At 31, he remained central to his club's ambitions
At 31, an age when many athletes begin their quiet retreat from the heights of the game, Ricardo Horta instead stepped further into the light — earning a place in Liga Portugal's Team of the Year as recognition of a season defined by goals, leadership, and consequence. Chosen by those who know the game most intimately, his peers and rivals on the touchline, the Braga captain's selection is less a surprise than a confirmation: that some players do not diminish with time, but deepen.
- At an age when careers often narrow, Horta expanded his — 14 goals and 4 assists across 2,150 minutes of league football made him impossible to overlook.
- The vote came from those with the sharpest eyes: head coaches and fellow captains, the people who face him and fight alongside him, chose him unanimously into the league's best eleven.
- Braga placed two players in the Team of the Year — Horta and the since-departed Rodrigo Zalazar — a rare double recognition that signals the club punched well above its weight this season.
- The honor lands at a meaningful crossroads: Zalazar has moved on to Sporting, leaving Horta as the living emblem of what Braga built this year, and the question of what comes next.
Ricardo Horta, capitão do SC Braga, foi eleito para o Onze do Ano da Liga Portugal na edição 2025/26, numa distinção votada pelos treinadores principais e capitães de equipa da competição. Aos 31 anos, o internacional português partilha o ataque do onze honorífico com Francisco Trincão, aguardando-se ainda a nomeação do avançado centro.
Os números sustentam a escolha sem margem para dúvida: 28 jogos, 2.150 minutos, 14 golos e quatro assistências numa época em que Horta se afirmou como um dos jogadores mais determinantes do campeonato. A sua contribuição foi decisiva para que o Braga terminasse no quarto lugar — um resultado sólido numa Liga cada vez mais exigente.
A presença bracarense no Onze do Ano não se ficou por Horta. Rodrigo Zalazar, entretanto transferido para o Sporting, também foi reconhecido pelos seus desempenhos ao serviço do clube minhoto. Dois jogadores da mesma equipa a merecerem distinção individual é um reflexo da coerência e qualidade que o Braga manteve ao longo de toda a temporada.
Para Horta, o prémio chega num momento de maturidade plena. Com a braçadeira de capitão e os números de um jogador no auge, a eleição para o Onze do Ano é apenas a confirmação formal do que já era evidente para quem o viu jogar esta época.
Ricardo Horta's season at SC Braga has earned him a place in Liga Portugal's Team of the Year, the league announced on Friday. The 31-year-old captain was selected by the competition's head coaches and team captains to anchor the attack alongside Francisco Trincão, with the striker position still to be named.
Horta's credentials for the honor are substantial. Across 28 league matches this season, he accumulated 2,150 minutes on the pitch, scoring 14 goals and providing four assists. Those numbers tell the story of a player operating at the center of Braga's ambitions—a Portuguese international who, at an age when many players begin to fade, instead found himself among the league's most consequential performers. His contributions helped drive Braga to a fourth-place finish, a respectable outcome in a competitive season.
The selection reflects more than individual achievement. Braga's representation in the Team of the Year extends beyond Horta. Rodrigo Zalazar, who has since moved to Sporting, also earned recognition for his performances with the Minho club. Two players from the same team making the cut speaks to the consistency and quality Braga maintained throughout the campaign—a season that, while it did not yield a title, positioned the club as a genuine force in Portuguese football.
For Horta, the recognition arrives at a particular moment in his career. At 31, he remains a central figure for his club, wearing the captain's armband and delivering the kind of output that justifies the responsibility. The Team of the Year selection is a formal acknowledgment of what his teammates, opponents, and the coaches who voted already knew: that this season, he played at a level that mattered.
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What makes a 31-year-old's season worthy of Team of the Year recognition in a league as competitive as Portugal's?
The numbers help—14 goals and four assists across 28 matches is consistent, reliable production. But it's also about what those numbers meant for Braga. He was the captain, the player the team built around.
So it's not just individual statistics, but the role he played in the team's success?
Exactly. Braga finished fourth. That doesn't happen without someone like Horta performing at that level week after week. The coaches and captains who voted saw that.
Does the fact that Zalazar has already left for Sporting change how we should read this moment?
It adds a layer of poignancy, maybe. Zalazar got his recognition and moved on. Horta is still there, still the captain, still central to what Braga is building next.
What does this say about where Braga stands in Portuguese football right now?
That they're competitive, that they can produce players good enough to make the Team of the Year. Fourth place and two players in the XI—that's a club doing something right.