A Show of Face

While in the past, personal and professional commitments kept me from posting to this blog, the same can't be said about my recent absence. I can best explain my recent absence, on my current state of mind and my emotional ties to the club.
"If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything", i learned that at an early age, and perhaps it was with that in mind that I avoided coming here and venting about the club's current situation.
It would have been so easy to just log in, and let it fly, because it's so much easier to criticize when everything falls apart, then when things are going well.
I wanted to steer clear from criticizing and just take a moment to reflect and cool off. A moment to accept that after another year of high expectations and dreams, we find ourselves back in the same position we were last year, in shambles.

It took me a while to decide when to sit down and put down some thoughts about the past 3 weeks, but i think i owe it to myself, and to you, the reader, some thoughts on the current situation.

I can't really say that i turned my back on the team, but rather, a break from the emotional connection i have to the club i hold so dear to my heart.

It all started with the 1-3 loss against Nacional, after finding out that Sporting had just tied their game, and with an opportunity to come closer to second place with a win, Benfica threw away their end of season consolation prize with a loss to Nacional.
I had a lot of disappointments throughout the season, but i think that this was probably the worst one, and definitely the one that pushed me away from the team. I knew that fiirst place was out of the question, but still believed second place would be reachable.
It's pointless to discuss tactics at this time, but with streak the team had been putting together up until that point, changing up the formula could only spell trouble, and that in my opinion is what did Benfica in. With Aimar's absence, Amorim, who is by many hailed has Benfica's best man for the central midfielder role, was forced to go outside, a change that had serious ramifications on the team.
I think this was the breaking point for many supporters, which showed up at the airport to voice their displeasure with the team.
Next up it was Trofense, next to last on the table, the Liga Sagres debutantes took their fifth point from a possible six from Benfica this season.
2 games left and we are left worrying about looking down, as the possibilities for upward mobility have all shut down.

Winning the remaining two games is all that is left to do, and to finish up the season, limiting anymore shame, should be the only goal at this time.

Quique's Continuity


I'm still defending the continuity of Quique, although the media seems to project his exit with every day that goes by.
Most of all, i stand by Rui Costa's project, and whatever decision he makes in regards to the future of the project. Recent reports place Jorge Jesus at the Benfica helm for next year, and if Benfica decides to dig another coaching grave, in my opinion it should be someone who has complete familiarity with the league, and all of its ins and outs. Certainly Jesus and Cajuda would be optimal candidates, but i'll continue to defend Quique's continuity, even if he has continued to commit grave mistakes when it comes to leading this team. I'm totally opposed against Scolari.

If Quiue is to continue, i get the sense he will have a minuscule error margin, and dismissing a coach mid-season would not be the best for the team. Let's not forget that Quique will also have less talent to work with, which will definitely make things a lot more interesting for the Spaniard. With the millions from the Champions League more lost then Madoff victim's money, Benfica can't possibly afford to have another Suazo and Reyes on the team.

The decision, if it hasn't already been made, it'll be made shortly after the season is over. Sending Quique packing will send an hypocritical message, as he was the chosen coach for the project, this will also bring forth Rui Costa's short sightedness in regards to picking the right person for the project, but after all, it is Costa's first year, and that can certainly be dismissed as a rookie mistake.

My biggest pet peeve about Flores has to be that in 10 months in front of the team, he has not been capable of making the team play attractive soccer. That to me is baffling. How is he not able to establish any type of routines from a team that trains 5 days a week? Off course his substitutions leave much to be desired also, but I think the decision on whether he stays or not, will ultimately lie on what objectives he has reached in Rui Costa's eyes. To you and me, the objectives were composed of a championship, a decent UEFA Cup showing, and the Portuguese Cup, none of these were reached.
What else is Quique being judged on? He recently spoke about invisible objectives, but will these be enough to keep him?
This tuesday's "A Bola" Reports that both Quique and Benfica have already reached an agreement for his departure, certainly the next 3 weeks will bring us more news.