Belenenses 0 - Benfica 4 - (Steam)Rolling Along

After the 8 goal victory over Setubal, Benfica repeated their generosity by leaving 4 goals in Belenenses' nets.
In a game where Benfica wasn't as dominating as the game against Setubal, it was still an impressive display of what the team is capable of.
With JJ making 1 change to the team that played against Setubal, the team was once again at the level they have shown this early in the season, and when the team plays at this level, it's very hard to stop them.


JJ line up the following 11:
Quim in goal. Amorim, Luisao, David Luiz and Peixoto from right to left in the back. Javi Garcia, DiMaria, Ramires and Aimar in the midfield. Saviola and Cardozo up front.
Cesar Peixoto was the only change to the team, as he replaced Shaffer on the left side of the defense.

Benfica started the game well, but it was Belenenses that threatened first, perhaps their 1 of 2 threats all game. After that it was all Benfica, with Saviola opening up the scoreboard with a goal for the highlight reel. Saviola receives the ball in Benfica's midfield circle and takes it all the way to goal. Saviola benefited from some passiveness by the Beleneses defense, still, all merit goes to Saviola as he was able to able to finish the play strong after a 60 yard sprint with the ball at his feet, and at a time where 3 defenders + the keeper were defending against him.
Following the goal Benfica continued to dominate, but lacked some of the accuracy in the final pass, which prevented Benfica to go into the half with a more comfortable lead. Yet, with the level of play, and with the domination Benfica was having, there were very little doubts as to would emerge as the victors at the end of the game.

The second half, was more of a continuation of the first, but with goals to show. Cardozo got his 4th of the season at the 58th minute, following a nice combination play between Amorim and Saviola, with the Argentine serving Cardozo for the easy tap in.
Cardozo who hadn't been having a good game until that point, proved that sometimes you just need to be in the right spot, at the right time, that is what center forwards do. He would eventually come out at the 63rd minute mark, giving his spot to Keirrison. Coentrao followed Keirrison into the game, at the 67th minute mark, coming in for the exhausted DiMaria. Benfica continued their domination and would get their 3rd in the 73rd minute, following a free kick by Aimar, which found Javi Garcia for an unopposed shealder(mix of shoulder and head). It was the second goal in as many games for the young Spaniard who has been reported as being under observation by Spanish national team coach, Del Bosque. The Spaniard would give his spot 6 minutes laster to the newly returned Maxi, who got valuable minutes at right back, as Amorim slid into the defensive midfielder spot.
The fourth goal came in the 88th minute as Ramires had another easy tap in following an assist by Coentrao. The Brazilian has now scored in every game in the Liga Sagres Benfica has played.

Total domination by Benfica, who could have come out of Belem with more than 4. As i mentioned, there were some deficiencies in the final pass chapter, but i believe that was due to the two week stoppage and some competitive rustiness.
It's impressive how much the high quick pressure benefits the team. The large amount of turnovers it causes, and subsequent quick counters it initiates, are one of Benfica's biggest traits this year.

If JJ stated he would have Benfica playing double of what they played last year, well he has done it. Regardless of the quality of our opponents, the differences are very visible and everyone can see. The team plays attractive effective and entertaining futebol, it's no wonder that wherever the team goes, the fans follow with anticipation. This past Sunday it was the biggest home attendance for belenenses in 20 years, and just like Belem, i suspect we will see this wave of support for the team throughout the country.

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Braga 1 - Benfica 3 - A Reason to Smile

On the last away game of the season, Benfica secured 3rd place and sent away some of the vultures that circled above hoping that the defeated would allow themselves to be eaten.
In a game where the team showed a tremendous sense of opportunity and discipline, as well as character, it was the capitalizing of early opportunities that proved to turn the game into a much easier game than amticipated.
But it wasn't all the lucky(?) breaks that made the game, solid performances by Cardozo, Moreira, Miguel Vitor, Amorim, DiMaria, and Urreta gained back some of the respect the team had been losing throughout the year, and help set the presumptuous wanna bees back in their rightful places.

Funny how things work, the same players that were at the center of this game's success were players that were second line players at one point or another in the season.
I lost track to how many times i read and wrote that Amorim should be playing in the middle not on the right, that Cardozo needed more regular playing time regardless how good Suazo is.
On a quick look at the top 3 goal scorers of the Liga Sagres - Nene has played 27 games, 2406 minutes and has scored 19 goals. Liedson, 25, 2096 and 17. Cardozo 25, 1803 and 16. Make your own conclusions.
Urreta who had showed good promise earlier in the season, slipped to the background, and practically disappeared. Had it not been for his performances in the South American U-20 World Cup Qualifying tournament, he would still be in the background. Even so, his performances on an international level, still didn't open the door to the main team and the opportunities Balboa received dwarf the ones the young Uruguayan got.
Speaking of slipping into the background, has anyone seen Fellipe Bastos? What happened to Bastos? A player that Benfica opted to keep with the senior team rather then to give him playing time in Brazil, through a time he couldn't play in Portugal. Did the talent seen earlier vanish, or is the young Brazilian still not ready to compete for a starting job?

Sorry for getting sidetracked, back to the game...

The game itself was very straight forward, Benfica came out pressuring high and forcing the Braga men to make mistakes, it was on one of those mistakes that Katsouranis played a ball behind the defense to find a well timed run by Cardozo, who beat a rushing Eduardo. Eduardo would also be involved in Benfica's second goal, as he had one of his clearances intercepted by DiMaria, who found a way around him, to score.
13 minutes in and all Benfica needed to do was to manage the lead, not easy taking into consideration how many leads that team has blown this season. Moreira kept the the score the same until the half, with 3 good saves.
Going into the locker room you got the feeling the game was far from over, but an early second half goal by Benfica put an end to any plans for a comeback by the home team. Another stolen ball, turned into a breakaway that Urreta finished in the best way, this after DiMaria found him cutting into the box.
Off course the game wasn't without incidents as Yebda came into the game only to pick up his second yellow in 11 minutes, in a phase of the game where the referee showed once again the rotten side of Portuguese refereeing. Yebda wasn't the only one sent out earlier, Quique also received marching orders from the referee, after he told the 4th referee that the calls being missed were a total embarrassment by the refereeing. Invisible fouls, tackles from behind, shirt pulls, were all called in favor of the home team. Nothing can be said about the penalty that Braga got right before the final whistle, but some very dubious calls against Benfica.

Going into the final week of the season, Quique's future with the team is still being put in doubt by the media. If you follow me here, you know that I support his continuity, as bringing in another coach is the same as returning to step "0". I know that Quique might have not reached the objectives Rui Costa had set for the season, but at this point he is quite a ways from "0". One thing is for sure, he will most likely not be on the bench for the team's final game of the season, coincidentally a home game.

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Setubal 0 - Benfica 4 - 2 Pair takes the Pot

With both Sporting and porto getting wins this weekend, Benfica needed to get a win, if they were to keep chasing any type of an objective this season, and a win they got.
In a night where we didn't quite know which Benfica was going to show up, it was an early 1-2 punch that opened up the way to a comfortable and justified win.


Quique opted not to touch the line up that played against Academica, despite the loss, the team played well, and Quique felt that he might have touched up on something with this line up, especially with the midfield tandem of Amorim and Martins.

Benfica didn't have a very strong aggressive start, despite having their sights set on attacking early on, it was the space allowed to the Setubal men that gave me the all too familiar feeling of a permissible attitude by Benfica. The Setubal men were allowed to show up in between lines and have enough time think their game. On the Benfica side, Reyes seemed to be the man called upon the most to get something started for Benfica.
With Benfica on the rise, the goal only seemed natural, and although the team might sometimes come out of the half deserving to be up, but not having anything to show for, tonight seemed to be different, as the nets bounced for Benfica, not once, but twice in two minutes.
The first one, a well measured cross by Sidnei, who had staid up after a corner clearance, found Nuno Gomes streaking to the first post, in between two defenders Nuno Gomes, did not miss. The second one a low free-kick by Martins that made it past the wall but that ended up on the feet of Cardozo, who blasted a close range shot.
27 minutes gone by and Benfica had just opened the game wide open. The 2 quick goals seemed to bring the Setubal men down a notch, but what was most notable was the fact that Benfica did not retreat into ball watching and waiting for the game to come to them, as they have in the past. Benfica went into the locker room relaxed and I had the impression that they could easily break the game wide open, or keep it under control, if they came out with the right attitude.

The start of the second half couldn't have been better scripted as Cardozo put the final touch on a quick counter play that initiated from a defensive corner clearance.
The goal did not only give Benfica a significant edge on the scoreboard, but it also put the "kaybash" on any plans Setubal had for the first 15 minutes of the second half, in mounting any type of a comeback. From that point on out, it was smooth sailing for Benfica, who played as well as they could, despite Setubal clearly showing a defeated attitude.
Katsouranis, DiMaria and Urreta all got minutes, but the show belonged to the two center forwards as Nuno Gomes got Benfica's 4th goal in the 70th minute. Cardozo still had a chance to make it 5 in the dying minutes of the game, but the save of the night prevented the Paraguayan to get his hat-trick.

Not much else to write about this game, Benfica did their duty, in a game that reminded me of old times, when a Benfica faced a team from the bottom of the table, it was always smooth sailing and easy wins as there was a clear difference between teams from opposite ends of the table.
I'm all for competitiveness and for the little teams to be competitive enough to challenge the big teams, but in the end, a good team needs to rise above and demonstrate their value, that is how championships are won.
It's a bit late for that now, but this is how it should be, going into a game against the 13th place team should not be an enigma or a big question mark on what Benfica is showing up, it should simply be just like tonight, simple, and deserved, but all because the team worked enough to make it that way.

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Benfica 0 - Academica 1 - Stick a Fork in Them

For as much of an optimist i might be, today i feel that Benfica has waved goodbye to this years title with their second home loss of the season against Academica.
Despite still being mathematically possible to reach the title, logically only a miracle could help. Porto would have to lose 3 games in the remaining 6 games, something they haven't done all season. The team didn't even play that bad, but the lack of a finishing touch, along with an inspired opposing keeper, ended up being the team's downfall as one defensive error was enough for "The Students" to repeat last year's end result.



For this game Quique lined up the following 11. - Quim. Maxi, Sidnei, Miguel Vitor and David Luiz in the back. In the midfield, Martins and Amorim were in the middle, in a tandem unseen this season. Reyes and Aimar were on the flanks. Up front it was Nuno Gomes and Cardozo.
Quite a surprising midfield line up, and it's easy to understand why Yebda was left out of the game roster. Today there's a report coming from the team that Yebda had muscular pains, and that is why he was not on the game roster. I don't buy it, with Quique choosing Martins and Amorim as starters, and leaving Katsouranis on the bench, it makes perfect sense that Yebda was left out clearly by technical option. During the week, Quique stated that the team does not play how he wants, and perhaps leaving Katsouranis and Yebda out is a clear move to stir things up. Once again Aimar was on the left side, a position that is not his, and I'll continue saying that he is limited to how much he can help the team from that position, regardless of him being one of Benfica's best players last night.
Does anyone think that Nuno Gomes is a complete waste? I know he has given Benfica a lot and he is a Benfiquista, but right now he brings very little to the team, i can't remember seeing him beating an opposing defender one on one in quite sometime...

On to the game...
I can summarize the game by writing that Benfica dominated the whole game but their dominance didn't translate into goals. Defensively solid, and with the midfield controlling the game flow, it was in the final third where Benfica were the weakest, always lacking the precision of a last pass, or a player showing up in space in a privileged position.
But there were some chances, Reyes barely missing a touch in after a quick counter from Benfica in the opening minutes. 10 minutes later and perhaps one of the clearest opportunities, David Luiz, Cardozo and Reyes were all involved in a picture perfect combination play that left David Luiz one on one with the keeper, the young Brazilian over placed the ball on the far post and just missed the goal.
As the saying goes - "if you don't score, you'll get scored on", Benfica gave up a goal in one of the few times Academica came to Benfica's box. A marking lapse by Miguel Vitor on a corner kick gave a free header to an Academica man who put the ball past Quim.
It was a shock to the system, as Benfica had been controlling the game, but in a lapse, it was as if that dominance meant nothing.
Benfica responded well, and Cardozo would have an opportunity at his feet a few minutes later, this time Academica's keeper made the save at a point blank blast. Right before the half Benfica once again denied by the post this time, as Aimar, from the same exact spot as Cardozo saw his blast being returned by the crossbar.
Half time came around and i got the feeling that it was not going to be easy. Not only was Benfica dominating, but the chances missed, the inspired keeper, and down a goal all seem to come together to spell trouble. The possession stat at the half was in the mid 60s for Benfica, which clearly showed the dominance of Benfica during the first half.

If the first half had been all Benfica, the second half seemed to even be more Benfica. I don't remember Academica having a shot on goal during the second half, as Benfica was once the dominating team. Cardozo saw a close range shot returned by an upright, more chances were wasted, more shots saved, and with the clock ticking down, i got the feeling that another 30 minutes wouldn't have produced the goal Benfica searched for.
Even after going against 10, and the entrances of Mantorras, Balboa and DiMaria did Benfica seem to catch a break.
Even after Aimar beat the keeper, Benfica found another "defender" in the referee, as he called a foul on a dead stopped Nuno Gomes inside the box, as the keeper came out to push Nuno Gomes, and the foul was called on Benfica's captain. It just wasn't meant to be.

If last week I pointed a finger at the team, and at their poor performance, this week i can't do such thing. The team played well, it dominated, but failed to find a way to get the goals it needed. There's games like this, games where you can't catch a break, and then there's games where everything goes in your favor.
I still think that the team lacks the precision of a final pass in the attacking third, but in a game like tonight's you just feel that there was nothing else you could do.

The title is now a mirage, Quique's is being contested more and more, and the boo birds and the white snot rag bearers were out in force last night.
I continue to stand behind the team and the coach.
Did you know that Benfica hasn't had a coach that completed two consecutive seasons since the 91/92-92/93 season? Erikson was the last coach to complete two consecutive seasons. From that time to now, Benfica has only won two championships 93/94 and 04/05. 16 years, 2 championships, and a brutal number of different coaches, speak tons about Benfica's organization, and bad management.
I know that the mid 90's and early 00s are seen as the dark ages for Benfica as a club, but isn't it time to abandon old trends?
Financially the club is doing well compared to the past 10 years, isn't it time to build on the financially sound base, and stop the revolving coach door?

I'm sure that when the project was put together by Rui Costa the chances of failure were equated into the formula.
I feel that if Benfica lets go of Quique, against his own will, they will be revealing a certain level of hypocrisy. Off course if the Spaniard feels he doesn't have conditions to continue, and he puts his seat up for grabs, it's a different story, but that also reveals the character of the Spaniard. Abandoning a project in which you were given, seems to me like a cowardly move.

The truth is that with all the questioning of Quique and the clean display of displeasure by the fans, I still haven't seen Rui Costa come out to defend the Spaniard. So far it's been all Quique defending himself to the media, when he fields questions about his future. Where is Rui Costa? Where's the man who has defending the team as one of his job descriptions been?

This coming week will be a clear tell tale of where Quique stands with the team. I am sure Rui Costa will be out this week with a clear sign of where Quique stands, count on it.

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Estrela 1 - Benfica 2 - The Poor, The Bad, and the Ugly

Benfica got the 3 points they needed to remain in the hunt for the title, but if you were one of the many that sat through 90 minutes of ugliness, like me, you should be re-accessing the probabilities that this team has to win the league this year. Off course, it would have been a lot easier to dismiss tonight's performance as an isolated event, but the truth is that it's not.
Tonight's performance falls right in line with the majority of the performances this season, unimaginative, without class or any hint of team of Benfica's reputation. I swear I would have changed the channel had I not been wearing the same red jersey myself. To add insult to injury, the Estrela players have seen only a couple of paychecks this season, yet, they demonstrated a lot more class than the players who have everything, the best facilities, the best care and a paycheck at the end of every month.

For this game Quique lined up the following 11 - Quim in goal, Maxi, Miguel Vitor, David Luiz and Jorge Ribeiro in the back. Katsouranis and Yebda in the middle while Amorim and Aimar played in the flanks. Up front it was Nuno Gomes and Cardozo.

Quim's start came as a surprise to everyone, but entertain this thought, with talks about Benfica acquiring another keeper, putting Quim on the display window makes a lot of sense, as Moreira has been often been thought of Benfica's keeper of the future. Maybe I'm over reaching.
What's the story with Quique's choice of positions for Aimar? Someone please explain to me how in the world is Aimar useful on the left. I don't get it, I don't get it at all. First he insist on playing him as a supporting forward, which is not so bad. But how is a man of Aimar's talents, with the vision he has, useful on the right side of the midfield, when the team has so much trouble with their build up? Where's the player we bought to take over the Maestro's spot?
I got more bones to pick with Quique's choices and certain players, but i'll leave that to another time.

On to the game...
Benfica benefited for two early penalties, at 5 and 15th minute to go up on the scoreboard, while the first one was clearly a foul outside the box, and should have been a free kick, the second one was obvious. Nothing else to write about the half with the exception of Estrela getting one back, also from a penalty, that was really a make up call for the referee, for a handball by David Luiz inside the box, that referee did not call. So he called a a penalty on Yebda in the usual fight for positioning during a corner kick. Not much else happened in the first half for Benfica, as they once again failed to control the game and put the game to sleep.

In the second half, more of the same, but with Estrela showing some real character, and really playing a lot better than Benfica. Benfica's showing was just pitiful, amateurish at best, and were lucky to come out with the win. Let's not forget that the Estrela players did not train Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. It just goes to show that it does not take a lot of preparation to play Benfica, as our team is as predictable as they come.

The level of playing the team exhibits is poor, and i'm not writing this just because they played the way they did today, the same problems have been very evident all season. There is not one that controls the game flow, and maybe that's the reason why there is none. Very rarely do you see a play with a build up that involves more than 6 touches.
8 months later the team plays as if they were still i pre-season. It's unacceptable, I'm a huge fan of continuity, and i'm still behind Quique 100%, but I get the feeling that with a little bit more of good managing we could be in a different position right now. It's a multi-year project and we have to hope that things will only get better going forward.
I'll continue to believe and support the team, but with performances like this, we are bound to end up one position better than last year, which is unacceptable considering the money and the talent caliber we have on the team.

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Naval 1 - Benfica 2 - Set the Controls

Another precious win, in another demonstration of turning off, then on, everything that drives this team to win. How long can we expect to take a break mid-game and not expect to pay the piper when the 3 whistles are sounded at the end?
To say that every game is important, from now until the end of the season, has become quite a cliche at this point, i'll refrain from using it, as the 10 or so people that read this blog are very well aware of the importance of the remaining games.

Quique fielded a team that wasn't too far from the team that played against Leixoes. Moreira. Maxi, Luisao, Miguel Vitor and David Luiz in the back. Katsouranis and Yebda in the middle, DiMaria and Reyes on the flanks. Aimar supported Cardozo up front.

The game couldn't have started any better for Benfica, as Aimar got his first league goal with a Benfica jersey, by taking advantage of a loose ball at the top of the box, and firing it low and close to the post. 3 minutes in, and what it seemed like a difficult game, was now looking like it could be a morale and confidence booster for the team, but all season this team has been showing us that there are no sure things when it comes to what to expect from this team. For the next 42 minutes of the half, Benfica played like a team riding a goal average - retracted, passive, permissive and ball watching.
I have often written about the inability of the team to keep the lead here, and at this point I have to question the coaching aspect of it. Hours and hours of training, and the team can't play a simple game of keep away? Baffling.

The second half gave continuation to the events of the first, and Naval would eventually get the equalizer in the 53rd minute. The goal seemed to urge Benfica to come out of the break room and play, and they did. With Reyes and DiMaria as the main catalysts to Benfica's attacks, Benfica was able to get control of the game and dominate Naval, by turning the intensity dial. That intensity and persistence would eventually pay off as Benfica got the equalizer 20 minutes later. The equalizer, came off a dead ball situation from a nonexistent handball. Miguel Vitor put the ball back in from the second post, and Katsouranis finished on at the opposite post. Nuno Gomes, Ribeiro, and Urreta all go some minutes following the gaol, but their contributions had very little effect on the game and the final result.

It's incredible that the team can tap into a certain level of concentration and intensity when they need to. There's a certain charm about the team rolling up the sleeves and going to work to obtain a hard fought win, but if you ask me, that charm has worn out on me. If the higher level is there, and it's not part of some ocasional "on night" performance, why doesn't it come out more often? How much longer do we need to keep suffering to the final whistle to exhale?
There's a lot of talk about the similarities of the current season and the 04/05 season(Benfica's last title season), if the team keeps taking risks and their best chameleon impression, the similarities will be nothing but coincidences in the end.

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Sporting 3 - Benfica 2 - The Future Starts Now.

A couple days have gone by since the game against Sporting and I'll be honest, I had very little desire to write about the game, after witnessing the second half of the game. But these are times that you can't hide, times where you have to rise up and get behind the team. Sure the team that showed up to play the second half, was unrecognizable, and we actually made Sporting look good. Not to take anything from Sporting, but we made Sporting look like we were playing a world class team in the second half, and this year's Sporting is very far from that, they might have a good group of players, but they are no Real Madrid, or an Inter Milan, or even a Bayern as we will see in the next couple of weeks.
No one could really predict what the second half would bring, judging by the first half Benfica had, but football is like that, unpredictable. Now we tuck in our pointer fingers into our newly formed fist, and get ready to fight, because after this past Saturday, is when the chase for the title begins.

No surprises from Quique as far as the 11 that started. Moreira, Maxi, Luisao, Sidnei, David Luiz, Katsouranis, Yebda, Amorim, Reyes, Aimar and Suazo, all repeated the same 11 we saw at porto.

Benfica started the game well, exhibiting the same type of defensive positioning(not to be confused with defensive posture) they have every game. Condensed spaces, with the team moving as a block in order to prevent seams from opening. But that image of solidness quickly turned into an image of vulnerability when it was apparent that Benfica's left side was the achiles tendon of a team that appeared well organized at first.
It was from the left side, that Sporting scored their first goal, off course that same left side had already shown that the way was through there. A goal out of a PES2009 highlight reel, left Benfica 1 goal behind, and chasing the result. While up until the goal the game had looked pretty balanced, what followed the goal was a period of more dominance by the home team. But Benfica didn't let themselves get intimidated by the momentum of the home team, and little by little got back into the game, and I'd say that after the 20th minute of the first half until the end of the half, it was all Benfica. Benfica would eventually get the equalizer in the 36th minute, following a penalty on Suazo, and could have very well have gone into the locker room up on the scoreboard as Yebda had two very good chances to capitalize on two good services into the box.

I don't exactly know what happened in the locker room at the half, I can't even say that what happened in the locker room at the half had anything to do with the team's performance in the second half. In my opinion, the team came out with clear intentions of winning the game, but i think that Sporting was much clever in their strategy.
Imagine if you will, as Sporting's coach, Paulo Bento knews very well that after witnessing Benfica's first half finish, that Benfica would be coming out the same way. So what does he do? He decides to move his team up, pressure high, and try to stop Benfica's build up from the back. These were Sporting's clear intentions, stop Benfica's initiative at first, and hope that they could surprise Benfica with mismatches from quick turnovers.
Off course the plan functioned perfectly, perhaps too perfect, as Sporting went ahead with some of the Benfica players having not even broken a sweat. 2 minutes into the half, and whatever plans Benfica had to win the game, just went down the pooper, as now you are forced to once again chase the result. It now becomes an urgency to get back into the game.
From a game flow perspective, there was none for Benfica, as Benfica's midfield could not find a way around Sporting's high pressure. i think that is the reason why Benfica lost the game, the early goal in the half, and the combination of the high pressure and the inability to come out of it.
Individually I think that Benfica could have used some players that were clearly uninspired that night. It just wasn't their half, and if you were watching the game, you got the feeling that the team did not have arguments to turn the game around, something that was very visible to me, 15 minutes into the second half.

So what now? 11 games left and 4 points from first place, is hardly a reason to think that it's all over. On the contrary, I think that the fight starts right here. I'm a firm believer that championships are won against the "smaller" teams, and Benfica has nothing but "smaller" teams ahead. Sporting and Porto play this weekend, and something will give. Benfica also has a tough game against Leixoes, but the result against Leixoes will dictate how the team will fare for the rest of the season.
The game against Leixoes is a definite "stand up and be counted", and perhaps one of the most important games, if not THE most important game of the season, from a result standpoint and from a mental standpoint. The team will need to show some reaction and show the fans that they are in it to the finish. Let's not forget that porto and Sporting are both involved in the champions league, and although i don't expect them to go far, these next two weeks can be 2 weeks that Benfica can take advantage of.

LET'S GO BENFICA..THE TITLE IS OURS!

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Benfica 3 - P.Ferreira 2 - Adjust As Needed

Benfica defeated P.Ferreira this past Sunday, coming away with maximum points from a game that had all the makings of being a difficult one. Coming off a good performance against porto, it was important for Benfica not fall in auto-pilot mode, but rather to take the controls, and steer the ship in the right direction through this arduous and difficult month of February. It was an easy game on paper, but when a team comes to Estadio da Luz and practically lines up with two straight lines in front of their defensive third it becomes more of a bus stop rather than a game.

For this game, Quique decided once again to go with his training pitch knowledge and provide the fans with another debut as David Luiz showed up on the right of the defense rather than Miguel Vitor, who has been the alternative to Maxi. On the left side, it was the return of Jorge Ribeiro, while Luisao and Sidnei seem to be the partnership of choice by Quique. In the middle, Katsouranis and Carlos Martins were in charge of Benfica's constructive processes, as Yebda was spared of the possibility of picking up his fifth yellow. On the flanks it was Reyes and Amorim, while up front Aimar supported Cardozo.

As i wrote in the first lines of this review, it's very hard to play against a team who virtually lines up with two very compact lines in front of the defense, and Benfica found it difficult to find spaces to penetrate. The space in which Aimar roams, was very closed off and Benfica found themselves going from side to side of the pitch trying to find a hole to penetrate. The first real dangerous situation came early in the game following a free kick, (the only way Benfica could bring some danger to the opposing goal) Luisao had the cross bar deny him, and Aimar had the keeper deny him from the rebound.
At that point, I thought the opposing keeper would have one of those games that serves as a bedtime story for their grand kids as their moment of glory. But the truth is that Benfica had a very hard time penetrating and creating danger for the opposing team, always finding the passing lanes very congested and the markings very tight.
P. Ferreira on the other hand, was very clear in what their intentions were, and their passiveness in the attacking front, and their stubbornness in defending with all 11 players behind the ball, ended up steering Benfica into a very predictable and unimaginative game.
Half time couldn't come soon enough, as i hoped Quique would be able to make adjustments and find a way to open up the P. Ferreira team.

The second half, didn't bring many differences from the first half, P. Ferreira still defended with 11 men behind the ball, and Benfica still tried to find way to penetrated, but low and behold, it was P.Ferreira that had the first very big opportunity of the game until that point. The lone P.Ferreira forward got behind the Benfica defense and when faced with Moreira was ale to dribble the goalie, but was not able to gather his balance and his shot to the empty net ended up being defended by David Luiz. The scare seemed to spur Benfica to life, and led by Quique's first substitution(55'), Benfica seemed to be a team determined to get the win.
If you ask me, the substitution had a lot to do with it, because it had a direct impact on 2 of the 3 goals. DiMaria came in for Martins, Amorim drifted to the middle, and all of the sudden Benfica's midfield was revamped. DiMaria entered the game inspired and Amorim brought more consistency and more simplicity to the midfield. It wasn't long before Benfica would give their first warning as Sidnei missed by very little, following a cross from Reyes off a corner kick. Benfica were coming closer and closer to scoring and Cardozo ended up breaking the deadlock at the 69th minute mark, following a miscue from the opposing goalie. It was what Benfica needed to break open the game, and the P.Ferreira parked Greyhound.
4 minutes laster Amorim, gathered a ball outside the box, and fired a shot into the far side of the goal. But when you got the feeling the floodgates were about to open, P.Ferreira got one back, with a lot of fault going towards the Benfica defense and their lack of closing down. I had a quick flashback to the game from the first round, and wondered why Benfica is still lacking the ability to put games on ice.
DiMaria would eventually put the fans to rest with definitely one of the best goals he will ever score. A dipping volley over the keeper from long range into the opposing side. But the party was far from over, despite only 4 minutes to the finish, P. Ferreira, was once again able to get on the score sheet(92'), but they would eventually end up running out of time. Time that they could perhaps have used had they not, spent 1 hour defend.

A hard, well earned win for Benfica, who is now able to go into the Sporting game with positive momentum and a very good feeling about the clash with their arch rivals.
I have written here once before, and I will write it again, Benfica is a team that is too conforming to the adversaries they play. I have very seldom seen Benfica dominate a much weaker team, on the other hand, the games against porto and Sporting this year have all brought out the team's performance to levels never seen before. it's nerve wrecking to watch a team like Benfica, full of individual talent, unable to demolish a weaker team such as a team in 12th place, or only play what is necessary to win.
After the Sporting game, Benfica will face weak and weaker teams, the key in getting to the end in first, is to be able to overcome these weaker teams. It almost seems like there's a dial that's turned and the team only plays to the value the dial has been turned to.

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Porto 1 - Benfica 1 - Highway Robbery

I'm still trying to decide what direction to take this review, whether i should fill this space ranting and raving about one of the biggest robberies of the season, or if i should just sweep it under the rug and file it as the repetitive refereeing incompetence, that week in, week out, insists on rearing its ugly head. Or if i should concentrate on the brilliant performance by our team.. Either way, I'm just going to let it flow out of my head.


Quique's chosen 11 wasn't right on what the media had been projecting. Moreira in goal, Maxi, Luisao,Sidnei and David Luiz in the defense. In the midfield, Katsouranis and yebda were in the middle, while Reyes and Amorim were on the flanks. Up front it was Aimar supporting the returning Suazo.

Benfica started their game composed, holding their lines, but allowing some space to the porto men, who threatened on a couple occasions. porto was the home team and they pushed hard from the start, but Benfica was able to withstand the pressure and started building some game flow of their own. I'd say that by the half hour mark, Benfica had completely shaken off porto's initial pressure and were now coming out and dominating. Katsouranis and Yebda tightened up and were now in control of the game. Aimar, who keeps on piling up better and better outings each time, proved to be a real headache as his mobility and his popping up at different places in the final third allowed Benfica to move forward into attack.
On the flanks, Reyes, seemed to be having a a less inspired game than usual, but still very influential in Benfica's offensive game. On the right side, Amorim was being his usual self, steady like a time piece, working in conjunction with Maxi to give Benfica's right side the solidness it needed.
Up front, Suazo seemed a little by himself and also seemed to show his lack of training throughout the week, but nevertheless a threat to the porto defense. The better playing by Benfica towards the end of the half, ended up paying off, as Reyes found Yebda on a corner and the Frenchmen headed the ball into the porto goal.
Perhaps a tie going into the locker room at the half, would be acceptable, but the goal rewarded Benfica's control at the end of the half, and it was a matter of effectiveness, porto had a few chances but didn't capitalize, Benfica did.

porto came out strong in the second half again, but once again were met by a solid Benfica, who didn't limit themselves to defend, but were also attacking. At the 62nd minute mark, Quique made his first substitution, taking out Suazo and putting in DiMaria, a move reminiscent of last Wednesday's game. I still don't understand the reasoning behind not playing with a center forward, but with porto trying to push forward and come out of the defense, it made some sense for Benfica to keep two fast men on the wings to counter, but still an odd move, if you ask me. Both teams traded attacks but you got the feeling that despite the all out attempts by porto, Benfica was defending well and not being subject to any type of "suffocation" by porto.
Then came the 72nd minute, a minute that changed the story of the game. Lisandro tries to get past yebda in the corner of the area, Yebda puts out his leg but pulls it out, lisandro, untouched by Yebda, Lisandro pulled a Louganis and the referee, 10 yards from the play, points to the spot. Replay after replay show the simulation by lisandro and the error by the referee, how the referee didn't see it, when he was that close is beyond me. porto would equalize on the ensuing pk, and the game was never the same after that.
Benfica continued to defend well, and holding their lines. While porto seemed to be out of steam and ideas, as they kept hitting Benfica's well organized defense. Nuno Gomes(86') and Martins(93') rounded up the remainder of Quique's substitutions, but could not bring anything new to the team.

In my opinion, Benfica comes out of this game as the team who lost the most with the result. You might look at it and think it could have been a lot worst and we could have now been at 4 points from the leader. But when you lose in such a way(with the referee's help) i think the result ends up being very heavy for what Benfica did throughout the game.
I'll admit that porto was a superior team in the first 25-30 mins of the first half, but after that Benfica showed to be capable enough to stop and win the game. Even in the beginning of the second half, when porto came out once again pressuring, Benfica was able to respond well and even had a couple of chances themselves.
With Suazo being out, and with the way porto tied, you can say that some of the wind got taken out of Benfica's sails. Let's not forget that 10 out of the 11 players players Benfica fielded played mid-week, while none of porto's players(with the exception of Mariano, who came off the bench)played mid-week. That is something that needs to be noted.

Lastly on the referee, Pedro Proenca is a known card carrying Benfiquista, and has a track record of being prejudicial to Benfica. Some say his acts are biased on the fact that he does not want any suspicions raised upon him, being that he is a Benfiquista, so he has been accused of deliberately favoring Benfica opponents.
It makes some sense, but wether that is true or not, i'd like to see if the league intervenes and punishes Lisandro for his simulation. As you may recall, Luisao picked up 2 games following an elbow to the face of Sapunaru, an act the referee did not see, but that was quickly picked up by the league. What will the league do now? Probably nothing. The refereeing has been atrocious all this season, and Proenca will most likely sit out a couple of game, and that will be it.

I think Benfica should suspend Proencas membership, at least while he is a referee.

Lastly, I have to acknowledge here the brave and excellent performance by our players, who handled themselves like a true sacred mantle wearer would.
If we can play like this all the time the league will not escape us this year.

Next is a trap game against Pacos de Ferreira, followed by a trip to the stadium that resembles a bathroom. All games that we need to win.

The Best Moments via slbenfica.pt

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Benfica 2 - Guimaraes 1 - FInal Bound

It was the third time Benfica met Guimares this season, and once again Benfica came out on top. A spot in the final of the League Cup was at stake this time, and Benfica clinched a spot in the final of the competition, which is the only domestic competition that Benfica has never won.

I wrote in my preview, that Benfica has shifted their attention to this competition and are determined to win it. After the team's premature exit from both the UEFA Cup and the Portuguese Cup, the only two objectives left are the League Cup and the League. With that in mind, Quique fielded a very competitive line up with the returning Quim in goal, Miguel Vitor, Luisao, Sidnei and David Luiz in the back. In the midfield, Katsouranis returned after serving a 1 game suspension, while Martins was given another rep in the midfield, to hopefully be the transition player we need so much. In the flanks, Reyes got the start, while Amorim continues to be Quique's number one choice for the right side. Cardozo, fresh off a good performance against Rio Ave, got another chance to prove that the 20 plus goals he scored last season, weren't a mere accident. Aimar continues to play the supporting role.

As you can see a very competitive team. Maxi who was at risk of picking up his 5th yellow card was spared by Quique ahead of the porto game this weekend. Other than that, you can say that Quique could field this team on any given weekend.

It wasn't a specially blistering start for Benfica, but just like many of the recent games, the team holds its own and then shows up in flashes. Priority clearly goes to establishing a defensive cohesiveness, through positioning, to then gradually build a game flow.
When the team does establish some sort of game flow, it's not often for two long, which always gives me the impression that the team doesn't always have a sense of purpose, or demonstrates to have a unique identity, but rather a team that plays in spurts without a constant identifiable game flow.
That is how i see the current Benfica, a team with their positioning routines well memorized, but without some sort of spontaneity. A team that's too predictable, and easy to defend against.
The first half was very balanced with both teams trading attacking incursions, but Benfica could have very well have gone into the locker room up on the scoreboard. Cardozo hit his third iron in 2 games, and then tried to test out the strength of the net with a full blast into a seemingly open net, only to have his aim and his eagerness betray him. Cardozo was in fact the most dangerous Benfica man of the half, often finding spaces to shoot and moving well in his action perimeter.

Maxi entered the game in the second half, after Sidnei opened up a gash in his head following a head to head collision with one of the Guimaraes defenders. Miguel Vitor went to the middle and Maxi took on his familiar right back position. Not much mmore different than the first half with both teams trading attacks. Quique made his second substitution in the 70th minute mark, pulling out Cardozo for DiMaria in a move that had me scratching my head, Benfica was now playing without a center forward, and i thought long and hard about the purpose of this substitution, and wondered how Benfica would now create their chances when in fact our most dangerous player had just been substituted.
But i didn't have to think long and hard on how we get to the goal, as a Guimaraes defender helped our quest with a well placed header into his goal. Once again lady luck smiled on us, and all of the sudden the fact that Cardozo wasn't in the game didn't seem to matter yet, it was a very odd substitution by Quique. 20 minutes to go and the way our front line was set up was perfect for the inevitable Guimaraes push, as all three players up front, Aimar, Dimaria and Reyes, are all players that can pop in anywhere behind the defenders or serve as target men for a counter. It was in a in one of those type of plays that Katsouranis found Aimar, chipping the ball over the defense for Aimar to finish over the keeper and into the angle. Aimar's first goal of the season. 88 minutes had gone by, and with Yebda already on the field, Benfica still had time to allow a Guimaraes goal, and one last chance by the visitors to tie the game. The game ended shortly there after and Benfica are in the final where they will meet archrivals Sporting.

Not the best of outings for the team, but effective for all intents and purposes. I am baffled by Cardozo's substitution and still think that Aimar can do a lot better if he came from the midfield forward.

Next is a very important away game at porto. The clear ascendant by some players is vital at this point of the season. The slow but steady ownership of defensive midfielder position by Katsouranis. The improvement from Martins in the middle is also important, as i have been writing here, Benfica is in desperate need of someone who can serve as the link between the defense and the attack, and i think Martins can bring that to the team. He just needs to simplify his game and it'll all come together, he doesn't need to dribble 2 and 3 oppositors, he just needs to use his quickness and his vision to offer himself as a target to the players trying to advance the ball up the field, it's that simple. Aimar's ascendant couldn't be more important at this time, if he remains healthy he can very well be the factor that will give us the edge.

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Benfica 1 - Rio Ave 0 - Water, Steel and.....Mantorras

The second half couldn't have started better for Benfica, as the team was able to overcome the elements, and come out with the three points. I'll be honest, when the game came on, and i saw the state of the pitch, and i thought to myself that it was going to be a long and difficult night. It proved to be just that, but with some of the luck we have been missing and our usual amulet, or comeback kid, whichever one you prefer, we were able to get 3 points that will come up very big down the road.


Quique lined up the following 11:

Quim in goal. Maxi, Luisao, Sidnei and David Luiz. In the midfield Martins partnered up with Yebda, in a tandem reminiscent of the beginning of the season. On the wings, it was DiMaria and Amorim, while up front Nuno Gomes and Cardozo lined up side by side.
The conditions of the field weren't the best for the more technical players, and Quique opted to leave Aimar on the bench.

As for the game, not really a lot to write about, a heavily soaked pitch, causing the ball to stop midway through its path, and players to lose their footing, doesn't always make for the best game, and that's exactly what the first half was, a sloppy wet game. Benfica couldn't really get anything going for most of the half, but were able finish the half strong, with a period of 10 minutes or so, in which they seemed to have figure out how to adapt to the monsoon.
Three great opportunities came from those 10 minutes, first Cardozo with a shot that hit the steel upright defended by Rio Ave, Dimaria incredibly missed the rebound. The second opportunity, once again came from the feet of Cardozo, who found Nuno Gomes in the box, Gomes was not able to get the right touch and the ball went wide. Right in the dying minutes of the half, Martins took a free kick that was brilliantly saved by the Rio Ave keeper.
Perhaps the nil-nil result at the half was entirely justifiable, but the way Benfica finished off the half, it left me with hope that in the second half we would get the second solitary goal that would give us the three points.

Benfica started off the second half the same way the finished the first, clearly the team with more initiative and control of the game. 15 minutes in, Cardozo would once again hit steel, this time with a header, following a Maxi cross. Quique made his first substitution of the night, in the 61st minute, bringing Reyes for the ineffective DiMaria. A change that brought the left side a bit more presence as far as attacking goes. But it was in the 66th minute that Quique changed the game by putting in Mantorras for Nuno Gomes. The Angolan international was welcomed with an ovation from the 20 thousand something at hand.
The fans have a very special relationship with Mantorras, and although he is the butt of many jokes, by our rivals, the truth is that Mantorras holds a special place in all the hearts of Benfiquistas, and despite having missed out on a great career due to his knee problems, the Angolan was instrumental in Benfica's last title, and he proved once again to be what Benfica needed to get past Rio Ave.
It only took Mantorras 4 minutes, as he shielded a ball that dropped in front of him from a defender, and was able to rotate and fire past the keeper. Needless to say, the stadium erupted and the team got the goal they had been looking for. Benfica held on until the end of the game, with Binya coming into the middle for Martins to hold the midfield.

A very tough game, not because of the quality of the adversary, but because of the torrential downpour, and the state of the pitch. I though modern fields had a good system in place that prevented the field from getting saturated with water, it seems odd to me that Benfica's stadium was that filled with water.

The game also held significant importance due to being the first game in a sequence that can very much determine the teams' future, so it was important to get a win and get this cycle started the right way. Next up, is a trip to porto, which will give us a chance to claim back first place. With only one point difference between us and the corruption attempt guilt assumption(CAGA for short), team the trip to the north will carry less of a pressure burden for Benfica.

Small note for the flash interviews given by the Rio Ave men, claiming that the result is unfair and that they were the better team.
It's unreal how a team, who is currently in last place, and that doesn't play a lick can say that they were the better team, in a game where the field worked in their favor as their sole purpose was to defend at all costs and come out of this with at least a win.
Off course with a field completely soaked, it's always going to favor the more defensive team, to claim that they were the better team and that they deserved a different result, just makes me wonder what game they were watching.
I know that Benfica didn't play all that well, specifically in the first half, but with 2 balls on the irons, a couple clamorous misses, and giving the chance to the Rio Ave keeper to make the save of the night, seems to me that the only team that deserved the final score was the team inred, not the team wearing that other ugly color.

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Belenenses 0 - Benfica 0 - At The Halfway Mark

With half the season completed, we see ourselves once again in a trailing position, as the tie against Belenenses this past weekend allowed for porto to leapfrog us in the standings and take over first place. It was the second time we faced Belenenses in a week's time and this second time around we couldn't be more fortunate than the first time when we beat them 1-0.


For this game Quique called on the following players :

Keepers: Quim and Moreira

Defenders: Luisão, David Luiz, Jorge Ribeiro, Miguel Vítor, Maxi Pereira

Midfielders: Reyes, Katsouranis, Yebda, Aimar, Ruben Amorim, Binya, Carlos Martins

Forwards: Cardozo, Di Maria, Nuno Gomes and Suazo.

Quim was back in the league game roster as Moretto is injured. Sidnei was also left out by option, and apparently there seems to be some kind of a poor showing by the young center back in practice, which caused Quique to leave him out.

Out of this list came a very close 11 to the one we had seen in the previous game against Belenenses. With the exception of Moreira being in goal, the back line remained the same, with Maxi, Luisao, Miguel Vitor and David Luiz. In the midfield, Yebda, Katsouranis , DiMaria and Amorim were also repeaters. Up front, Aimar joined Suazo.

Having played Belenenses just a week ago in a game that had some controversy, It wasn't going to be a easy game for Benfica, especially taking into consideration playing away and under very wet conditions.
Benfica saw a few chances slip them by in the first half, Aimar and Suazo both had very good chances to change the scoreboard, but the conditions of the field didn;t allow for more. Belelnenses on the other hand showed to be a team concerned about not giving up the big play, and were much more active in defense than in the attack, with some of their chances coming from dead ball situations and long distance attempts.
Half time rolled around and Benfica could have very well been up, but the very sloppy and wet conditions didn't allow for more, but a finger also needs to be pointed at Suazo and Aimar for not being able to do better in the great looks they had.
In the second half Benfica came out looking for the goal, the team pressured higher but could not put the ball into the opposing goal. A lot of missed passes and wrong decisions by Benfica players all over the pitch. Benfica is a much more techinical team from the midfield forward, and seemed to be affected by the soaked pitch.
Quique's 3 changes in the second half were - Reyes for Amorim(58'), Nuno Gomes for Aimar (67') and Martins for DiMaria(72'), three changes that, with the exception of Reyes, brought very little to the team. Benfica had their difficulties, but by the same token, from watching the game and how they were playing, i got the feeling that Belenenses did not present any type of risk to Benfica, even after Miguel Vitor's ejection(2 yellows)in the 83rd minute.
The game ended and more frustration for Benfica, who having played before their direct rivals, knew that they could very well lose the lead this weekend.
For one, just like in previous game the attitude was a lot better than the performance itself, and that seems to be the theme for this year's Benfica.

15 rounds in the books and still everything open, however, from watching the team throughout these 15 rounds I have to say that there is a very important piece missing, in order for this team to take it to the next level. In my opinion, what this team is missing is a game conductor in the midfield. There's a definite deficiency in Benfica's transition game, and when I write about transition game I talk about someone who can connect the defense with the attack. Someone that organizes Benfica's build up, the player that gets more touch on the ball than anytone else, no matter how insignificant they are. That is what i see as missing in this team. off course I think that Martins is that type of player, but at this time he doesn't seem to be going through the best periods of form. Besides, it doesn't seem like Quique is using him in that position. I think with the acquisition of such a player, Benfica can have a real chance at winning the league. Without such a player, you can get ready for a very long and suffered 15 games ahead.

A very important month and half is ahead, 45 days that can very well be the indication of where this team stands in May.


Photo - Getty

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Benfica 1 - Braga 0 - Attitude Above All

It wasn't going to be an easy game for Benfica. As I wrote in my preview, Braga is one of the most competitive teams in the Liga Sagres, they came into Estadio da Luz riding a 10 game unbeaten streak, and hoped that they could continue that streak against Benfica, who find themselves at a delicate time in their season.
After getting back on the winning track against Guimaraes, Benfica was looking to keep up with the front runners, and that meant defeating a team that was 3 points behind them.

**pic via getty**

Not too many changes in the starting 11 from the team we saw in Guimaraes. Moreira was back in goal, the defensive back four stayed the same with Maxi, Luisao, Miguel Vitor and David Luiz. In the midfield, Amorim was the only change from Wednesday's midfield line up, as Katsouranis, Yebda and DiMaria were all repeats. Up front Aimar supported Suazo.
After much speculating by the media about who would start in goal, Moreira continues to deserve Quique's trust, and tonight we saw why, as the fan favorite had a handful of saves that kept the scoreline in Benfica's favor.

Onto the game...

Not the usual strong start by Benfica, but not a shy one either. I am of the opinion that, when Benfica plays home, they should always come out blazing, and take the game to the opposition, no matter who it is, but that wasn't the case tonight. I saw the start as a calculated start by Benfica, which allowed Braga to not wait to see what Benfica was bringing, and get their own game going. Braga explored the flanks with speed and were even the team with the most initiative, but the first real chance belonged to Benfica at the 11th minute mark, when Suazo gets the ball on the side of the box cuts inside and tries to curl the ball into the far corner. Eduardo responded well but Benfica finally emerged. From that point to the end of the half, the game was very balanced with both teams having their incursions into each other's defensive areas, but without being able change the score line. The half drew to a close and Benfica benefited from a free kick from the outside of the box. Aimar found David Luiz at the first post and the Brazilian, free of a marker, found the back of the net. On the replay, Luiz is in an offside position when the free kick is struck. The referee would shortly point to the locker room, and Benfica got a real break going into the half time period. Not that they deserved to be losing at the half, but i think the tie could have been equally fair.

Coming out ahead in the second half, Benfica tried to play a smart consistent game, pressuring Braga high and not backing up their positions on the field. DiMaria was brought down in the box in the 57th minute, after going by one adversary and the referee gave Benfica another chance for Benfica to increase their lead. In the absence of Cardozo, Suazo stepped up to take the pk, but Eduardo once again denied the Honduran. After the missed pk, I got the feeling that perhaps that would be a turning point for Braga, but the team kept calm and collected and continued to hold their own. In the 65th minute, Quique made his first change, when he brought on Reyes for DiMaria. The Spaniard brought a new threat to the left side, but his down time prevented him from doing more. 7 minutes later, Martins would come on for Aimar, in an attempt to give the midfield another unit with chasing capabilities, without foregoing the attacking attitude. Benfica continued to hold their ground as Braga looked desperately for the equalizer. Moreira had a couple of good saves, including a one on one with Renteria. Moreira kept Benfica ahead, and answered any doubts that might have risen from the fluke at Trofense. Nuno Gomes would refresh the attack in the 83rd minute, coming in for Suazo, and Benfica would hold on until the final whistle to secure the three points. Three points that would return Benfica to first place two hours later, as porto tied the same team that took Benfica from first place a week earlier.

It's going to be a very animated week for the media and the critics, as the game was poorly refereed I Benfica's favor. Bad call on Benfica's goal, correct call on the DIMaria penalty, and doubtfull call on Luisao's slide tackle inside the box.

Not an impressive game by Benfica, as far as playing goes, but when the attitude and the effort is there, there really can't be many fingers that can be pointed at the team. However, I have seen this team play a lot better in the beginning stages of the season, to think that the team is still in the growing stages and there's a sizable error margin, is a misconception. At this point of the season, Quique should be doing very little to the team as far as tweaking, but i get the feeling that this team is still far from the small tweak stage. There's a clear absence of a midfield boss, a player that connects the defensive sector with the offense. That is the biggest void in this squad in my opinion.



Up next are 2 League Cup fixture, coming up this wednesday against Olhanense and then Sunday against Belenenses. So for another 2 weeks, first place is still ours..

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Catching Up

Happy New Year! My apologies for not having updated the blog in sometime, but for personal reasons, namely a relocation, i was limited to internet access.

Since last time i posted, Benfica played two games, losing their lead in the Liga Sagres, as a result of their first loss of the season against last place Trofense, and getting a tough win in Guimaraes to start their League Cup campaign.

There's no doubt in my mind that the loss against Trofense is the lowest point of the season so far. But if you have been following the team, there's a certain predictability factor in all of this.
There has been a steady decline in quality of play by the team in the past month and a half. Ever since Benfica was humiliated by Olympiakos in Greece, the team hasn't been the same. There was a large outcry by Benfica fans because of the error that prevented us from beating Nacional. But that outcry, in my opinion, despite agreeing fully with the error, was a denial from the part of the fans in relation to the team's performances, in this case poor performances. Here's what the team did after the Olympiakos game:

2-2 vs Setubal - suffered the tying goal in the end on a Quim fluke.

6-0 vs Maritimo - Played v-10 for 70 minutes, in a game where everything went Benfica's way.

0-0 vs Leixoes - Lost on pks and was eliminated from the Portuguese Cup

0-1 vs Metalist - The last game of the UEFA Cup, a campaign in which Benfica couldn't even get a win in the last game, letting in a goal in the last 10 minutes of the game.

0-0 vs Nacional - The infamous highway robbery by referee Pedro Henriques. I agree that it was a very bad call that cost Benfica the game, but what else did the team do in the 90 minutes that preceded this call?

The Trofense debacle was just an inevitable result to what the team has been doing. Off course, losing against the last team place who made their first flight debut this year, adds to the seriousness of the defeat. The "cage rattling" done by Rui Costa and Luis Felipe Vieira, following the defeat in Trofa was needed to shake up the locker room and to remind the players who they play for, what playing for this club means, and the duty they have towards the fan base, who up have remained behind the team.

The game against Guimaraes was a chance for the team to react. In a typical tough away game to start the league cup, Benfica was able to come out with a win by the score of 2-0.
Quique made several changes to the starting 11, as it is customary in competitions outside the primary Liga Sagres competition. Moretto was in goal, while in defense it was Miguel Vitor in the center along with Luisao, and David Luiz on the left. In the middle Katsouranis and Yebda paired up, while DiMaria and Balboa were on the flanks. Up front, it was Aimar supporting Suazo. Without going into an in depth analysis of the game, i felt that Benfica didn't play a particularly impressive game, although defensively the team was solid, and the team was able to control the game when they needed. In the end, Martins, who came in the second half and got his name on the score sheet, publicly apologized to the fan base on behalf of the team, and stated that the win against Guimaraes was the team's response to the doubts that are being put on the team by their fan base. He asked that the fan base continue to believe the team, and remain behind the team.

After losing first place, the team will now have their work cut out for them, needing to come out of this whole and put together a consistent run if they are to go into the second half with hopes of getting first place back.
The game against Guimaraes was a good response, but until the team shows consistency and puts together 2-3 solid games, the fans will remain doubtful on what this team can do, regardless of the talent on the squad.

In other news,

Benfica renewed Miguel Vitor's contract until 2013. the signing of Miguel Vitor, who comes from Benfica's "cantera", shows the clear intentions of Benfica about developing talent for their main team.

Makukula seems destined for West Bromwich Albion in England, while Marc Zoro will get a trial period at Blackburn Rovers.


Benfica - Braga preview coming soon.

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Benfica 0 - Nacional 0 - Keeping them close

I'm sure everyone's familiar with the saying - "Keep you friends close, your enemies closer" although the expression is often used in different circumstances, and different situations, i can't help but to think that's exactly what Benfica is going for. I can hear Quique now - "Muchachos, we keep a small lead over our opponents, and then we strike them hard with genius move, the same way we did to Napoli". Trust me there's nothing genius going on in Benfica's locker room, and with every game that goes by, the team's deficiencies are more exposed.


To think that Benfica didn't win only because of a bad call by the referee in the 90+ minute, is a tremendous case of "clubistic" blindness. Personally i don't subscribe to that.
It's very easy to find a scapegoat or someone to point the finger at, but there's no one else to point the finger then at the players that were on the field, and especially Quique, who is their leader.
Every game there is a new starting 11, how can we expect routines to be developed?
I know that all 20 something players train daily and are all very aware of what Quique desires from each player and their role, but fielding a new team every game is not a good thing. It's understandable when there are injuries and there isn't a way around it, but deliberately changing due to technical choices seems to me like a recipe for disaster, not to mention the inconsistency in play by the team.

For this game Quique opted for the following 11:
Moreira in goal. Maxi, Luisao, Sidnei and Ribeiro in the back. Yebda and Katsouranis in the middle. Amorim and DiMaria on the flanks, Suazo and Cardozo up front.
Ribeiro, who just came back from an injury started along with DiMaria who also had just came back, a convalescent left side. In the middle, Yebda got his second start in the row in detriment of Binya, and the change was very noticeable. At this point in time, it's very visible that both Katsouranis and Yebda are not compatible as a tandem in the midfield. Cardozo also got the second start in the row, but just like Yebda and Katsouranis, the Paraguayan seems somewhat out of sync with Suazo, off course much of this blame has to go to Benfica's midfield, who is orphan of a playmaker, a player that can make the ball get to Suazo and Cardozo.

I won't bore you too much with the first half and what i saw, but rather what i didn't see. I clearly didn't see a Benfica that deserved to go to the locker room at half time ahead. The team started strong, but quickly and gradually lost steam, to the point that Nacional was able to play comfortably. To add to the woes of the first half, Quique was forced to burn one of his substitutions 30 minutes in as Sidnei seemed to have sprained his ankle, and was forced to be substituted for Miguel Vitor.

The second half, brought more of the same Benfica, and Nacional came out of the locker room determined to turn the scoreboard in their favor, as they had 3 clear opportunities to go ahead in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Following that, Benfica seemed to wake up, and created a few chances of their own, with both Luisao and Amorim coming very close to put Benfica ahead. It was Benfica's best period, but still not enough to make a dent. Nacional organized themselves well, and grew confident with every minute. Nuno Gomes was brought in for DiMaria, who looked like he was cramping up, and lined up behind Suazo and Cardozo, as Yebda now favored the left side of Benfica's midfield.
I'm still having a hard time understanding this substitution, with Urreta on the bench, wouldn't have made more sense subbing a winger for a winger? If the intention was to bring on someone that can hold the ball in the second line of midfield, wouldn't it make more sense to bring in Aimar? I'm baffled by this move by Quique. I don't pretend to be some kind of an expert, let alone hold any type of coaching certification, but these moves by Quique are just mind boggling to me.
Urreta would eventually make his way on for Amorim, but to no avail. The last minutes were of an authentic push forward, but the plays seemed to just be forced, and lacked any type of coordination and structure.
The controversy came in the added time period of the game. Urreta took a corner that was headed into the heart of the box by Katsouranis, Miguel Vitor challenges for a 50/50 ball and while toeing the ball towards goal, is completely smashed by the Nacional men trying to clear the ball, as a result of their challenge, Miguel Vitor falls to the floor, the ball is then cleared by a Nacional man on the goal line which hits Miguel Vitor's hand, who was rolling on the floor from the earlier tackle, Cardozo gets the loose ball and fires it into the net. Gutsy call by the referee, who blows the whistle before Cardozo hits the ball. Two things in question here - 1, the legality of the tackle on Miguel Vitor. 2, How intentional is the handball? The player is rolling on the floor! The referee was close and did not hesitate.

Yes the goal would have given Benfica the 3 points, but the truth is that Benfica didn't do enough to win convincingly, that is the plain hard fact. Once again the team leaves too much to chance, opting to relinquish the fate of games to chance. A team with title aspirations can't do this, and needs to be in control of their destiny at all times during the game, and today they weren't.
Just to finish up on the game. I do feel that Benfica was robbed tonight, but by the same token, i feel that the team should have done a lot more. There's a certain element of injustice to the whole thing, but Benfica can not leave themselves at the mercy of a lucky strike or a referee's competence.

Benfica misses out on a golden opportunity to put 4 points between them and second place. They will go into the new year in first place and are the only team in the league who has not yet lost a game. But with performances like tonight, i will very much doubt that first place will continue to be ours for much longer.

Both Rui Costa and Quique have spoken out against major changes to the squad in the upcoming transfer window, the latter one even going as far as saying he does not believe in the usefulness of it, as any player that's brough on, will need time to adapt, and that will go against the belief of a player making an immediate impact.
Obviously Quique knows what he has at his disposal, and feels that he has enough to achieve the 2 objectives that Benfica still has. In my opinion, the winter market shouldn't be overlooked, but before taking a good look at what's out there throughout Europe or in South America, a good look should be taken internally, 2 players the most.
(getty images)

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Maritimo 0 - Benfica 6 - A Leisurely trip to the Island

In an expected tough and difficult game, Benfica ended up winning convincingly and naturally, and are now league leaders, after Leixoes' loss this Monday. The game was anything but typical, and conditioned by a first half incident, that left Maritimo with 10 men, but what's fair, is fair, and Benfica was able to take advantage of the situation and get one of the easiest wins of the season so far.


Not too many surprises in the starting 11 for Quique

Moreira was in goal as expected. In the back it was Maxi, Luisao Sidnei and David Luiz.
In the midfield, Binya played in front of the defense while Katsouranis assumed the transition role along with Amorim and Reyes on the flanks. Aimar returned to the starting line up along side with Suazo.

Pretty straight forward line up, and you have to wonder if Yebda has now taken a secondary role in the midfield. He did train with limitations towards the end of the week, and that could have been the reason he did not start, but as I wrote in my preview, he was also left out of the starting 11 in the game against Setubal, at this point your guess is as good as mine.
Katsouranis' role on the field changes completely with Yebda in the midfield, as the Greek has to assume defensive responsibilities, perhaps Quique feels Katsouranis brings more to the team as a transition midfielder, something to be seen in the next couple games.
Aimar made his return to the line up but his lack of rhythm is apparent, nonetheless his movements on the field are always something that can help the team, let's hope he can remain healthy.

On to the game.

Benfica started well, composed, with possession and trying to find spaces in a field that was overcrowded in the middle, as a result of its narrower dimensions. It didn't take much for Benfica to give it's first warning to Maritimo as Suazo saw his open goal shot block by a Maritimo men in the very last milisecond. 1 minute later Amorim gave Marcos the chance to make the save of the night, and, has it turned out, his last of the night. In the 17th minute Marcos brought down Suazo, as Suazo was getting by him and towards the goal. The play originates from a heads up play by Katsouranis, who on a quick restart found Suazo behind the defense and in a privileged position, the Honduran touched the ball past Marcos and Marcos slammed into Suazo. The referee didn't hesitate to give the penalty and subsequent red, Reyes put Benfica ahead from the spot.
With 10 men, this early in the game, Maritimo was forced to make changes and abandon their game plan. Benfica on the other hand, didn't seem to let up and continued to manage the game, not in an overly aggressive way, but in a solid consistent way, continuing to be patient and trying to create more chances. It took Benfica a bit to adjust to the numerical advantage, but they soon found their rhythm again and would reach the security goal right before the half. A corner from the left side, Katsouranis flicks it at the first post, and Suazo heads the ball in at the second post. A trademark Katsouranis play, something that seemed rare all of last season. Into the locker room the teams went, and Benfica seemed very comfortable with the lead.

The second half brought more of the same Benfica, patient and methodical, never forcing and never over extending themselves. Maritimo on the other hand, tried to come forward using their speedy target man up front, but they never bothered Moreira, who had a very relaxed game in goal. Quique refreshed the midfield in the 57th minute, when Yebda came in for Binya and Katsouranis dropped into Binya's slot.
Benfica would once again make the scoreboard man work as Luisao found the net in the 66th minute, again from a dead ball situation.
So despite the numerical advantage, Maritimo played a solid game, succumbing only to setplays, as the two goals they suffered after going down a man, were from free kicks. After the third the Maritimo men seemed to have given up and Benfica was able to put the game on ice. Quique brought in Balboa for Amorim in the 68th minute, and Nuno Gomes in the 81st minute for Aimar. Gomes still came in with plenty of time to see Benfica score 3 more goals, two of them from his feet.
First Suazo in a typical Suazo play, gets the ball on the right side, makes an interior move and fires a hard shot past the keeper. The second was a play that originated from an insistence by Katsouranis by the touchline, in which the Greek finds Balboa in the box,who, with his back to the goal, is able to shield the ball and find Nuno Gomes in a frontal position to the goal. The final goal, also scored by Nuno Gomes, comes from the left side, as Reyes found David Luiz on an overlap, the Brazilian wins the touchline, with a move worthy of a world class winger, and finds Nuno Gomes at the second post for an easy tap in.

Perhaps an exaggerated result, but you have to take into consideration that Benfica has played against 10 in the past and found its own set of difficulties. Benfica also played down a man against Guimaraes for a long period of time, and was able to come out on top. Despite the score line being very lopsided, the behavior and attitude of the team needs to be noted.

The performance however, is far from being a true gauge of what the team can do, just like the performance against Olympiakos and Setubal. Instead, what needs to be taken from this performance is the team's attitude and response. After a week where talks about a change in goal, several injuries, and the anticipation of a tough away game, the team responded the best way with a convincing win, a win that proved to give Benfica the lead in the Liga Sagres, as Leixoes lost in Guimaraes this Monday.

Next is a game for the Portuguese cup against now second place Leixoes, away no less. Another opportunity for Benfica to stamp their authority in this season.

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Benfica 2 - Setubal 2 - Gifts for all tastes

With an opportunity to ascend to first place, Benfica couldn't do more than a 2 all tie against Setubal at home. After turning around a 0-1 result, Benfica was once again too complacent and too giving for a team with title ambitions.

It's only the first of December but it seems that Christmas has arrived early at Estadio da Luz. Gifts and more gifts fell from the sky, whether it was the gift of an incredible miss to an opposing keeper, the gift of the crossbar that kept ball out of the net, the gift of advantage only to be taken back by the Grinch in the middle when the end result didn't turn out to be the "desired one", or in that same gesture the gift of forgiveness to a second yellow to a barbaric tackle from behind. Add the two gifts from Quim, and Benfica's consent of Setubal's equalizer and we are one short of lighting up the Menorah and celebrate the Jewish tradition of Hanukkah.(No offense)

Quique changed things again, and started the following 11 - Quim in goal. Maxi, Miguel Vitor, Sidnei and Ribeiro in the back. Katsouranis and Martins in the middle, Amorim and Reyes in the flanks. Up front Suazo and Cardozo.
In my preview I had anticipated David Luiz to be in the middle with Sidnei, to build up on the competitive rhythm, but Quique felt that Miguel Vitor added more consistency and was more of a safe bet next to Sidnei. In the midfield, the surprise was the exclusion of Yebda. The Frenchman, seemed a permanent fixture in Quique's 11s and had previously only started 1 game on the bench by option(Hertha). Martins assumed the transition role while Katsouranis, who celebrated his 100th game with a Benfica shirt and donned the captains armband, was clearly the more defensive midfield unit. No surprises on the flanks and up front.

Benfica started the game well, not in an overwhelming dominating manner but well. Chances were created and chances were missed, incredible one's if i might add. The most vivid one in my mind is an incredible header miss by Suazo, the kind we see Nuno Gomes miss so many times. What was clearly an intention of Quique to gain more of the possession of the ball with more technical players in the midfield, was not always the case as defensively that idea seemed to falter and allow Setubal their spaces in the middle. That space in the middle proved fatal as a Setubal man showed up on the right side of the box after a through ball from the Setubal midfield, a strong, low shot, was not defended well by Quim who put the rebound right on the feet of an oncoming Setubal player, who tapped it in to give the visitors the lead in the 35th minute.
Benfica didn't take too long to react and Amorim slammed the crossbar on a shot, that despite being right at the entrance of the box, could have been finished a lot better. The teams went into the locker room, but Benfica's last 10 minutes gave the impression that Benfica would still be able to do a lot more in the next 45 minutes.

The second half started and Benfica came out firing on all cylinders. Quick and determined Benfica would level the score 3 minutes into the half by Katsouranis, who after serving Suazo, took advantage of Suazo's shank to put the ball past the Setubal keeper.
Benfica would go on top 11 minutes later, when after good combination play in Benfica's left side, Cardozo served Suazo at the top pf the box, this time the Honduran fired a well placed hard shot that found the back of the net. It was the corollary of 15 minutes of very good playing quality by Benfica.
The players came out of the locker room knowing very well what they had to do, and in 15 minutes were able to get there. What happened next is what has happened too many times this season, as Benfica has a hard time managing leads and putting the game away, either by playing a possession type of football or putting the score out of reach.
The Benfica from the first half vanished and the midfield was losing control of the game. It surprised me how slow Quique was in making the necessary adjustments, bringing in Yebda for Martins in the 76th minute, in an attempt to refresh and get control of the midfield and Urreta for Cardozo in the 81st minute, to gain more mobility up front.
What happened around in the 80th minute has to be one of the most bizzarre things i have witnessed. Reyes is violently fouled from behind, the ball ends up with Ribeiro, and the referee waves play on, Ribeiro wins the line crosses and Suazo scores, the referee blows his whistle while Ribeiro crosses deciding to bring back the ball to the spot of the initial foul, which by the way wasn't even sanctioned with the deserving yellow card(which would have been the second one for the Setubal man. The call turned out to be an offside on Ribeiro.

You be the judge
Notice the play on by the referee, after the brutal tackle.

Quique used his last substitution in the 85th minute, when he brought on Luiz for Ribeiro, who apparently suffered an injury, and ended up leaving the stadium on crutches.
Benfica's complacency and passiveness ended up burning them in the added time period
as Setubal leveled the game after as Quim added the star to the top of the tree. The play is too odd to explain. A lobbed bicycle kick from the edge of the box, hit high and close to the crossbar, Quim has trouble deciding what to do with it, his indecision cost Benfica the 3 points and first place. Surely the blame can't all go on Quim, although at this point it's time to find out what is going on with him, and perhaps open the door to Moreira.

A wasted opportunity for Benfica in a game that brings back memories of last year. While this year has followed its own successful path and is nowhere similar to last year, some of the moments that i have witnessed recently are starting to bring out the skeptic in me, which up until this point was fully confident of the ability of this team and convinced that the end result will be a much different one from last year.
There's a lot of players injured, but the team attitude and effort should be the same throughout the squad, why the team shut down after their second goal is beyond me. Not only did we miss an opportunity to be first, but we also gave 2 points away to Sporting and porto.
Up next is a very tough trip to Madeira to face Maritimo, followed by an away Portuguese Cup game against Leixoes.

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