádio Municipal de Portimão | 9,544 | Liga de Honra Runner-up |
| Porto | Porto | Estádio do Dragão | 50,399 | 3rd |
| Rio Ave | Vila do Conde | Estádio dos Arcos | 12,815 | 12th |
| Sporting CP | Lisbon | Estádio José Alvalade | 50,080 | 4th |
| União de Leiria | Leiria | Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa | 30,000 | 9th |
| Vitória de Guimarães | Guimarães | Estádio D. Afonso Henriques | 30,165 | 6th |
| Vitória de Setúbal | Setúbal | Estádio do Bonfim | 25,000 | 14th |

### Personnel and sponsoring

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Académica de Coimbra | Ulisses Morais | Orlando | Lacatoni | EFAPEL |
| Beira-Mar | Rui Bento | Hugo | Joma | Diatosta |
| Benfica | Jorge Jesus | Nuno Gomes | Adidas | tmn · meo |
| Sporting de Braga | Domingos Paciência | Vandinho | Macron | AXA |
| Marítimo | Pedro Martins | João Guilherme | Lacatoni | Banif |
| Nacional | Ivo Vieira | Bruno Patacas | Joma | Banif |
| Naval 1º de Maio | Carlos Mozer | Nicolas Godemèche | Desportreino | Hotéis Algarve Sol |
| Olhanense | Daúto Faquirá | Rui Duarte | Lacatoni | Ria Shopping |
| Paços de Ferreira | Rui Vitória | Manuel José | Lacatoni | Capital do Móvel |
| Portimonense | Carlos Azenha | Ricardo Pessoa | Macron | Kia · visitportimao.com |
| Porto | André Villas-Boas | Helton | Nike | tmn · meo |
| Rio Ave | Carlos Brito | Gaspar | Lacatoni | Nassica |
| Sporting CP | José Couceiro | Daniel Carriço | Puma | tmn · meo |
| União de Leiria | Pedro Caixinha | Marco Soares | Joma | Kia |
| Vitória de Guimarães | Manuel Machado | Nilson | Lacatoni | Finibanco |
| Vitória de Setúbal | Bruno Ribeiro | Ricardo Silva | Lacatoni | Kia |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming head coach | Date of appointment |
| União de Leiria | Lito Vidigal | Sacked | 7 July 2010 | Off-season | Pedro Caixinha | 10 July 2010 |
| Marítimo | Mitchell van der Gaag | Sacked | 14 September 2010 | 15th | Pedro Martins | 14 September 2010 |
| Naval 1º de Maio | Victor Zvunka | Sacked | 27 September 2010 | 14th | Rogério Gonçalves | 6 October 2010 |
| Académica | Jorge Costa | Resigned | 21 December 2010 | 9th | José Guilherme | 27 December 2010 |
| Naval 1º de Maio | Rogério Gonçalves | Sacked | 19 December 2010 | 16th | Carlos Mozer | 30 December 2010 |
| Portimonense | Litos | Sacked | 28 December 2010 | 16th | Carlos Azenha | 29 December 2010 |
| Académica | José Guilherme | Resigned | 20 February 2011 | 13th | Ulisses Morais | 22 February 2011 |
| Sporting CP | Paulo Sérgio | Resigned | 26 February 2011 | 3rd | José Couceiro | 26 February 2011 |
| Beira-Mar | Leonardo Jardim | Resigned | 28 February 2011 | 10th | Rui Bento | 1 March 2011 |
| Vitória de Setúbal | Manuel Fernandes | Sacked | 1 March 2011 | 14th | Bruno Ribeiro | 1 March 2011 |
| Nacional | Predrag Jokanović | Sacked | 13 March 2011 | 7th | Ivo Vieira | 13 March 2011 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Porto (C) | 30 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 73 | 16 | +57 | 84 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Benfica | 30 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 61 | 31 | +30 | 63 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Sporting CP | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 31 | +10 | 48 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | Braga | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 46 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round |
| 5 | Vitória de Guimarães | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 37 | −1 | 43 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round |
| 6 | Nacional | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 28 | 31 | −3 | 42 | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round |
| 7 | Paços de Ferreira | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 35 | 42 | −7 | 41 | |
| 8 | Rio Ave | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 35 | 33 | +2 | 38 | |
| 9 | Marítimo | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 33 | 32 | +1 | 35 | |
| 10 | União de Leiria | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 25 | 38 | −13 | 35 | |
| 11 | Olhanense | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 24 | 34 | −10 | 34 | |
| 12 | Vitória de Setúbal | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 29 | 42 | −13 | 34 | |
| 13 | Beira-Mar | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 32 | 36 | −4 | 33 | |
| 14 | Académica | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 32 | 48 | −16 | 30 | |
| 15 | Portimonense (R) | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 29 | 49 | −20 | 25 | Relegation to Liga de Honra |
| 16 | Naval 1º de Maio (R) | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 26 | 51 | −25 | 23 | Relegation to Liga de Honra |
* ↑ The 2010–11 Taça de Portugal competition was won by Champions League-qualified side Porto. Since cup runners-up Vitória de Guimarães secured a place in the European competitions via league position, the spot allocation for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League effectively reverted to league positions.
* 1 2 Marítimo ahead of União de Leiria on head-to-head record; Marítimo–União de Leiria 1–1, União de Leiria–Marítimo 1–3
* 1 2 Olhanense ahead of Vitória de Setúbal on head-to-head record; Olhanense–Vitória de Setúbal 3–1, Vitória de Setúbal–Olhanense 0–0

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Porto | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Benfica | 11 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sporting CP | 12 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Braga | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Vitória de Guimarães | 7 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Nacional | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Paços de Ferreira | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Rio Ave | 12 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Marítimo | 12 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| União de Leiria | 7 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
| Olhanense | 7 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
| Vitória de Setúbal | 3 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| Beira-Mar | 7 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 |
| Académica | 2 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
| Portimonense | 16 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| Naval 1º de Maio | 12 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 |
* Leader
* 2nd place
* 3rd place

## Results

| Home \ Away | ACA | BEM | BEN | BRA | MAR | NAC | NAV | OLH | PAÇ | PTM | POR | RAV | SCP | ULE | VGU | VSE |
| Académica | | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Beira-Mar | 2–1 | | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 |
| Benfica | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Braga | 5–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 |
| Marítimo | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Nacional | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| Naval 1º de Maio | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 |
| Olhanense | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Paços de Ferreira | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–6 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Portimonense | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–4 |
| Porto | 3–1 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Rio Ave | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 |
| Sporting CP | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 |
| União de Leiria | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Vitória de Guimarães | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 1–1 |
| Vitória de Setúbal | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 3–3 | 0–3 | 4–1 | 2–1 | |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Position | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Hulk | Porto | 23 |
| 2 | Radamel Falcao | Porto | 16 |
| 2 | João Tomás | Rio Ave | 16 |
| 4 | Óscar Cardozo | Benfica | 12 |
| 5 | Baba Diawara | Marítimo | 11 |
| 6 | Edgar | V. Guimarães | 10 |
| 6 | Silvestre Varela | Porto | 10 |
| 8 | Carlão | Leiria | 9 |
| 8 | Pitbull | V. Setúbal | 9 |
| 8 | Mario Rondón | Paços de Ferreira | 9 |
| 8 | Javier Saviola | Benfica | 9 |
| 8 | Leandro Tatu | Beira-Mar | 9 |
Updated as of games played on 14 May 2011. Source: LPFP (in Portuguese)

## Awards
### Monthly awards
#### SJPF Fair Play Award

| Month | Club |
| September | Nacional |
| October | Sporting CP |
| November | Olhanense |
| December | |
| January | |
| February | Vitória de Guimarães |
| March | União de Leiria |
| April | Naval 1º de Maio |