Stephen Eustaquio

[Obinna]

52 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Is this the case? I just figured it was just another instance of a big club with a very passionate fanbase looking to pick on one of their better players during a relatively “dry” period (no titles in two years!). I was actually very surprised that Eustaquio has the highest rating on both main football apps which is fantastic for our boy, but probably more of an indictment on where Porto finds itself right now. 

Could be both. The knives come out when things aren't going well. And when they are it's human nature to look past such things as long as you are winning.

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Is this the case? I just figured it was just another instance of a big club with a very passionate fanbase looking to pick on one of their better players during a relatively “dry” period (no titles in two years!). I was actually very surprised that Eustaquio has the highest rating on both main football apps which is fantastic for our boy, but probably more of an indictment on where Porto finds itself right now. 

It's not the case, not at all. Your assessment is perfectly on.

I would not make much of what is seen on fan sites. It only has to do with results, and especially, in Portugal, being behind Benfica in the league. Even if Sporting gets the trophy it does not hurt so badly for Porto fans. When I was there in Porto in September I spoke to people, I even went to visit the stadium, and the general tone was positive to enthusiastic about Stephan.

Edited January 13 by Unnamed Trialist

[Kadenge]

On the bench  vs Braga 🤔

[Joe1973]

On 1/10/2024 at 1:48 PM, dyslexic nam said:

I also saw something about him throwing a water bottle after being subbed off in the previous game so was wondering if there was a bit of conflict behind it. 

Is this the payback for that? The coach seems like someone who is a hard ass, and probably doesn't stand for public undermining of his decisions. 

[PegCityCam]

From what I'm seeing it seems like Porto fans in general are being pretty vocal (on Twitter) about not having Varela and Eustaquio on the pitch at the same time and the difference it makes having Eustaquio out of the starting lineup. Didn't help that Porto scored 4 goals after taking Stephen out at the 57th. Didn't watch the game though...

[king1010]

16 hours ago, PegCityCam said:

From what I'm seeing it seems like Porto fans in general are being pretty vocal (on Twitter) about not having Varela and Eustaquio on the pitch at the same time and the difference it makes having Eustaquio out of the starting lineup. Didn't help that Porto scored 4 goals after taking Stephen out at the 57th. Didn't watch the game though...

The “difference” as in Porto looks better when he isnt playing?

[Unnamed Trialist]

11 minutes ago, king1010 said:

The “difference” as in Porto looks better when he isnt playing?

If anyone thinks Porto fans are going, "well, we only started beating powerhouse Moreirense when Eustaquio came off", they have no idea about Porto, the league, or the rival. 

They've been struggling to beat lesser, minor league rivals, all season. 

What they are thinking is "we need to beat Benfica at home early March, and Sporting at home late April, to have a chance at winning the league". Then hope they take points off each other.

[PegCityCam]

5 hours ago, king1010 said:

The “difference” as in Porto looks better when he isnt playing?

That's my impression yes

[InglewoodJack]

Name searched Eustaquio on twitter to see what people were saying, and apparently a lot of low follower accounts are convinced he’s signed for Cruz Azul and it will be announced sometime this week.

Sounds like there are a lot of conflicting impressions about Eustaquio, but it seems to mostly stem from the fact that they believe Varela is their next big up and comer and Eustaquio mostly plays the same game as him and they occupy the same space, so of course they prefer the young kid who could really be something special. They want the player playing in eustaquio’s place to be more of an AM which is not his game. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

13 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Name searched Eustaquio on twitter to see what people were saying, and apparently a lot of low follower accounts are convinced he’s signed for Cruz Azul and it will be announced sometime this week.

Sounds like there are a lot of conflicting impressions about Eustaquio, but it seems to mostly stem from the fact that they believe Varela is their next big up and comer and Eustaquio mostly plays the same game as him and they occupy the same space, so of course they prefer the young kid who could really be something special. They want the player playing in eustaquio’s place to be more of an AM which is not his game. 

I seriously doubt Steph would accept a Cruz Azul move.

[InglewoodJack]

20 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I seriously doubt Steph would accept a Cruz Azul move.

I think it’s all fake, just funny. Some tweets saying that Steph feels like he owes something to the Azul fans for never having been able to really play for them. €5 fee and all. 

[Obinna]

32 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

I think it’s all fake, just funny. Some tweets saying that Steph feels like he owes something to the Azul fans for never having been able to really play for them. €5 fee and all. 

Sounds like desperate reaching from Cruz Azul and/or Liga MX fans. Eustaquio has built up enough of a profile to move within Europe at this point.

I bet Porto's rivals Sporting or Benfica would love to add him as depth, and without knowing much about the midfield at Braga these days, I bet he walks into their midfield as of today. So, no lack of options within Portugal.

Fenerbahce were close to signing him and considering how much, and at times how well, he's played for Porto I would imagine they would be keen to add him to their ranks if he were available. And, if he's good enough for Fener, then he would be good enough for Galatasaray, Besiktas, Olympiacos, AEK, or any other team of this general level out east. 

In western Europe, you got to think the big Dutch teams would be on alert for Eustaquio if he were available. Then, closer to home, you have smaller to mid-sized La Liga teams who'd likely take him on in a heartbeat.

In short, I sincerely doubt a move back to Mexico would be on the table, UNLESS they are planning to pay him DP wages. I don't think he's on a lot of money, perhaps half a million? Someone please correct if that's out of date info.

I expect Eustaquio will continue being a cog for Porto for years to come, then maybe as he approaches or reaches his 30s, I can then see a lateral, small step down, or small step up, in Europe, depending on how the next few years go. 

I personally feel he is near or at his ceiling right now. The ideal blend of legs and maturity. 

[InglewoodJack]

55 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Sounds like desperate reaching from Cruz Azul and/or Liga MX fans. Eustaquio has built up enough of a profile to move within Europe at this point.

I bet Porto's rivals Sporting or Benfica would love to add him as depth, and without knowing much about the midfield at Braga these days, I bet he walks into their midfield as of today. So, no lack of options within Portugal.

Fenerbahce were close to signing him and considering how much, and at times how well, he's played for Porto I would imagine they would be keen to add him to their ranks if he were available. And, if he's good enough for Fener, then he would be good enough for Galatasaray, Besiktas, Olympiacos, AEK, or any other team of this general level out east. 

In western Europe, you got to think the big Dutch teams would be on alert for Eustaquio if he were available. Then, closer to home, you have smaller to mid-sized La Liga teams who'd likely take him on in a heartbeat.

In short, I sincerely doubt a move back to Mexico would be on the table, UNLESS they are planning to pay him DP wages. I don't think he's on a lot of money, perhaps half a million? Someone please correct if that's out of date info.

I expect Eustaquio will continue being a cog for Porto for years to come, then maybe as he approaches or reaches his 30s, I can then see a lateral, small step down, or small step up, in Europe, depending on how the next few years go. 

I personally feel he is near or at his ceiling right now. The ideal blend of legs and maturity. 

With what fans are saying, and how Eustaquio is redundant with Varela, I can see a situation in which he's moved this summer. Porto needs to buy great young players and sell them for a fortune once they develop, and Eustaquio is too young to be a solid vet on his last legs and too old to be sold for much of a profit. If/when he does move on though, I can see him going to a club like those you mentioned in Turkey, though I do think that he'd have a ton of value for MLS clubs. The common complaint about him is no creativity and lack of offensive acumen, so I think a league of MLS' calibre and relatively shallow tactical depth, he would carve up the league. A ~30 year old Eustaquio would be perfect for a team like Inter Miami where they're loaded with big name star power, and all they need is a solid player who has played at a respectable level and can keep up with guys who are too good to play with scrubs.

Still thinks he has the chops to play in a higher league though. Obviously needs a situation where he's not forced to pull AM duties, but he's obviously a lot better than Porto fans give him credit for.

[yomurphy1]

Wildcard but what about him to TFC for a Herdman reunion (ignoring his comments on JH)

[Obinna]

34 minutes ago, yomurphy1 said:

Wildcard but what about him to TFC for a Herdman reunion (ignoring his comments on JH)

No.

[narduch]

On the bench v Farense

[narduch]

4 hours ago, narduch said:

On the bench v Farense

Subbed on in the 89th minute of a 3-1 win 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Of the many speculations about who to replace Xavi, one that is appearing is the Porto coach Sergio Conceiçao. Though there are elections at Porto in a few months and both candidates for presidency, Pinto da Costa and Villa Boas, have Conceiçao as their choice for continuing as coach there. 

Other peripheral Porto news: Braga and Estoril knocked out Sporting and Benfica in semis and played the League Cup last weekend, Braga won. That takes pressure off Porto, as neither main rival gets the mid-season trophy. 

One player that has replaced Eustaquio in minutes lately is Nico González, who could end up sold to Girona this window. But if that happens, Porto still want to sign another mid. But if they don't that gives Steph his starting spot back. 

[Chad_Impact]

Just read through some of these posts and...what??? 

I thought he was doing great and was playing like one of the best mids in the league. When did he fall out of favour and fans start disliking him? I just assumed he was still doing well. 

Edited February 1 by Chad_Impact

[Jack1997]

Didn’t he get hurt a few weeks back? He plays 2 games on the bench and we’re freaking out? I’m sure he’ll be fine.

[cronaldo7]

I think one thing to always keep in mind with big clubs and big fan bases is that 1. Expectations are high and these teams usually have 1A and 1B per position so it’s easy to “fall out of favour” and 2. Not only do they have passionate fanbases that are highly critical but they also have a bunch of fringe fans from around the globe whose opinion may or may not be all that nuanced. 
 

So speculation that Phonzy at Bayern or Steph at Porto or Tajon at Inter or soon-to be David at Milan/Arsenal/Juventus/Chelsea “falling out favour” comes with the territory of our guys playing at massive clubs that compete for Champions League titles, let-alone domestic trophies. 
 

Good “problem” to have as National team supporters, imo.

 

 

[Free kick]

On 1/22/2024 at 1:44 PM, yomurphy1 said:

Wildcard but what about him to TFC for a Herdman reunion (ignoring his comments on JH)

I don't get the negative reactions to your post.  Eustaquio is now 27 years old.   And, unlike others who are mostly <=24 years old  such as TB, Phonzie,  J David, Johnston and maybe Larin,  there is no indications that a move to a bigger club or European league is in the offing for Eustaquio.   So why the heck would a move to to a Canadian MLS team (who all disparately need proven and reliable Canadian talent that are worthy of DP money) be such a bad move for both him and the Canadian clubs?   

Canadian MLS clubs disparately need quality Canadian talent in order to be successful in MLS,  a league that  has American clubs with a deeper domestic talent pool and hence can find the kind of domestic talent to justify DP dollars or even just the domestic slots.  If one takes their red coloured glasses off for a second, the pool of Canadian international talent (or having potential to be international quality) is pretty shallow once you look beyond the half dozen or so of the top players on our senior MNT.   Quality domestic talent that you can put in a DP role is crucial for roster building in MLS.   And you can make a good case that Staq's is the only one with the talent, experience and profile that you can give DP money and not hamper his career development and progression by moving from Europe to North America.   Plus he would be the perfect replacement for Bradley.      

Edited February 1 by Free kick

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Free kick said:

I don't get the negative reactions to your post.  Eustaquio is now 27 years old.   And, unlike others who are mostly <=24 years old  such as TB, Phonzie,  J David, Johnston and maybe Larin,  there is no indications that a move to a bigger club or European league is in the offing for Eustaquio.   So why the heck would a move to to a Canadian MLS team (who all disparately need proven and reliable Canadian talent that are worthy of DP money) be such a bad move for both him and the Canadian clubs?   

Canadian MLS clubs disparately need quality Canadian talent in order to be successful in MLS,  a league that  has American clubs with a deeper domestic talent pool and hence can find the kind of domestic talent to justify DP dollars or even just the domestic slots.  If one takes their red coloured glasses off for a second, the pool of Canadian international talent (or having potential to be international quality) is pretty shallow once you look beyond the half dozen or so of the top players on our senior MNT.   Quality domestic talent that you can put in a DP role is crucial for roster building in MLS.   And you can make a good case that Staq's is the only one with the talent, experience and profile that you can give DP money and not hamper his career development and progression by moving from Europe to North America.   Plus he would be the perfect replacement for Bradley.      

We've been through this already with JDG.

We don't need to go through it again with Staq. 

We need our best players to be playing in the best environments possible, for as long as they can. 

It would obviously be a great move for Toronto, but you cannot say it would be a good move for the national team, just as JDG wasn't a good move for the national team, nor was Bradley a good move for the Americans. 

[Obinna]

To add, I don't like the idea of Canadian DP players for Canadian MLS teams in general.

If we can eventually build depth to what the USA has today, then I don't mind one bit, but we just don't have enough talent in Europe to afford the likes of Davies, David, Eustaquio, Buchanan, or Kone moving back for DP contract. 

Guys like Osorio and Laryea would be exceptions to my rule, I guess. They never really had solid prospects outside of MLS, so great for them to get that DP label and the money that comes with it. 

Cavallini was kind of in between for me. It felt at the time he could have made a European move, but in the end he took the money, which I don't really blame him for, and Liga MX to MLS was lateral enough. It's not like he was coming from Serie A or La Liga. 

Speaking of which, if Larin goes on to play another 2 or 3 seasons in La Liga and chooses to return to MLS for a DP contract at 32 or 33 years old, I don't hate that. I don't prefer it, especially if he's still scoring goals, but it's fine if he's slowing down. If he has value in La Liga, he should stay there imo. 

[kacbru]

Agreed. 

He's a regular for Porto, in his prime, playing in European competitions. Moving to MLS (and TFC of all teams) would be a waste.