Luanda - Petro de Luanda handball team hired four players from its main rival 1.º de Agosto for the current senior women's handball team, in a feud that has marked these two historic Angolan clubs.
Experiencing financial problems since 2014, 1º de Agosto has become an easy prey for their arch-rivals, as happened, for example, in 2015, when the seasoned Natália Bernardo left the club to join Petro de Luanda.
Natália Maria Bernardo, who plays central midfielder and left winger, used to add a new dynamic to 1º de Agosto, which now loses the also influential Juliana Machado.
Machado, 29, 1.75 meter tall and 65 kg, started her early career at 1.º de Agosto academy, where she was an undisputed starter in the first and second lines.
Born on November 6, 1994, in Luanda, the athlete started playing handball in 2005 and spent a short time playing with Guardes in Spain.
Márcia Manuel, left winger, and left-backs Patrícia da Silva and Luzia Kiala all left 1º de Agosto to join Petro de Luanda.
The quartet will be options for the next edition of the African Cup of Champions Clubs, where Petro de Luanda aims to regain the title.
Three of the four new players are already working under coach Luís Chaves, while Juliana Machado, who played for the National Team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is still on vacation, becoming Angola's second top scorer with 17 goals, bettered only by Vilma Nenganga (26).
One of the best performers in her position, along with Aznaide Carlos, the left-winger has been one of the main players of the 1° de Agosto club and the national team.
Two other left-wingers, Luzia Kiala and Márcia Manuel, can add unparalleled quality to right wing positions.
Left-back Vivalda Silva leaves D'Agosto after many years, where she also played for Al Ahly on two occasions in the Champion Clubs Cup.MC/TED/AMP
