Ferreira's Porto enter realm of legend

Jesualdo Ferreira said his side "very much like to win" after a 1-0 victory at the weekend saw FC Porto make their best start to a Liga season since 1939/40.

Stunning start
A 1-0 win against A. Académica de Coimbra made it seven wins out of seven for the reigning champions; the second best start to a domestic season in their history. Coach Ferreira said "we very much like to win" but he still has a way to go to match the 13 straight wins with which Porto started the 1939/40 season under Hungarian coach Mihály Siska, the club's former goalkeeper.

Historic achievement
That famous season saw Porto win 17 of their 18 league games, but as Lucho González's penalty in the 28th minute decided a tough game against Académica, the current Porto crop are proving almost as dominant this season. Now seven points clear at the top of the table, they surpassed the 1990/91 vintage's flying start of six wins under coach Artur Jorge.

Major accolade
"It's teams who make history at clubs," added Ferreira as he surveyed his side's achievement. "Porto have made our best start in recent years and this is a hard club to break records at. This is an important record because at Porto there are not many things you can do to break new ground in terms of victories as this club has won almost everything."

European task
Porto have not had success on all fronts this season, bowing out to second division CD Fátima in the League Cup, but they have made an encouraging start in the UEFA Champions League, following a 1-1 draw at home against Liverpool FC with a useful 1-0 Group A win at Beşiktaş JK. They face Olympique de Marseille home and away on the next two matchdays.