The Season's First Look

Benfica played their first game of their 08/09 season tonight against Estoril. A game that served more as an observation on how the players have evolved since the start of the preseason. The 1-1 result means nothing this early, especially when there are important players that will be making their 08/09 pre season debut on Monday.

Quique's first 11 was the following:
Moreira in goal, Luis Felipe, Miguel Victor, Edcarlos and Leo in the back. Yebda, Carlos martins, Balboa and Assis as the middle 4. Dabao and Makukula up front. Amorim, came in the middle of the first half for Yebda who had physical problems.

In the second half:
Moreira, Luis Felipe, Joao Pereira, Edcarlos, Sepsi in the back. Binya, Assis, Ruben Amorim, Andre Carvalhas composed the midfield. Urreta and the 16 year old Nelson Oliveira were up front.

Also getting minutes were Miguel Rosa

It's difficult and unfair to formulate any type of an appreciation of the team's performance in their first outing. For one, not all the players are available yet, and it's the first time the team plays a competitive game this season. The most important thing, from a fans perspective, was to get a first look at the new players, and Quique’s first formation and desired style of play.

The new players:

Yebda, showed some promise with his style of play and his intimidating stature. A player of his stature and strength is very important in the defensive midfield sector, not only because of the amount of physicality the position requires, but also because, having an aerial presence is an added bonus, and Yebda has both. He scored Benfica's goal, meeting a Carlos Martins free kick.

Balboa - 45 interesting minutes, where his speed seemed to be the most impressive of his traits. He is a classic winger, who stretches the field with his positioning and his deep incursions, something that Benfica lacked last season.

Martins - Martin's playing style is no mystery to Benfica fans, he is a transition player who gets a large amount of touches on the ball, especially when the team tries to build up. Not a bad outing for Martins who, like everyone else, still needs more time to find the competitive rhythm.

Ruben Amorim - Came in for the Yebda, who had some physical limitations, and showed some a good touches this early in the season. Like Martins, Amorim deserves no introduction on his playing style and what he brings to the team. He will be deep in the thick of the fight, trying to get a starting spot in Quique's 11. It will not be easy, but having a player like Amorim on the bench is a clear plus, as he is capable of offering the same type of level off the bench.

UrretaVizcaya - As with all South American players, he will need time to adapt to the European game, but you can tell that there is talent there. He will need to go through the adaptation period first. That alone will be the big test for the 19 year old Uruguayan, whether that period will be at Benfica or somewhere else this season, remains to be seen.

Another player that stood out was Carvalhas, who despite being on his way to Rio Ave, showed that he has enough arguments to fight for a spot in the squad until the very last cut.

To finish, still a lot of work to be done for Quique, both on the tactical aspect and the physical aspect, as expected this early in the season.
With the return of the remainder of the players on Monday, the squad will start taking shape, and will be trimmed down to a more manageable number. Benfica has yet to close their squad, and Quique has stated that the players yet to be acquired are as relevant as Pablo Aimar, key word “relevant”.
Benfica’s next game will be on the 25th of July against Blackburn Rovers, for the Guadiana Tournament. We will certainly see a much different Benfica team then the one we saw tonight.