The Rio Ave Post
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Jalen Blesa runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Lourenço Henriques gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Lourenço Henriques has just signed for Rio Ave, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Marios Vrousai in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rio Ave this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Rio Ave
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Giorgos Liavas out for 53 days
The medical room confirms 53 days on the sidelines for Giorgos Liavas, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match15 Aug 2026
Diogo Bezerra the difference as Rio Ave beat Tondela
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Diogo Bezerra. 2‑1 against Tondela, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
The crowd has taken to Brandon Aguilera
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Market17 Aug 2026
Afonso Neves steps up from the Rio Ave academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Afonso Neves has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market17 Aug 2026
Rio Ave promote Rui Pereira from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Rui Pereira has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- Market Rio Ave promote Sergio Silva from within
- Market One of our own: Ricardo Correia joins the Rio Ave first team
- Squad Words at Rio Ave training over how hard people work