Lisbon  - Young Argentine winger Angel Di Maria is not a regular starter at Benfica, but he got wide-spread praise on Monday for a goal from 35 metres.

"Brilliant," said the sports daily A Bola of the Argentine's performance in Benfica's 3-2 win Sunday at home against Pacos de Ferreira in the Portuguese championship.

"It was a goal from another world," A Bola said.

Fellow sports daily Record, in turn, described the shot that made the score 3-1 with just three minutes of play remaining as the "Di Maria bomb."

Lisbon- A corruption scandal deepened Thursday in Portugal as media reports said the British authorities had requested information about the possible involvement of Prime Minister Jose Socrates in the so-called Freeport case.

Lond

London, Jan. 27 : Portuguese and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo believes footballers are like cars when it comes to value – the sleeker and more sophisticated the model, the higher the price.

The World Player of the Year believes he is in the “super car” bracket of players who are worth 100 million pounds.

Portimao, Portugal - Testing on the Portuguese Algarve draws to a close Thursday for five Formula teams with Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr saying the top teams are beatable this season and Toyota's Timo Glock believing he can be one of the top five drivers in 2009.

"It's going to be a very interesting season. There have been countless changes such as new wheels, new aerodynamics and the KERS system," Piquet Jr said.

"Whichever team works hard and gets used to the new rules faster will definitely have an advantage."

Portimao, Portugal - The mood has been sober during Formula One testing this week on the Portuguese Algarve with many of those involved in the sport more concerned about merely making it through the 2009 season than the upcoming battle for championship points.

"It's about surviving," said Renault team principal Favio Briatore candidly at the circuit in Portimao, where testing by five F1 teams continues until Thursday. "We have never had such a critical moment as this one."