Adu to the rescue!

Freddy Adu bailed out Benfica of its first home loss this season with a goal in the very last minutes of the game of the Carlsberg League Cup. Benfica was down a goal since the 11th minute and struggled to find solutions to penetrate a very well organized Setubal team . A team that has not lost yet this season and that gave plenty of reasons why.
Camacho started: Quim, Luis Felipe, Luisao, Zoro and Miguelito in defense. In the midfield, Katsouranis and Binya anchored the midfield while Coentrao and Assis played on the flanks. Di Maria played in the "10" position and Bergessio played in the center forward position. Setubal scored 11 minutes in from a free kick that was crossed into the box, Luisao heads the ball which hits a Setubal player and ends up on the feet of Matheus which chips the ball over Quim. Matheus was in a clear offside position but because the ball was headed by Luisao and unintentionally hit a Setubal player the linesman did not lift his flag.. In my opinion it could have gone either way, whether the linesman read the play as i described above or he just hesitated in lifting the flag, is a different story all together. After the 11th minute Benfica took control of the game and assumed most the initiatives, occasionally creating good goal mouth situations only to see Bergessio waste them, in wastes that would make Nuno Gome's look like nothing. I forget what the possession percentage was at the end of the half, but let's say the scales tipped in favor of Benfica considerably. At half-time Camacho substituted Dabao for Coentrao, and Di Maria dropped to the left flank, a moved that was detrimental to Benfica's attacking aspirations as Di Maria did quite well in the play making role. At about the 70 minute mark, Camacho made a double subtitution, Adu for Di Maria and Mantorras for Bergessio. Setubal continued to defend well, compact and with 10 players behind the line of the ball, leaving no spaces for Benfica to get through. In the 93rd minute a ball was crossed from the right over the right back onto Adu, Adu controlled and shot a low left foot shot in the right corner of the Setubal goal past the outstretched Setubal keeper. 1-1 and that's how the game finished.. Here's my individual appreciation:

Quim - Consistent, with no chance in the Setubal goal, a couple saves, but not much work.

Luis Felipe - Continues to struggle and honestly, i think his substitute at Braga, Joao Pereira(former Benfica player) is way better then him. He had a couple of good crosses, but overall not a very impressive performance, i don't think he is a player for Benfica.

Luisao - Not to much to point out to tonight's captain, I'm just happy to see him healthy and ascending to his regular form.

Zoro - The Ivory Coast international, had a consistent performance, with the only blemish being the one ball he tried to settle as the last man and was stolen by a Setubal player who was then fouled by Zoro in a foul that could have very well been sanctioned with a red card.

Miguelito - Just like his right side counterpart, Miguelito had a discreet performance, seems nervous, lacking authority, lacking an identity. I know he is young, but there are better left backs playing in the Bwin in bottom of the table teams making half his salary.. He offers me no confidence and i hope Leo doesn't get hurt.

Binya - Was well recuperating balls but not so well doing something constructive with those balls, nonetheless he played well. The one thing he has to learn is control, it bothers me when he has clearly gained on a player and has put himself in good position to steal the ball, yet, the best he can do is run the opposing player over. I just can't understand that.

Katsouranis - Regular performance by the Greek international, often appearing in the attacking front to create numerical advantages. He did seem a bit tired towards the end of the game,

Coentrao - Got another chance from Camacho but failed to impress once again, nothing went well, lost dribbles, errant passes, this player is in need of a huge dose of morality, because right now he lacks confidence and it shows in his playing. One more year at Rio Ave wouldn't have hurt him.

Assis - Best i've seen him play in that position, which is not his natural position. combined well with Di Maria and often looked to build the attack.

Di Maria - Good performance by the new 20 in the play maker role, the switch to the left side at half time affected him and also affected the team as he disappeared from the game. Beautiful pass to Bergessio which was incredibly wasted in the face of goal.

Bergessio - The Argentine is quickly becoming the most disliked acquisition for the new season. While he seemed to be in Fernando Santo's good graces, with Camacho he is yet to prove his value. Incredible misses in front of goal. He shares the worst man of the match player prize with Coentrao. In his defense, the center forward position is not his natural position and he showed that as far as mobility and runs made he was right on target, same can't be said about his shots. Needs time to adapt, he is also coming off an injury. He is a worker and a player that can do several positions in the attacking front.

Dabao - Didn't bring much, although there was a slight improvement from the last game i saw him play.

Mantorras - Good to see Mantorras out there again and many Benfiquistas like me still hope that Mantorras can be the player he once was, a force of nature, the truth is that he will never be that again.. He still needs a lot more work, seemed very rusty, yet this appearance can be interpreted as a reward for the intensive work he has put in. I hope he comes back and can be useful, even if it's to come off the bench and score the winning goal.

Adu - Man of the game in my opinion, fought to the end and did what Bergessio failed to do in 70 mins.

Still on Adu
In my preview of this game i had predicted Freddy's start, and although in the back of my mind it might have been unrealistic, it's wishful thinking, wishful thinking that is starting to turn into logic with every minute Freddy plays. I think every Benfiquista is hoping that Freddy becomes one of the most important players of Benfica history, if not every benfiquista, at least the ones in the North American continent, where i am. Out of all the young players that Benfica bought this year, Freddy seems to be the one that is getting more adapted to the Benfica game. It is the second time he rises to the occasion ( third if you want to count his Sporting performance). The hardest thing to do is to come off the bench and make a difference in a game where that difference is what's needed. That is what separates the "men from the boys" the good players from the great players. Freddy has been working hard, taking every chance to learn from his coaches as well as some of his peers, he doesn't hide it, every interview, Freddy talks about how privileged he is to play with Rui Costa and how he is learning so much from this experience, always showing humbleness and gratefulness for being in the position he is currently in. Mind you, this is a kid that at 14 was signing a million dollar shoe deal with Nike and being showcased by MLS and the media has the future of US soccer, comparisons to some of the greatest players ever to step on a soccer pitch were drawn. You want to talk about pressure? You want to talk about Ego stroking? Yet.. every time i see a photograph at practice or a short clip of team training on TV there's Freddy, always with a smile on his face, always in what appears to be a good mood talking to his teammates.. His attitude is commendable and something that should be taken notice of. His humbleness and his work ethic is something that will always pay off. I hope to see him playing a lot more, he deserves to play and every chance he has been given he has risen to the occasion, i can't say that about any other Benfica young player.
Keep working Freddy, your time will come.