With the light at the end of the tunnel dimming for second place, Benfica is still very much alive in the Portuguese Cup, where they will play Sporting for a place in the final this wednesday.
It'll be the fourth time Benfica plays Sporting this season. Benfica beat Sporting in pre-season, during the Guadiana Tournament, and both teams have played to a deadlocks on the two games for the Bwin. This time around there will be a winner, and that winner will have a chance to play for the Portuguese Cup, one of the objectives for the season.
Benfica comes off one of the worst defeats at home, a defeat that saw them fall from 2nd to 4th, and out of any type of chance of entering the Champions League.
Sporting who has already lost the League Cup final this season, will be looking to get back into another final.
For this game, Chalana has called the following players:
Keepers: Quim and Butt;
Defenders: Luís Filipe, Nelson, Léo, Luisão, Maxi Pereira, Edcarlos and Sepsi;
Midfielders: Petit, Katsouranis, Rui Costa, Rodriguez, Binya and Di María;
Forwards: Nuno Gomes, Cardozo and Mantorras.
A repeat from the game roster he called for the Boavista game. Left out were Makukula and Assis, who were in this past weekend's game roster. Freddy Adu continues to not be part of Chalana's plans, a decision that continues to raise a lot of questions on the fan's minds. At this point, there's no explanation from Chalana as to why he continues to ommit Freddy, and no one in the media has really asked why. There are a couple of rumours going around about Freddy, but at this time i will chose to not air them out.
Probable starting 11 will be:
Quim in goal, Nelson, Luisao, Katsouranis and Leo. Petit in the defensive midfield, Rui Costa, Maxi and Rodriguez as the attacking midfielders, Nuno Gomes and Cardozo up front. Nothing new, the same line up that played against Boavista, after trying and failing to substitute Binya in Maxi's position, Chalana will take it back to a system that worked. It worked agains Boavista, will it work against Sporting?
Personally i'd go with 4-2-2-2 for this game, which would allow for a better chance of controlling midfield. Binya and Petit side by side in the midfield, and Rodriguez and Rui Costa completing the top half of the square in midfield, supporting Nuno Gomes and Cardozo, with Nuno Gomes dropping into the 10 slot when it comes time to transition.
You can expect a hard fought game in the midfield, with the difference coming from set pieces. Sporting might have a little bit of an edge playing home, but not by much, as Benfica has had a lot more success playing away this season.
Benfica who feels the season slipping away, will be up for this game, as the Portuguese Cup might turn out to be the highlight of the season.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Sporting - Benfica - Portuguese Cup Preview
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9 comments:
I am extremely confused as to why Freddy is left out and is seeing so little pt at Benfica. It seemed that he started so brightly. Of course, no one expects him to pip Rui Costa for his position, but still there must have been more opportunities to get Freddy quality time than he has received so far.
I am curious as to what rumors you have heard? Anything that can shed light on this situation would be appreciated.
Grace and Peace.
Here's the simple reason why Freddy should see more playing time...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCpIQalU2ao
Sorry for the duplicate...I didn't think it worked the first time :)
That last play in that video was great! He's got a great left foot!
Fumas, for those of us in the states that can't speak Portugese, by all means air out the rumors. I for one am extremely curious as to what is being whispered in regards to Freddy.
I think at this point it would be unfair to Freddy to air these rumours out. I have read a few commentaries on Portuguese Blogs, and i don't want to bring them to the English medium just yet. As i don't really know who is reading this blog in terms of people who are close to Freddy. Give me a little bit more time, my apologies for creating curiosity among some of the readers, and not unveiling what i have heard. I promise to reveal what i've read soon.
Fumas,
I understand where you are coming from. As a fan of Freddy, it's just difficult to see his club putting out poor performances while he is unable to help. I hope he is training hard and doing everything he can to prove himself to the new manager as he seems to have matured considerably since leaving MLS. My fingers are crossed that this situation resolves itself.
@b-rob
I think all of us are pulling for Freddy. I am a Portuguese/American who as lived in the US for quite sometime, I have been a Benfica fan since i could understand what a ball was. When I found out that Freddy was signed by Benfica, I couldn't be more delighted, and my feelings are echoed by the majority of Portuguese Benfica fans currently living in the NA continent. I have been a contributor to Freddyadu.com with game previews and game reviews for most part of the season, his sudden omission from the game rosters has put a stop to that. So if you can understand, I have some loyalty to Freddy. Most fans are scratching their head and wondering what is going on, everyone is baffled. There's no doubt in my mind, Freddy should be in the list of 18, and be one of the first choices of the bench.
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