New football season kicks off with fresh lineups

The 2015 season of Macau’s top-flight football championship, Elite League, is set to kick off today with a match between team Monte Carlo and the newly-­promoted team Casa de Portugal. This year, a total of ten teams will compete for the Elite League title, with some teams presenting very different lineups.
Last year’s champion club Benfica Macau presented its lineup for the new season yesterday, revealing that the team has been reinforced with more experienced players. The club’s director Duarte Alves stated that the team aims to “score more goals” than last season.
“We can even build a platform to help local players to achieve their goals and help elevate the level of Macau football, through leveraging the Lusophone countries’ football experiences and teams,” added Alves.
The director suggested that the championship this year will be more competitive, as more experienced players from overseas will join the local championship. “We need to play hard in each match and respect our opponents, whether it’s a strong team or not,” added Benfica’s coach Bruno Álvares.
With a turnover of some of its local young players, club Monte Carlo replaced all its five foreign players with professional players from Brazil and signed two players from the mainland. Despite the big change in team lineup, the club believes that its level of competitiveness is no less than before.
Monte Carlo’s deputy coach Iong Cho Ieng explained that the team’s core players still remain, and the five new foreign players have good technique and other advantages. “As long as we are of one mind, we are still a competitive team for the champion title,” he said.
The Elite League is expected to have more contenders, including last year’s runner-up, Sporting Clube de Macau. BY