After a much needed period of rest, Benfica gets back into the flow of things with a visit to Belenenses. The two Lisbon teams meet in the 13th round of the Bwin, Belenenses is currently 9th, with 15 points, while Benfica is 2nd with 25 points. Belenenses has a very good team and will offer Benfica a real challenge. Benfica will need to continue their winning ways in order to continue their pursuit of Porto. Benfica bounced back from their first defeat of the season in the Bwin with 2 wins. Benfica beat Shakhtar in the Ukraine to clinch a Uefa Cup spot and they beat Academica this past weekend to go forward in the Portuguese cup.
Camacho has called the following players:
Keepers: Butt and Quim
Defenders: Léo, Luisão, Luis Filipe, Nelson and David Luiz
Midfielders: Katsouranis, Bynia, Maxi, Rui Costa, Adu, Petit, Cristián Rodriguez, Nuno Assis and Di Maria
Forwards: Nuno Gomes and Cardozo.
Possible Starting 11
Quim will once again be in goal after sitting out the Portuguese cup game. In defense, we will see Benfica's strongest back four, Nelson, Luisao, David Luiz and Leo. Katsouranis and Petit will be in front of the defense, with the Greek being the box-to-box man, providing support for the 3 attacking midfielders. Rodriguez will be back on the left wing, while Maxi will be on the right. In the middle it'll be Rui Costa supporting the red hot Cardozo.
This is clearly Benfica's base squad, one could argue for Di Maria to play on one of the wings, especially after having played well last weekend in Rodriguez's absence, but Rodriguez's favorite side is also the left. In order for them to both play, their changing of flanks would have to be seamless, and their contribute should remain positive no matter what flank they play in, and right now, there's too much of a Di Maria drop in performance when he goes to the right. Something that could very well be changed with time. It's hard to sit Di Maria when he appeared to be gaining confidence and building good form momentum, but, collective effort comes first.
As a Benfica fan, you have to feel good about Benfica's chances going into this game, after a whirlwind of a schedule, with games every 3 days, Camacho finally got a chance to rest key players like Rui Costa and Katsouranis. He can also count on Rodriguez who did not play the past 2 games, after picking up an injury against Porto. Team's rested and at full strenght, Quim seems to have recuperated from the knee injury he picked up in training earlier in the week and Leo also seems 100% from the mild concussion he suffered against Academica. I am expecting a hard fought game, evenly matched, with attacking third efficiency being the key for Benfica. Benfica's midfield has struggled at times in the past couple of games, they will need to be very sharp and make minimal mistakes. Finishing and midfield precision are my keys to this game. Let's hope that Cardozo continues his scoring streak, in what will definitely be a sign of him coming into the "Matador" role he came labeled as, upon his arrival to Benfica.
2-0 Benfica
Leave your own prediction, starting 11, and keys to the game in the comment box below.
On a side note, Benfica extended David Luiz's contract through 2013, and added a 50mm clause.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Belenenses - Benfica Preview
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6 comments:
I expect Quim;
Defense
Leo,Luisao,Luis Filipe,David Luiz;
Midfield
Katsouranis,Petit,Maxi,Rodriguez, Rui Costa
Forward
Cardozo
Cardozo is on a goal scoring tangent, it would be unwise to pull him for anyone. The attack will revolve around Rui Costa, so I expect him to marked. It'll be interesting to see if Rodriguez will step up if Rui Costa is ineffective, I'm not sold on Rodriguez on the left, Di Maria is better IMO. For some reason Camacho likes Luis Filipe, I think he gets the nod ahead of Nelson, undiservedly. If Cardozo is ineffective I expect to see Nuno Gomes in at the 60 minute mark, Di Maria in for Rodriguez and maybe Adu for Maxi.
I think this is a win for Benfica, it will be a hardfought match but Belenenses does not have enough to win.
3-0
Rui Costa, Cardozo, Petit
I've no doubt Benfica will play as you predict.
Of course I'd like to see Rodriguez and Di Maria at same time. Possibly with Rodriguez on the right wing or even in the middle.
0-1 Cardozo
PS.
Chelito is 99% or even 100% on our way.
And Bellushi maybe will come to Portugal but for Oporto.
Last but not the LEAST the "Benfica extended David Luiz's contract through 2013, and added a 50mm clause". I hope Camacho can manage to stay in Benfica for a long time because he seems the right man to put Benfica in the top again.
@kingAl30 - I like to see Di Maria on the left too, but i think Rodriguez holds the ball a lot better then DiMaria, i think DiMaria might have the speed edge, but not by a lot. i also think Rodriguez has more of a fighting spirit than Di Maria, the other thing i've noticed about DiMaria, is his stamina management, he goes all out, and will fade out in the second half from tiredness. there's nothing wrong with going all out, but when you are a talented enough player that can change the course of a game at any given minute, you should be on the pitch the whole 90. I have seen DiMaria chase the ball like a mad man. See if you notice that, next game he plays from the start. I am expecting a very hard game for Benfica.
@NetKing - Cruz Azul finally confirmed on their website that there was an offer from an European team for Delgado - The title of the article mentions a French team, but there is no mention of any teams in the body of the article. I also read this morning, that Benfica and Delgado have reached an agreement as far as wages and anything else involved with his transfer. Benfica will now have to go to Cruz Azul and tie up the loose ends there.
I'd love to see Camacho stay too, but the Portuguese mentality is "give us titles, and if your don't, you should be on the way out.." a Coaching longevity of the likes of Alex Ferguson is unseen in Portugal.
Thanks for commenting
I'd just like to comment on this coaching aspect. I think Benfica should find a coach that they like (and maybe this is Camacho) and then give him stability. Stop changing coaches every year. It does us no good and it really disappoints me.
And on Belluschi. He is exactly what we need (RM) and now we allow our rivals to acquire his services? Come on, LFV! >:|
Now that Benfica's finances are somewhat healthy they should take on a plan that would make Benfica one of the biggest teams in Europe in the span of the next 10 years, for that we need the stability of having a steady coach. i believe there's such a plan right now and LFV has "injected" Benfica's human infrastructure with critical people that will help the club grow, Rui Aguas, Joao Alves are some of the names that have come into the club recently that have been positive additions to the program. Benfica's youth development is the best it's been in a very long time. So there are a few things that are in place towards making Benfica be what once was. The continuity of Camacho is vital for the program to proceed without interruptions.
It's a funny thing about Porto. everytime there's a player that Benfica is interested in, in comes Porto, it's kind of funny - the most recent examples being Kazmirczak and Edgar, both were mentioned by the media as Benfica targets and they ended up with Porto. How much time have these 2 players played at Porto? You have to think they buy the players so that Benfica doesn't get them. there's no doubt in my mind Kaz would be part of the starting rotation on a reg, Edgar too. I would have bet on Edgar to start over Nuno Gomes, instead he is seldom used by Porto.
I see Bellushi as another case. I am wondering if LFV has forgotten about the 2 players from atl madrid that were part of the Simao deal. Atl is looking to buy some more players in the january window, why not see what is there? - one example - Valero check it here - http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/1a_division/atletico/es/index.html
right midfielder that might be on his way to Racing Santander.
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