| Event | 2011–12 Taça de Portugal | ||||||
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| Date | May 20, 2012 (2012-05-20) | ||||||
| Venue | Estádio Nacional,Oeiras | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Marinho (Académica)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Paulo Baptista (Portalegre)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 37,522[3] | ||||||
| Weather | Sunny 16 °C (61 °F)[4] | ||||||
←2011 2013 → | |||||||
The2012 Taça de Portugal final was the final match of the2011–12 Taça de Portugal, the 72nd season of theTaça de Portugal, which is the mainPortuguesefootballknockout competition organised by thePortuguese Football Federation (FPF). The final was played at theEstádio Nacional,Oeiras, on the 20 May 2012. The final was contested between twoPrimeira Liga teams,Académica andSporting CP. Académica were appearing in their fifth final, whilst Sporting CP were appearing in their 26th final. In Portugal, the final was televised live in HD onSport TV andRTP1.[5] En route to the final, both sides progressed through six rounds to reach the final. Matches up to the semi-final were contested on a one-off basis with the exception of the semi-finals which were contested over two-legs, with a match at each team's home ground.
Académica defeated Sporting 1–0.[6][7]Marinho's fourth-minute goal was enough for Académica to claim their second Taça de Portugal in their history after their first cup triumph came in the inaugural edition of the competition in 1939.[8] As Académica won the cup competition, they went on to playPorto in the2012 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in August 2012.[9][10] Académica would also guarantee European football were they qualified directly for the group stage of the2012–13 UEFA Europa League by winning this competition.[11]
Académica were appearing in their fifth Taça de Portugal final. Académica had previously won one Taça de Portugal which was the inaugural cup final in 1939, and had previously lost three cup finals (1951, 1967 and 1969). Sporting CP were appearing in their twenty-sixth Taça de Portugal final. They had previously won the Taça de Portugal fifteen times (1941, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1954, 1963, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1995, 2002, 2007 and 2008), and had been beaten in the final ten times (1952, 1955, 1960, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1987, 1994, 1996 and 2000). Prior to this match, Académica de Coimbra and Sporting CP had previously met sixteen times in this competition. Académica de Coimbra had won four times whilst Sporting had won twelve.
In Académica's and Sporting's entire history, both sides had met on 139 occasions, with Sporting winning 97 games, Académica winning 19 and the two drawing 23 times.[citation needed] The last meeting between these two sides in this competition was in the2006–07 edition of the cup in a quarter-final tie in which Sporting defeated theCoimbra-based side 2–1.[citation needed] This was the first time that each side had met each other in a cup final. The last meeting between these two sides in domestic league action was on the 30 April, three weeks before their meeting at the Jamor. Sporting defeated thebriosa 2–1 at theEstádio José Alvalade.[12] Académica's last victory over Sporting was a league game fixture on the 6 February 2010, where theestudantes defeated theLisbon side 2–1.[citation needed]
| Round | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Oriental (H) | 1–0 |
| 4 | Porto (H) | 3–0 |
| 5 | Leixões (A) | 2–5 |
| QF | Desportivo das Aves (H) | 3–2 |
| SF | Oliveirense (H) | 1–0 |
| Oliveirense (A) | 2–2 |
As aPrimeira Liga team, Académica entered the2011–12 Taça de Portugal in the third round, where they were drawn againstPortuguese Second Division sideOriental at theEstádio Cidade de Coimbra. Académica defeated the lower league side 1–0, with a goal from central defenderMarkus Berger.[citation needed] The fourth round saw Académica pitted against cup holdersPorto in a home tie.After an uneventful first half, the first goal of the game came just after the hour mark throughMarinho. As the game drew to a close with Académica in the lead, Porto's managerVítor Pereira brought on two attacking-minded players inJames Rodríguez andKléber to try to get an equalizer for the visitors. Ten minutes from the end,Hélder Cabral skipped past Porto'sMaicon on the left, who then picked out a cross for an unmarkedAdrien Silva, who slotted the ball pastRafael Bracalli. Académica scored a third goal at eighty-nine minutes asÉder intercepted the ball in the center of the pitch and threaded the ball toDiogo Valente, who, one-on-one with the goalkeeper, slotted the ball to the 'keeper's left, which gave Académica a 3–0 win over abig three side.[13]
Académica were drawn to play away againstLeixões in the fifth round, defeating the club 5–2 over 120 minutes.[citation needed] Académica forced extra-time after Leixões had held the lead for the majority of the second half. Adrien Silva scored a decisive late goal to take the game into extra-time. In extra-time, Adrien Silva, Éder and Fábio Luís scored to grant theBriosa passage into the quarter-finals.[14] TheBriosa facedLiga de Honra sideDesportivo das Aves in the quarter-finals. The match began with an early goal from Éder, which was cancelled out six minutes later asJorge Pires equalized for Aves. Académica regained the lead just before the interval through Markus Berger. Central defenderAbdoulaye Ba extended their lead in the second half beforeAmaury Bischoff scored a late consolation in injury time to make the final score 3–2.[15]
For the semi-finals, Académica were drawn against the lowest ranked team still active in the competition,Oliveirense of theLiga de Honra. The semi-finals were played over two legs, with the first leg taking place at the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra. TheEstudantes defeated Oliveirense 1–0 in the first leg, afterPape Sow scored an injury time winner to clinch the narrowest of margins for theBriosa going into the second leg.[16] The second leg at theEstádio Carlos Osório saw Oliveirense score first throughPaulo Clemente. Their lead would be cancelled out two minutes later as Marinho equalized. On 28 minutes,Adriano would convert from the penalty sport to give Oliveirense the lead again. In the second half, Marinho would score a brace and tie the game. The game ended tied and Académica progressed to the final for the first time since 1969.[17]
| Round | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Famalicão (A) | 0–2 |
| 4 | Braga (H) | 2–0 |
| 5 | Belenenses (H) | 2–0 |
| QF | Marítimo (H) | 3–0 |
| SF | Nacional (H) | 2–2 |
| Nacional (A) | 1–3 |
As a Primeira Liga team, Sporting entered the Taça de Portugal in the third round. They were drawn againstPortuguese Second Division sideFamalicão in an away tie. The game which took place at theEstádio Municipal 22 de Junho saw Sporting defeat the second division side comfortably with two goals from Dutch strikerRicky van Wolfswinkel.[18] Fellow Primeira Liga sideBraga were Sporting CP's opponents in the fourth round. The match, which took place at theEstádio José Alvalade, saw thelions defeat Braga 2–0.[citation needed]Diego Capel andEmiliano Insúa scored to guarantee Sporting CP passage into the fifth round.[19] For the fifth round, Sporting CP faced Liga de Honra sideBelenenses. Just like the previous rounds, Sporting defeated their opponents comfortably with goals from Van Wolfswinkel andStijn Schaars.[citation needed]
The quarter-finals saw another home tie for thelions as they were drawn againstMarítimo. Sporting defeated theVerde-Rubros 3–0. Marítimo started stronger with the first major chance of the game falling toBaba Diawara, where on 22 minutes a Marítimo counterattack saw Diawara one on one with goalkeeperRui Patrício, where his shot was parried wide. Following Marítimo's strong start, Sporting would dictate possession and create several goal scoring opportunities but would be unable to convert their chances in front of goal. Both sides went in at half time level. Following the break, Sporting took the lead. Diego Capel would be played the ball on the left hand side, who picked out a cross for an on-rushingAndré Carrillo who would head the ball past goalkeeperRicardo. On 60 minutes, Sporting were awarded a penalty after Marítimo'sIgor Rossi fouled Van Wolfswinkel in the box. Rossi would be red carded, and Van Wolfswinkel would convert from the penalty spot to double Sporting's lead. Emiliano Insúa would score in the 82nd minute to score Sporting's third goal.[citation needed]
Fellow Primeira Liga sideNacional were the opponents in the semi-finals, which were played over two legs. The first leg took place at the Estádio José Alvalade. Nacional would score first, as Venezuelan strikerMario Rondón would score a header from a free kick to beat Rui Patrício. This would be the first time that Sporting would concede in the 2011–12 Taça de Portugal. Nacional would score again before the break, capitalizing from the momentum that the team got from their first goal.Daniel Candeias would capitalize after aÂnderson Polga mistake to double Nacional's lead. Following the break, André Carrillo and Diego Capel would come on for Sporting to provide more attacking threat for the Lisbon side. Sporting would score on 75 minutes throughElias. Sporting would tie the game in injury time after Stijn Schaars' free kick would be drilled across the box, where a slight deflection would take the ball into the net.[20] The second leg would see Sporting defeat thealvinegros 3–1 at theEstádio da Madeira.Fabián Rinaudo would score first in the 12th minute. Sporting's lead would be cancelled out byDiego Barcelos in the second half. Ten minutes later, Ricky van Wolfswinkel would score Sporting's second.João Pereira would score Sporting's third in injury time to seal the win and take theVerde-e-Brancos to the final for the first time in four years.[21]
The match officials for the game were confirmed on the 16 May by thePortuguese Football Federation (PFF). Paulo Baptista ofPortalegre was named as referee.[22][23] This was the first time that Baptista had officiated a major final. For the final, Baptista was assisted by José Ramalho ofPorto and Hernâni Fernandes ofSetúbal, while the fourth official was Tomás Santos ofBraga.
Académica went into the cup final with several players missing due to injury. For the final, Académica were missing defenderOrlando and midfieldersDiogo Gomes andPape Sow. Orlando had sustained an injury at the beginning of the league season that would keep him out for the entire season. Both Diogo Gomes and Pape Sow missed the game due to sustaining injuries in the build-up to the match. Full backReiner was an injury doubt going into the game.[24] Initially, Académica'sDavid Simão was ineligible to play in the final due to picking a consecutive amount of yellow cards in domestic league action. His suspension, however, was later overturned, allowing him to play in the final.[25]Pedro Emanuel's squad selection for the final saw him omit Reiner, as he did not recuperate from his injury in order to play in the final; Emanuel's lineup saw him includeJoão Real in the starting eleven to replace Reiner. Académica's loan signingsAbdoulaye Ba,Adrien Silva andEdinho.[26]
Unlike their opponents, Sporting CP went into the cup final without any injury worries or doubts. Sporting's influential talismanMarat Izmailov recovered in time for the match after missing the last five domestic league games.[27] Just like Académica's David Simão, Sporting'sDaniel Carriço had his suspension overturned in order to play in the cup final.[25] Sporting's starting lineup saw the surprise exclusion of Marat Izmailov, although he was used in the game as a substitute in the second half.
The cup final started with an early goal on four minutes. Académica'sMarinho scored the early goal to give thebriosa the advantage. The goal came about as an unmarkedDiogo Valente received the ball on the left hand side and crossed the ball into the box, where the ball fell to Marinho in the six-yard box, who headed the ball past Sporting goalkeeperRui Patrício. Marinho's header saw him capitalize from Sporting's defensive mistake, as he was picked out unmarked in the box when the cross was delivered.
Following Académica's goal, Sporting began to dictate possession but found it difficult to create goal-scoring opportunities due to Académica's defensive approach. The first half ended with the advantage toestudantes. Following the break, the second half began with Sporting on the back foot following two clear-cut chances by Portuguese striker Edinho, who failed to beat Patrício one-on-one. Following these two chances, Sporting took control of the game which led to the creation of chances on goal. Their best chance of the game fell to Spanish wingerDiego Capel, who could not beatRicardo when the game was approaching its conclusion. Académica were able to close out the game and win their second-ever Taça de Portugal.[28]
     Académica |     Sporting CP |
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| 2011–12 Taça de Portugal Winners |
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| Académica 2nd title |
Match officials
Man of the match | Match rules
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