Olympiacos 5 - Benfica 1 Goodbye UEFA

Despite being off from work, and being free to watch the game, family commitments didn't permit me to watch the game. Thanksgiving lunch took priority, as my occasional peek at the score on my phone left me as surprised as the bird that sat in front of me.
With the turkey well gone from my system, I thought it was time to also get last night's loss out.
There's still a possibility of qualifying, but the variables are many. Call me a pessimist or maybe a realist, but a team that suffers 7 goals in two games for a competition where most of their opposition is at a level below them, doesn't really deserve to be in the next round.

Off course when i say this, i have no intentions of defeating or criticizing the work that's been done up until this point, but our team, still shows a lot of signs of immaturity and of inexperience. It's only natural for the team to exhibit these signs, after all, let's not forget that it's a brand new project and from last year's 11 we have 5 players that are part of the starting core - Quim(1350 minutes), Luisao(990), Maxi(1295),Katsouranis(928) and Nuno Gomes(852.
If you think about it, it's remarkable that a team that has gone through a complete overhaul is doing this well(well at least domestically). You can argue that it wouldn't take much to surpass last year's poor effort, nonetheless, new coach, new methods and new players often fall under the "transition year" category, but that hasn't been the case this year, as Benfica has had their best start in 15 years. Yet, in European competition it's a much different story, as the inexperience will often turn into your worst enemy.

Once again Quique did not fail to surprise, I have yet to hit a starting 11 this year, i thought for sure this game was going to be it, but Quique as always, had other plans in mind. Binya in for Katsouranis in the midfield was the biggest surprise of the 11. I though for sure the Greek would be on, playing in his country, with a bit of extra motivation, i could have sworn he would be a guarantee to start, but apparently the lack of training during the week, due to a upper respiratory system virus, relegated the Katsouranis to the bench.

Not having watched the game, it would not only be unfair but also inaccurate to write my usual appreciation of the game. Instead I'd like to say that, this game can't be forgotten, it must be digested by the team, but not forgotten, and just like the Galatasaray game, the team needs to pick themselves up and keep going, there's still 6 months left in the season. This Monday the first place in the Liga Sagres will be up for grabs, and the team needs to emerge with a clean face, and be ready for battle, that's all there is to it.


As far as the future in the UEFA Cup, it seems very bleak. Too many variables, to which a generous sum of goals would need to be scored by Benfica when they host Metalist, off course this assuming that all the right results happen around Benfica.
In the upcoming round - a Galatasaray win against Hertha and an Olympiacos win in the Ukraine just for starters. If that happens there's still a remote chance of Benfica getting in.