Benfica 0 - Leixoes 0 - New Signings Needed!!

In their first home game of the new year, Benfica could not beat 14th place Leixoes and loses another 2 points to leaders Porto, who have increased their lead to 11 points. A lead that will most likely be enough to bring in their 3rd league title in as many years. Some of you might think that there's still a lot of games to be played and that it's not over yet, blah, blah, blah. The reality is that Benfica has a better chance of bringing Fernando Santos back than to win the league title this season. That is the the reality. In a game where Benfica was a clear favorite going into the game, Benfica didn't show enough arguments during the game to come away with the 3 points.


Maybe i'm being a little bit too harsh, but the Benfica i saw tonight, is not a Benfica that can challenge for the the title. Not being able to beat a 14th place team in front of your home crowd can only illustrate the point I made above.

On to the game

Camacho started the exact 11 i had predicted:

Quim in goal. Leo, David Luiz, Luisao and Nelson were the back four from left to right. Petit played in front of the defense, while Di Maria, Rui Costa and Maxi formed the midfield line. Up front it was Nuno Gomes supporting Cardozo.
Rodriguez was not fully recuperated and DiMaria got another golden opportunity to prove himself before he loses the spot to a much strong Rodriguez.

I waited for this game with a lot of anticipation, after all, how often does Benfica play with 2 forwards? Could this be the game that would convince Camacho that this is the way we should be playing? I was sure that this would be the game where everything clicked. It was a rough week for the team, and i was sure the team was going to come out and prove to their fan base that the incident from Saturday is behind them and come out more united than ever, with that unity being the main catalyst to a convincing win. Boy, was I wrong.

Benfica started well, and took control of the game from the start, their first sign of danger came at the 15th minute mark, when Nuno Gomes saw his goal being called back after he was mistakenly adjudged off-side. It was the first and only clear chance for Benfica in the first half, a Benfica too dependent on Rui Costa's play, with Petit and Luisao very far from their ideal form , and without someone who could penetrate the final third with enough danger to provide any real arguments to change the scoreboard.
Di Maria continues to not impress me, and often complicates the game with his exaggerated dribbling and wrong decisions ( is anyone working with DiMaria in training? He seems to make the same mistakes over and over). On the right, Maxi continues to prove Camacho wrong, as the Spaniard insists on Maxi to be the best man for the position.
With the exception of Nuno Gomes "off-side" goal, Benfica didn't do much else to justify being on top. Granted that the goal could have very well given the game a different direction, Benfica did nothing else to justify being on top at the halfway mark.

The second half brought more of the same Benfica, a team without arguments to dominate, a team without players who can make a difference, with the exception of Rui Costa. On the other side of the ball, Leixoes seemed to have gotten a shot of confidence in the locker room and were now the team creating danger, with a few very close chances that include a couple balls hitting the crossbar and post.
Camacho made the right players enter the field as subs but all of the moves he made as a result were all wrong.
At the 60 minute mark, Camacho brought in Assis, for Nelson!?!. Nelson had been playing well and it made no sense taking him out, after all he has speed and is able to do the right corridor with ease. Maxi backed into Nelson's spot while Assis switched with Di Maria. Another stroke of genius by Mr Camacho, why would you put Assis on the left and DiMaria on the right when Assis, strongest foot is the right and DiMaria's is the left?? I'm still trying to figure out this move.
As a result of this move, Both DiMaria and Assis were now dribbling into the interior of the field as all wrong footed players have the tendency to do. Not only did Camacho lose the width of the field, he also caused Benfica's offensive game to be funneled towards the center, where the Leixoes could very easily defend.
The second substitution of the evening, at the 73rd minute mark, brought in Benfica's older talisman, Mantorras. Mantorras came in for Cardozo. Another genius move, with the game coming to an end, why would you pull out the one player who can win head balls in the box and is also your biggest inside the box target?
Freddy Adu came in the 78th minute for Di Maria. DiMarias' exit was not as bad as the previous 2 moves, but keeping Freddy on the right seemed to make the substitution look bad. Benfica still had a couple of last gasp chances, but Leixoes' keeper was able to thwart them with a couple instinctive saves. Benfica finished the game, and despite having a valid case on the goal that was disallowed, they can't be happy with the way they played, and come off the field with the feeling that they didn't do much to deserve the 3 points.

Individually

Quim - 6
Leo - 7
David Luiz - 7
Luisao - 5
Nelson - 6
Petit - 6
Rui Costa - 8
DiMaria - 5
Maxi - 5
Nuno Gomes - 5
Cardozo - 6

Mantorras - 5
Assis - 6
Adu - 5

After a turbulent week, Benfica fails to shake off the dark cloud that has parked itself over the team. It's been 12 days since the start of the market and Benfica as yet to sign a player. It's hard to believe how Benfica has not signed anyone, after all, the squad's deficiencies were identified a while ago, and with the reportedly 20mm in transfer funds available, it just baffles me how Benfica has not been able to secure the services players that were referenced by Camacho to improve the team.
They sold a player, that is probably the most sought after player in Brazil, for 3.75mm and 2 exhibition matches in the USA, which was under the stipulated price of 4mm, and big name signings are nowhere to be found.

Camacho seems a shadow of himself these days, with his passive posture on the bench, a far cry from the Camacho that shouted instructions continously into the field from a few years back. It's almost as if he has conformed to Benfica's current state, and feels that the team has reached its full potential, and can't do better.
At the end of the game he spoke of the mental breakdown the team suffered following the team's Champions League exit, and the lack of attitude and aggressiveness by the team.
Hello!!! You're the coach, coach the team!! That's why you are there, to recuperate the team mentally from less than favorable situations, to help them through tough periods, to motivate them for the future. The Champions League has been over for a while, and all of the sudden the team's exit from the competition is being seen as some type of a turning point, of the season? His coaching leaves much to be desired too as of late.

In my opinion, the league is lost, let's concentrate on the direct CL access, the Portuguese Cup and a decent showing in the Uefa Cup, which can only happen if good signings are made.

To finish up -
It looks like Benfica is about to sign Romania's U-21 left back, Lazslo Sepsi for 2.5mm. Benfica beat out Dynamo and Steaua of Bucharest. The player is already in Lisbon and attended tonight's game.. Diego Souza's 3.75mm Euros at work.

Leave your rants on the comment box bellow, it will help you feel better, trust me.

Game Highlights