New Faces

While the coaching situation is far from being a certainty for next year, Benfica has already confirmed two new acquisitions for the upcoming season. Patric and Ramires, both young Brazilians and members of Brazil's "U" squads, are referenced as young talents with potential bright futures ahead.







Patric Cabral Lalau

Birth Date - March 25, 1989(20 years old)
Birth Place - Criciuma, Brazil
Height - 5' 7 1/2"
Weight 160lbs

Previous Clubs - Criciuma(senior debut), Sao Caetano.
National Team Experience - U20 capped, 09 South American Youth Championship Winner.

Patric is a right back and, from what I have read, has a style of playing similar to Inter's Maicon. His main assets are his speed and endurance, a modern side back who is capable of making the transition into the attack.
"Compact, agile and reactive, with top levels of athleticism an physical attributes" is how this youngster is described in a prospecting site.
His ability to move up the field with the ball at his feet and his never ending quest to win the touchline, culminating with a driven cross into the box, seem to be Patric's M.O., certainly a player that Benfica can use.

With Patric's acquisition, Benfica adds depth to the right side of the defense. Maxi who was moved to right side back of the defense, was perhaps Benfica's most regular defender, and in my opinion Benfica's best defensive player this season, but the Uruguayan has shown some limitations particularly in his attacking game, has he isn't necessarily your typical speedster. Nonetheless, his consistent performances, and his never surrender attitude made him a staple and one of the pillars of this past year's defense. The arrival of Patric will certainly not mean the demise of Maxi, instead the right side of the defense will now be deep, with Miguel Vitor as a third option.





Ramires Santos dos Nascimento

Birth Date - March 24, 1987(22 years old)
Birth Place - Barra do Pirai', Brazil
Height - 5' 11"
Weight 146lbs

Previous Clubs - Joinville(senior debut), Cruzeiro.
National Team Experience - U23 2008 Olympic team member(Bronze),

Ramires is a center midfielder, but can play several roles in the midfield. His frail appearance give the impression of a player who can be easily pushed off the ball, but that is not the case with Ramires, as he is known mostly by his fighting spirit and his competitive fiber. Ramires will not shy away from a 50/50 ball and will often come out on top against players that seem a lot stronger than him.
His fighting spirit have earned him the nickname of "Warrior Ramires"(Guerreiro Ramires). He has also earned the name "Blue Kenyan"(Queniano Azul), that off course, because of his physical appearance.
I had the opportunity to watch Ramires in action this past weekend, when Cruzeiro played Sao Paulo for the second time in 4 days, and I can tell you that i liked the player. Without having a very flashy game, Ramires demonstrated very interesting abilities and traits. He played as a more retracted forward, but more in the midfield than behind the main forward. Playing a bit to the right, Ramires not only appeared as a target man for transition build up, he would also show up in the front line so quickly, that it seemed like he had always been there.

A very interesting player if you ask me, that can very easily slip into the box to box role, a role which was very much null for Benfica this year. He is quick, has good ball skills, a decent mid-range, and exhibits good defensive skills, which make him the the perfect player for the role.
He can be a very important player for Benfica, he is only 22, but he is already admired by many and a proven player domestically. Ramires was so dear to the Cruzeiro fan base that the club's president was compelled to write a letter to the fans explaining Ramires departure.
He recently earned his first call up to Brazil's national team, and is presently in camp with the "canarinha" preparing for World Cup Qualifiers and the Confederations Cup which is going down this summer down in South Africa.





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