Postponed

So we'll have to wait another week, no biggie. In porto the local team celebrated their win over Benfica as their 09/10 championship, too bad the realization of not being in the Champions League next year as yet to set it.
For a team of porto's "caliber", who is part of UEFA's elite, to be celebrating their third place in such manner really shows how little this club is.

Not too far away in Braga, someone came back to the visitors locker room after the game to find one of them cases from "let's make a deal", complete with big breasted model attached.
I mean, what keeper let's go of a floating cross and falls back?

In Lisbon, the 16 thousand and change that had the need to go to find a bathroom with a view at the same time, applauded porto's goals, yet their team closed out their home season with yet another loss. Perhaps the applauses were for the fact that porto prevented Benfica from adding a few more points to the already massive 28 point gap, between them and Benfica. Cheers to the less important team from Lisbon, they have plenty to be proud of this year.




The world seems upside down, porto celebrating the clinching of 3rd place, Braga receiving favors, and Sporting fans applauding in their stadium this season.

I can't help but to mention the acts of savagery that took place the whole week and culminated with the final whistle from tonight's game.
From Benfica houses being vandalized in northern Portugal, to Benfica's team bus being hit on two separate occasions, once at the entry of the city of Porto on Saturday, and then again before entering the garage of the stadium this afternoon.
Add that to the many golf balls, lighters and several other objects hurled at our team during the game, and it's easy to see how Benfica bothers as many people as it moves.
"Jealousy will get you nowhere" is a phrase me and a couple buddies often use as a joke, but it couldn't be truer here.

I just hope that porto hasn't forgotten that they will need to come to Lisbon to play the Portuguese Cup, and although i think violence has no place in sport, i will not be surprised by a similar retaliation.

The funny thing is that no official from porto came forward this past week to calm their fan base, instead it was the leader of the super dragays who came out and pretty much washed his hands of any acts of violence that might happen.

As for the game itself, I have to wonder how in the world is Olegario Benquerenca going to the World Cup, did FIFA run out of referees to call? Was there no one available from Burkina Faso? Oh wait, i got it, if your National team is ranked in FIFA's top 3, you automatically have a referee in the competition.

I understand him wanting to want to take control of the game, but the double yellow to DiMaria and fucile borders on the ridiculous. By the same criteria, fucile should have seen his second on a much more serious foul on DiMaria, just a few minutes later. Olegario would later make up for the mistake and give fucile his dues.
How do you not call that penalty on Maxi? Not to mention fulfilling his pre-ordered quota on getting 3 of the six Benfica players (that were in risk for next week) yellow cards. DiMaria(5') is laughable, Coentrao(12') is equally laughable, and Javi Garcia(41') is ridiculous.

I'm not one to excuse defeats with refereeing, but this referee is nowhere near the level needed to officiate a game of this importance, mind you he is the best we got, which says a lot about our Sunday league.

As for the game itself, and putting aside all of the referee's influence, i think porto was a just winner. Benfica lacked a little bit more of poised following their tying goal. The first 15 minutes of the second half, especially after tying the game, is perhaps the most important period of the game, and in that aspect Benfica came up short.

In our stadium, in front of our fans, is where we will celebrate, but until then we will have to remain vigilant, as there are many at work to prevent Benfica from hoisting their 32nd.

Continue Reading..

Benfica 1 - porto 0 - Just Winners

If in my review of the Olhanense game, i had expressed some resignation in regards to the sense of fear that was being created ahead of this game by some of the fans, the team turned out to(once again) prove that there is nothing fake or misleading about this team.

Those who doubted, and feared the worst for this team, who was going into this game orphan of some key players, must be rejoicing this win. Rest assure, as i have written here before, this team is for real. We should fear no one, especially in our stadium. This tight group held together by their belief in success, enchanted by JJ's ideals and visions, and carried by its fan base to imaginable levels of conviction, know fully well what is within their grasp and what they can achieve.

# Photo Getty



Lot's of tension and speculation preceded the game, with DiMaria and Coentrao being suspended, Amorim and Sidnei hurt, Aimar and Ramires doubtful, the 11 that JJ was going to field was anyone's guess, but once again, the depth of our squad this year allowed JJ to put together a more than competitive team.

Quim in goal. Maxi, Luisao, David Luiz, and Peixoto as the usual back 4. Garcia, Martins, Ramires, and the debutant Urreta made up the midfield quartet. Saviola and Cardozo, rounded out JJ's chosen 11.

I have never doubted the worth of Urreta, i think he is a young player with a huge amount of talent, it's too bad he hasn't gotten any playing time this season. Part of it because both DiMaria and Coentrao are well ahead of him, part because his participation int he U20 World Cup put him at a disadvantage, when it came time to compete against the aforementioned two. But given the chance, I think he can respond well. JJ's choice to put him on at left mid, didn't entirely surprise me, but i have to admit he wasn't the first option in my mind, much because of his lack of competitive rhythm, nonetheless, JJ took the calculated gamble.

Martin's inclusion can't be considered a surprise either, despite coming off a considerable lay off due to injury, he had already played against AEK on thursday.
Martins is a player that knows very well the ins and out of a game like this. JJ knew he couldn't count on him for the full 90, but his experience and knowledge of this type games was definitely a plus over the other choice - Felipe Menezes.

Ramires recuperated in time to start, Aimar didn't, and didn't even make it to the bench.

On to the game....

The game started under steady rain, which had started falling an hour before the game. The field had seen better days, especially in the central corridor, and it all indicated to a hard fought game, with the field being a huge factor to each teams playing style.
Porto started better, but quickly ran into an organized Benfica, with high pressure lines and numbers around the ball carrier. With porto's midfield having very little time to organize, Benfica's defense and second ball gatherers, quickly tilted the game in their favor and pretty much took over the game.
Benfica's midfield was able to come out on transition, and despite the rapidly deteriorating pitch, Benfica was able to find progression by the means of their usual combination, between the front line and the transitioning midfielders.
Without Aimar, it was Ramires and Martins who alternated assuming the build up, while Urreta in a classic winger position, often took the ball deep into the final third.
porto on the other hand, looked like a team lost, and without solutions to organize, or put any type of consequent play together. Benfica's defense stopped play at midfield, and Benfica spent more time in porto's half. The control and the ease of build up eventually ended up opening up the final third for Benfica, and Benfica was able to start reaching the porto area with danger. It was on one of those incursions that Benfica benefited from their clearest chance. Martins chipped the ball over the defense, Urreta on a diagonal run back heeled into the limit of the keepers box, the porto men were able to control the trajectory of the ball, but Cardozo showed up to hit it, his shot found a porto defender, and porto cleared Benfica's clearest chance up until that point.
What followed was a play that caught the porto defense ball watching, David Luiz was able to win a 50/50 ball following the porto clearance, his interception ended up going deep into the porto defense, where Saviola appeared surprising everyone and did not miss, putting Benfica ahead.
22 minutes in, and Benfica saw themselves up 1-0. The way the game was going justified the goal, and Benfica deserved it. Up until that point it had been all Benfica, and porto limited themselves to defend, and trying to figure ways to come out of their half.
But it wasn't just up until that point that Benfica dominated, the domination continued until the end of the half. The possession percentage at the half 59/41 favoring Benfica, and porto had yet to make Quim make a real save.

For the second half, it was expected that porto would come out more attacking, and they did, but Benfica always seemed in control, and despite not having the initiative the first 15 or so minutes, of the second half, the team never looked in trouble from the porto offensive.
Despite 1 long range shot from Pereira, to which Quim responded well(his first real save) and a deflected shot that sent Quim one way and the ball close to the post, porto didn't do much else. JJ made his first substitutions at the 67th minute when he pulled both Martins and Urreta, who were both exhausted, Weldon and Luis Felipe took their places.
Following the initial pressure from porto, Benfica subdued porto's attack, and was once again in control of the game despite not really having clear chances. Benfica played a smart defensive game in the second half, and little by little took some of the air of porto's balloon, and headed into the final 15 minutes in full control of the game. JJ put in Menezes for the massacred Ramires, who once again had to come out, victim of a hard tackle. Ramires was clearly the most fouled player in this game. the final whistle came and Benfica came away with the deserved 3 points, Deserved for what they did in the first half, and for the smart, non allowing game they had in the second.

An obvious penalty was missed by the referee from a handball in the box by Rodriguez, but the non-call fortunately ended up not influencing the result.

With the win, Benfica once again joins Braga on top of the leader board while opening up a 4 point gap to porto, who will continue in third.

I can't say enough about the team and their attitude, the same goes to JJ and the tactics he put in place for this game. He hit the nail on the head with his game plan.

The result ends up being a logical one, as Benfica has shown all season that they have been the better team. Despite being short a couple key figures, the subs showed themselves up to the challenge, and the team showed once again that it's more than just the starting 11. It's that kind of depth that will make us a strong contender for the title.
There's still a lot of games to be played, but this result, and being atop of the standings at this point in time is a step in the right direction.

A much deserved rest awaits the team, let's hope that we can get the squad again at 100% as January will prove vital towards title aspirations.

Continue Reading..

Olhanense 2 - Benfica 2 - Lackluster

I'll have to be honest, and say that i didn't have a very good feeling about this game. For one playing against a last place team, always brings a certain level of over confidence, and under estimation. Despite JJ having said that games are planned based on everything else but the other team's position on the table, i think there was definitely a lack of concentration going into this game. There were plenty other factors and story lines around this game(i'll get to those in a bit),and that, i think ended up conditioning the team. As for the game, we didn't ultimately deserve the 3 points, but i believe we did enough to come out with the tie.


All week there was talk about David Luiz and him being on the verge of suspension due to the accumulation of yellow cards, which would ultimately have him out for the Porto clash. In my opinion, the decision by JJ to include David Luiz in the starting 11 is a "no brainer". He is our starter and needs to start every game JJ deems necessary. The exclusion of Luiz from the starting team not only raises questions about the confidence JJ has on the solutions on the bench, namely Vitor and Sidnei, but it also ends up giving porto much more respect than they deserve. This last one i really can't wrap my head around, as with all the talk during the week, it almost seems there is a "boogie man complex" when it comes to Porto.
There was certainly a lot of importance given to this coming week's game that shouldn't have perhaps been there, but then again, that attention sells papers.

In regards to Olhanense, or porto B(as they are also known as), it was easy to see they would be playing Benfica with plenty of direction from the boss up North, after all, porto has a total of 5 players in Olhanense's roster, and a coach who was a porto reference for many year in Jorge Costa.
If you don't believe that porto has any influence on this team(and many others where they have strategically placed players), then you are clearly unaware of the reality and the true reach of the tentacles of Pope Costa. Despite extra incentives Olhanense had on the table, I must say that Benfica did not play enough to win this game and that is the bottom line.

For this game JJ fielded the following players: Quim in goal, Maxi, Luisao, Luiz and Peixoto. Garcia, Coentrao, Ramires and DiMaria. Cardozo and Saviola up front. Aimar who had complained about some muscle pain in the morning's tune up session was left out by JJ as a precaution.

In retrospect i might have lined up Menezes in place of Aimar, as he seems to be the Argentinians natural substitute, but JJ opted for DiMaria instead.

I'll breeze through the game quickly, it was the worst first half i saw Benfica play this year. Gave up an early goal from a dead ball situation at the 10 minute mark,(on an nonexistent foul)tied the game in the 29th minute, following an ejection of an Olhanense man, only to give up another goal on another dead ball situation 3 minutes later, and to restore numerical advantage as a result of a dumb red card by DiMaria in the 42nd minute.
Top that with the loss of Ramires due to injury in the 46th minute, and you have plenty of occurrences in the first half, but quality from Benfica was yet to be seen.

With the advantage, and the same men on the field, Olhanense came out for the second half clearly wanting to defend the result, and that they did, positioning every single player behind the line of the ball. Benfica on the other hand, could not find solutions to penetrate, and their lack of speed and ever present apathy, prevented us from getting the equalizer. Menezes, Weldon, and Nuno Gomes were presented as possible solutions, but could not get anymore than a tie in the time added period, coincidentally by Nuno Gomes.

Worst game of the season in my opinion, perhaps over confidence, perhaps already looking past this game. The truth is that the team was a far cry from what they have accustomed us to, not for the lack of effort, but certainly for the lack of concentration. Too many missed passes, and miscalculated risks, along with poor decisions and poor execution ended up hurting the team.
The absence of a player with a little more clairvoyance, ended up letting the team fall into a funk, which ultimately cost the two points.

We have no one to blame but ourselves for the loss of points in this game. The lead over porto is now 1 point and there's not much else to say about it. In all honesty we can't act like a bunch of scared little children who after taking a comfortable lead are now convinced this is the end, and we will soon be left in a position where we will be seeing the lead through binoculars.
We have too much talent to think this way. For one, we haven't even reached the half way mark, and there's still a lot of games to be played. Secondly, we have to lose this negative mentality, in which we are always waiting for the bottom to fall out.
Hasn't this team given us enough proof we can win this whole thing?
To me they have showed me enough, thinking, and fearing that we can all of the sudden find ourselves in third place, is not only wrong, but something that shouldn't even cross anyone's mind.

We are Benfica, we fear no one. This weekend's game is at our stadium and a loss should be the furthest thing from our mind. It's time to leave everything behind, as the quest for the Championship starts this weekend.

Forca BENFICA!

Continue Reading..

Benfica 4 -Academica 0 - Back to Abnormality

It's perhaps in games like these where i fear for a lottery result for our team. With the field showing signs of water saturation, especially in the middle, and with the rain coming down harder and harder as the game got underway, I thought the conditions would really played against us, as our playing style isn't really the best for the near monsoon conditions. But we prevailed, and came out of the game not only with a win, but one that serves to quiet down some of the usual pundits, and doubters, who have the courage to utter the words "crisis", "drought", and "downfall".
JJ recently classified Benfica's recent results and marginal wins as the norm, well it's nice to see we are back to abnormality.


For this game JJ called on the following 11: Quim, Maxi, Luisao, David Luiz and Peixoto in defense. Amorim in place of Garcia, DiMaria, Ramires, Aimar in the midfield. Cardozo and Saviola, the usual suspects, up front.

Normal start of game for Benfica, trying to adapt to the wet pitch, but what it seemed to be the start of a long night, took a turn for the best as Saviola put Cardozo in front of the Academica goal and the Paraguayan didn't waste the chance and put Benfica ahead before most of the 40 thousand plus got a chance to make themselves comfortable in their seats.
With 6 minutes in and up one nothing, I don't have the stats in front of me, but I know that when Benfica doesn't score early, usually it becomes more and more difficult to get past the defensive schemes of the opposition. The early goal not only settles the team, but makes the opposition come out of their "shell", which allows for Benfica to play their usual game.
Academica stepped up and came looking for the tie, but despite playing in Benfica's half for the first part of the first half, Academica never really threatened Quim's net. Benfica on the other hand, showed themselves solid in the back, but missed some passes that would have made offensive transition easier, a lot of it because of the wet pitch, which despite worsening, was still no object for Benfica offensively, as Benfica kept finding a way to threaten. It was during one of those threats that Benfica found their way to goal at the 32nd minute, as Maxi found a sneaking Saviola behind the defense, Saviola executed a perfect lob over the watching keeper and into the goal. A goal for the highlight real for sure. DiMaria and Cardozo would have a couple more chances before the end of the half, but the first half would finish up at a tranquil 2-0.

Benfica's ascendant in the last 15 minutes of the first half, carried into the start of the second, and it wasn't too long before Cardozo put the game out of reach with his second goal of the match in the 56th minute. A dipping shot by DiMaria bounced in front of the goalie who saved it forward, Cardozo's reflexes allowed him to put a head to the rebound. A typical center forward goal, in the right spot, at the right time, and with the quickness and the instinct to put it away. Ramires almost made it 4 shortly thereafter, but his full stretch header going away from goal found the outside of the upright.
JJ made his first substitution at the 69th minute, when he brought on Weldon for the much applauded Saviola. In the freekick that stopped play for Weldon to come in, DiMaria found Cardozo's head, who got his third of the night, his 14th for the Liga Sagres. Cardozo has now surpassed Sporting's entire team output of 12. For those who spoke of his drought, and current misses, stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
Coentrao and Nuno Gomes came in for Aimar and Cardozo respectively, in an effort to refresh the team, but the storyline was more than written, as Benfica wins a game that could have been a difficult one, but it turned out to be as easy as a walk in the park, despite the conditions of the field, and the torrential downpour.

With this win, Benfica joins Braga at the top, with a 3 point advantage over 3rd place porto. Next up is a trip to Algarve to face second to last, and porto satellite, Olhanense.


#PHOTO - Getty

Continue Reading..

Sporting 0 - Benfica 0 - Good for Some.

Last time i posted to the blog was prior to the Everton game in Liverpool, so it has been sometime. I swear it's a lot easier to fill this space when things are not going well, and the frustration mounts from watching a bad game/performance.
The transition from the couch to my current position comes a lot more naturally. With that being said, a quick breeze through the last 3 games is in order, before i get into the Sporting game.

In what was perhaps the hardest away game of the group stages of the Europa League, Benfica came away with 3 points, and with proof that the 5-0 2 weeks prior was no mistake, case closed on that speculation.

The next game brought Naval to our home pitch in the type of game in which championships are won. We battled the whole 90 minutes, but it was our relentlessness that won us the game with Javi Garcia getting the clincher in added time.

After a week off for international duty, and UEFA zone World Cup playoff fixtures, Benfica came back to action for the Portuguese Cup against Guimaraes. An uncharacteristically bad first half ended up dictating our elimination from the competition. The team showed to be a little rusty from the break and gave up a goal early and was never able to turn the scoreline around. I don't want to take away any credit away from Guimaraes and especially their keeper who saved everything that came is way.
It's a shame that we are out of a competitions whose trophy eludes us for quite some time, but perfection was never the goal for this season, and i'd honestly give up every single competition we are in just to be able to hoist the Portuguese league trophy at the end of the season.

Now for more current events...

This past Saturday, Benfica traveled a few blocks to Sporting's tile showroom, in a match that opposed the first place team, against the 8th place team. The game which was a lot more important for Sporting's title hopes, was also the beginning of a new cycle for a team whose coach of 4 years had just stepped down, victim of the teams' poor performance so far, which included 5 ties in 10 games.
With all of that as a backdrop, it was easy to look at this game with a certain degree of confidence.

For this game JJ fielded the following 11:
Quim returned to goal after sitting out the past 2(3 if you count the friendly in Azores) games as a result of JJ's competition rotation policy. In the defense, it was Maxi and Peixoto on the sides, David Luiz and Sidnei in the middle, as Luisao was submitted to an appendectomy right before international duty, and has been unable to give his contribute to the team. In the midfield, the all too familiar quartet - Javi Garcia, Ramires, DiMaria and Aimar. Up front, Cardozo returned from his two game suspension to join Saviola.

It wasn't a bad start for Benfica, but it wasn't a good one also. Playing in our arch-rivals' pitch, with the home team hoping to make this game the high point of their early mediocre campaign, wasn't going to be easy. Proof of that was the tactical setup Sporting came out with, a clear 4-5-1 with all the intentions making Benfica's passing game a lot more difficult. Up front, Liedson was the only weapon for a team whose clear intentions were to not be embarrassed. Even so, It was Sporting who benefited from the first real chances on goal. The rest of the half was pretty balanced as Sporting's defensive scheme fit like a glove into Benfica's system. JJ tweaked the team, moving Ramires to the middle to help out Garcia while Aimar drifted more to the right, which seemed to balance out the middle of the park.
Benfica ended up going into the locker room with more possession, more corners, and more time spent in Sporting's half, yet the half time score seemed fair for the chances both sides had. With DiMaria clearly on one of his off days, and Aimar without many passing lane options, Benfica had a hard time bringing their game into the desired level.

The second half brought some more of the first half balance, but with Benfica's control much more pronounced, at least in the initial 10-15 minutes, but Sporting seemed to want to turn the tide in their favor, as Miguel Veloso and Moutinho both threatened from the outside following 2 corners. Veloso saw his perfect picture shot denied by Quim, and what was perhaps one of the best saves i've watch Quim make throughout his years at Benfica. It was Sporting's best period which prompted JJ to make his first change at the 68th minute, bringing in Amorim for Aimar, and moving back Ramires to the right.
Off course the constant in and out Javi Garcia was submitted to, as a result of an open wound in his head, following a head clash with Matias Fernandez, didn't help much, i counted at least 3 seperate times in which the Spaniard had to leave the game to be cleaned and bandaged.
JJ's first change seemed to bring more balance to Benfica's game, and it wasn't too long before Benfica was back in control of the game. In the 78th minute Sidnei suffered an injury and had to be brough out, Miguel Vitor took his place.
A few chances graced Benfica, but neither, DiMaria, nor Ramirez, nor Cardozo were able to put the finishing touch. JJ burned his last sub in the 68th minute, bringing in Coentrao for Saviola, but the result looked to be on the way into the books.

There's two ways to look at this result, for one it can be a favorable result, being that it was an away game in a traditionally difficult pitch, not too mention the conditions of the pitch, of which both JJ and David Luiz complained about.
The loss of two points ends up being not that critical in relation to our most direct adversaries. On the other hand, tying against an 8th place team, and a team who is clearly at a very accessible level, can be seen as something negative, not so much because of the points we lost, but because 4 of 6 teams ahead of Sporting into this game, we can easily beat.

Whichever way you want to look at it, i can't help but to think how Sporting was applauded by their fans at the end of the game for tying the game against their arch-rival.
A tie that is the 6th in 11 games for the Liga Sagres. Funny how mediocrity seems to all of the sudden be accepted by a fan base who hasn't seen their team win for the league since the 21st of September, when they beat last place Olhanense. In that aspect i think the result ends up being a negative one for Benfica.

It's too early to tell what ramifications this result will have in May, but the truth is that the tie ends up hurting Sporting's aspirations more than ours to the title.
JJ called a spade, a spade, and stated that with this result Sporting is virtually out of the race for the the title.
For Benfica, it's the possibility of going two points down to Braga, and seeing our lead over porto reduced to 3 points with a head to head coming up in the middle of December.

Next up is a trip to Belarus where 1 point can clinch us a spot in next round's Europa league.
Despite the loss to Guimaraes and the tie to Sporting, there are no signs of any type of breakdown by the team, as a matter of fact the team exhibits the same level of confidence they have had to this point.

# Photo Credit - Getty/AFP/Francisco Leong

Continue Reading..

Braga 2 - Benfica 0 - Small Bump on the Road

In the most important game of this early season for Benfica, a game that matched up the two top teams of the Liga Sagres, it was Benfica that came out on the losing end and despite the loss costing us first place, it's a loss that's as insignificant as the chances Braga has to ever being league champions this season.
The truth is that our team wasn't really at the level they have accustomed us to, but for that we also have to look at certain variables that conditioned the game in general, certainly coming out of the locker room without Cardozo after another supposed tunnel fracas, didn't help much. But this is not the time to find excuses for our first loss of the season, but a time to realize that are plenty of games ahead and that there's still lot of work to be done to reach the top.


JJ fielded his strongest 11. With Peixoto injured, Shaffer coming from injury, and a successful Coentrao start at left back the week before, it was Coentrao along with David Luiz, Luisao and Maxi that started ahead of Quim. In the midfield, the usual suspects, Garcia,Aimar, Ramires and DiMaria. Up Front Saviola and Cardozo.

The game started as expected, with Braga being pushed by the home fans, it was the home team that started the game on top, with Benfica holding their lines well. Braga's goal came early, after a inexperienced foul by Coentrao on the side of the box, Quim followed the free kick's trajectory into his opposite angle. 7 minutes in and Benfica found themselves in an unfamiliar position, down by 1 and clearly on the bottom of the game's domination. But the goal seemed to spur Benfica into action as the team took over the game and imposed their game on the home side. Benfica pushed Braga into their own half and had a couple opportunities, one even finding the back of the net, but the referee called a phantom foul on a Luisao goal. But it was the lack of accuracy in the final third prevented Benfica from going into the the half tied.
The half closed out with some confusion at the entrance of the tunnel, as some of the Braga players and staff came after DiMaria after Dimaria had kicked the ball into the Braga bench following the whistle for the half. Players from both teams joined the confusion, but they eventually ended up all in their dressing rooms.

The beginning of the second half brought news that both Cardozo and player from Braga had been red carded in the tunnel, and both teams came out with only 10 players. Granted that Cardozo hadn't had a stellar first half, but Cardozo is an important player in Benfica's offensive scheme. Without Cardozo, Benfica had to change their game plan and was definitely the team more punished with the send off. Benfica came out strong and once again took control of the game, Braga limited themselves to defend and explore the quick transitions into the attack. Javi Garcia was the player sacrificed, as JJ put Keirrison into the game at the 55th minute mark. Benfica continued to dominate, but could not find solutions to penetrate, Aimar, without Garcia behind him, was not able to dominate the midfield and Benfica was limited to what DiMaria and Saviola could do. DiMaria who was not that much of a factor in the first half, did all he could, but couldn't find his targets in the box. Benfica's lines pushed up and that left plenty of room for Braga to explore on the transition. It was on one of those transitions that Braga got their insurance goal in the 78th minute, following a give away by DiMaria. JJ still launched Weldon and Amorim for Saviola and Aimar, but to no avail.

So we came out of Braga in second place, the domination was there but the same efficiency we had seen in previous weeks was not. I remember reading the stats put up by SportTV and the number of attacks by Benfica dwarfed Braga's. If you ask me the score is perhaps not an indicator of what went on. I don't want to take away any of Braga's merit, but a tie would have been the just result. Nonetheless this loss should not have any effect on our team.

Little is know about what happened in the tunnel, but the truth is that Cardozo suffered a double attack by two Braga players, as you can see in the picture below. Benfica's annulled goal also raises some questions as to what the referee really saw, as the replay images, show no apparent foul.

Keirrison continues to disappoint, and his adaptation grace period is quickly running out. A player that cost 14 million has to, at one point or another, prove his worth, and at this point Keirrison has done nothing to prove his worth. Perhaps I am being to harsh on the young Brazilian, perhaps he needs more time to adapt to the European style, and he may even become one of the best players, but at this point he has laid a big fat egg. With Cardozo most likely out for the next league game, i'll be curious to see if JJ goes to Keirrison again next weekend.

This loss is really not a big deal, the league is only 9 rounds in and there's many games yet to be played. Let this loss be a humbling experience for the team, and for all of those that think every game would be a multiple goal win. I still think this team has the potential to do a lot, and that a lot comes right up this Thursday with a trip to Liverpool and Goodison Park to face Everton.

Below is a picture and a video that will show you the deliberate aggresion on Cardozo, you draw you own conclusions. Oh and notice the proximity of the assistant referee to Cardozo, and let me just finish by saying that neither of the players that punched Cardozo saw any type of card from what they did.

Photos# Getty and SportTV

braguinha x Benfica: Agressões a Cardozo e a Ramires impunes
by nsalta

Continue Reading..

P Ferreira 1 - Benfica 3 - The Early Bird Gets the Worm

It wasn't going to be easy, but Benfica showed once again that this team is for real, by coming out of a traditionally difficult field with the 3 points.
After the slip up in Athens, the game against P.Ferreira was awaited with great anticipation, not only by the vultures that circled above, but above all, by Benfica fans, myself included, that wanted to see how the team was going to react.
Well, if it was a reaction that we wanted, then it was a reaction that we got, as Benfica only needed an impressive first half to secure the 3 points, throwing the remaining of the game into cruise control, and coasting to the win.


With Maxi, Aimar and DiMaria unavailable due to National team duty, JJ was forced to change the team, and fielded the following 11: Quim in goal, Amorim, Luisao, David Luiz and Shaffer in the back. Javi Garcia, Ramires, Coentrao and Martins in the midfield. Saviola and Cardozo were up front.

As usual Benfica started very strong, having had only 3 days of rest, it was imperative that the team come out strong, and put the game away early, and that was the message that JJ passed along to his pupils. After all, the team would have difficulty imposing the same pressure game throughout the 90 minutes, and as the time ticked down, the Mata Real pitch would shrink even more than its usual small size and make things even more difficult.
Early was the word, and early was when Benfica got on the scoreboard. Just inside the 3 minute mark, David Luiz re-directed a corner into the back of the net, a play reminiscent of what Katsouranis used to do so many times in past years.
It's not the first time David Luiz shows up at the first post, as a matter fact, his runs are all to the first post.
With an early goal, the game always opens up, and that plays into Benfica's favor. P Ferreira tried to answer but Benfica continued to dominate. Saviola and Carodo both shared chances, but it was Martins who was on target with a long range bomb that tailed away from the keeper.
22 minutes gone by, and all of the sudden you get the feeling that this might be another 4, 5 maybe 6 goal game, as Benfica showed themselves aggressive and dangerous.
The third goal came right before the half, as Cardozo executed a picture perfect free kick. Just within his range, Cardozo put it in the top shelf, with the ball still hitting the cross bar.
Benfica couldn't have asked for more going into the locker room, although 4-0 wouldn't be too far fetched either.

With a 3 goal advantage, and the with the fatigue meter filling up, Benfica decided to adopt a different type of game, a game that wasn't as dominating as the one from the first half but a game that allowed the team to be in control of the game.
Felipe Menezes came in for Martins(who had a very good half) at the half, and the team backed down on the pressure and opted to play a more contained possession game.
P.Ferreira on the other hand, were taking advantage of the low pressure to build their game but besides 2 or 3 chances to which Quim responded well to, not much else came from the P. Ferreira men, as Benfica kept the possession and compact lines.
P. Ferreira would eventually get their goal in the 67th, as a slip by Amorim allowed a freebie to the Ferreira forward.
The goal seemed to give a bit of fresh air to the home team, but Benfica's domination of the midfield and the entrance of Weldon to pressure the P Ferreira back line seemed to put a stop to any further plans the home team had.

As i have said, an easy win, in a typically hard field, but that easy win comes in virtue of the team's work rate in the first half.
The early goal opened up the game, the second goal provided security, and the third goal got us the win. It was that easy, a win in the first half, and then a very respectable style of play to put the game to sleep in the second half. There will be times where the team will need to slow down their game, while still playing a good cohesive defensive game in order to neutralize their opponents, and that's what happened in this game.
Not only did Benfica manage their win, but they were also able to manage their levels of fatigue, which was something that could have been a very important factor in this game.

All the pundits and false disgrace prophets can go back into exile, as this team is here to stay, there are no comparisons that can be made to last years team, absolutely none.

2 weeks to recuperate the team, and to get ready for the start of the Portuguese Cup campaign, in the meantime, let's hope that our "Internationals" come back healthy.


Photo Credit Paulo Duarte/ AP

Continue Reading..

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program

My apologies once again for not keeping the blog current, but personal and professional commitments sometimes speak louder.
With that out of the way i got a little bit of catching up to do. Last time i posted was on the eve of Benfica's Europa League debut, since then, not only did Benfica start their European campaign in the best way possible way, but they have also added two wins in their quest for domestic glory.


Let's take in parts.....

Europa League
There were many that thought that the group that Benfica was drawn into could have been a little easier. I, on the other hand, thought and still think, that the group couldn't have been better. I am of the opinion that if you are drawn into a group with mediocre teams you end up stooping down to their level.
With that into consideration, Benfica's group couldn't have been better. Everton, AEK and Bate aren't necessarily your powerhouses but they are also at a respectable level that will provide Benfica plenty of challenging matches.
Benfica opened up against Bate, in a game where JJ decided to give Aimar and Quim the night off.
The big surprises in the starting 11 were Julio Cesar, Nuno Gomes and Felipe Menezes. Menezes took over the 10 position while Gomes relegated Saviola to the bench, Julio Cesar was once again picked ahead of Moreira,.
Benfica won the game comfortably, as they should have, with a 2-0 result built in the first half by Cardozo and Nuno Gomes.
With the win Benfica, confirmed their favoritism on paper and avoided starting the group stages in compromising fashion...
Next Up, a difficult trip to Greece to play AEK.

Away Game vs Leiria
With only a few days of rest Benfica traveled to Leiria in a game that featured the best attack and the best defense of the early stages of the league. This time Keirrison got the start ahead of Cardozo along side Saviola. In a stadium that registered their biggest attendance in 5 years(22,676), mostly Benfiquistas, Benfica started well and at the 4 minute mark were already up 1-0 courtesy of Saviola. What seemed like turning out to be an easy game became more complicated as David Luiz gave the home team the tying goal. Leiria defended well, and Benfica fought long and hard to find holes in the well organized defensive lines. Benfica's go ahead goal ended up coming in the 78th minute following a penalty on Aimar. A penalty that was contested by the home team, but that in my opinion was a clear foul.
Benfica struggled to win the game but never gave up looking for the win, and fought hard to come away with the win, which in the end was the just result.
On the Keirrison watch, nothing new, the young Brazilian continues to fail to make a real impression, even though there is a visible evolution in his adaptation to Benfica's game.

Home Game vs Leixoes.
This past Saturday, Benfica returned home to face Leixoes, in a weekend where porto and Sporting faced each other, Benfica had the perfect opportunity to gain points, provided off course, they could beat Leixoes. With that though in mind, perhaps it's no surprise that JJ fielded his best 11. Ramires and Javi Garcia who had been reported as doubtful for the game, made the game roster and started along with Quim, Maxi, Luisao, David Luiz, Peixoto, Aimar, DiMaria, Cardozo and Saviola.
Set in defending and stopping Benfica, Leixoes came out playing hard and fouling as the best way to stop Benfica. In the first half, the Leixoes men managed to pick up 5 yellow cards, one of them a double yellow, that left Benfica in numerical advantage after the 27th minute. Fouling, simulated injuries, and decision arguing ultimately rewarded Benfica with 5 minutes of extra time, and it was in those 5 minutes that Benfica got the opening goal.

Coming out of the locker room up 1 goal and against 10 men, the second half looked to be a lot different as the Leixoes men would now have to open up and look to come out of their own half despite being a man down. benfica came out strong again and quickly pushed Leixoes into their half. The second goal came from a penalty after Aimar was brought down in the box following a good combination play. The player that commited the foul picked up the a red, as Aimar was going to be 1 on 1 with the keeper. Cardozo converted and everything became much easier for Benfica, who would get goals in the 75th(Ramires),82nd(Maxi),89th(Cardozo), to obtain their 6th win in 7 matches for the Liga Sagres.

Leixoes can't complain about the referee and their fate in this game, as the aggressive behavior of their players was visible since the dtart of the game.
I find comical that the visitors coach commented on the referee's attitude towards his team, stating that the referee should have been a bit more of an adviser and shown some more leniency towards his players, being that they are inexperienced. The referee's warnings were visible, and there were quite a few plays where more cards could have come out. The fact that Leixoes is the team that fouls the most in the Liga Sagres is no coincidence.

The current wave of enthusiasm felt by the fans, is visible as 42,000 plus were once again in attendance, and how can they not be excited about this team? The team plays an attractive style of futebol, they score, and the fans leave the stadium feeling good about what they saw.

Next up is the second game of the Europa League with a difficult trip to Greece, a win is very much an attainable result, and the fans expect no less than this team.

Continue Reading..

Benfica 3 - Celtic 1 - Fifth Trophy of the Season

Benfica won their fifth trophy of this young season by beating Celtic in the inaugural CNE Cup in Toronto. Benfica who, like Celtic, fielded a team of mostly second stringers and some cantera players, played well enough to deserve the win.Both the artificial turf and Benfica's second line conditioned the quality of the game, but Benfica were better than Celtic for the majority of the game.
With JJ worried about the artificial turf and the dangers to Benfica's regular starters, Celtic ended up being the real danger, as Ruben Amorim suffered a late game injury, and needed to be substituted after a hard challenge by a Celtic player, and that can be the real loss from tonight.


JJ Lined up the following 11:

Julio Cesar in goal. Luis Felipe, Sidnei, Roderick and Shaffer. Javi Garcia, Ruben Pinto, DiMaria and Cesar Peixoto were in the midfield. Up Front, it was Keirrison and Nelson Oliveira.

8 non-starters, two of them juniors. DiMaria was given the captain's armband, and was without a doubt the best player on the field.

Benfica started well and at the 2 minute mark were already up on the scoreboard. After a good play on the touchline by Nelson Oliveira, the ball hit the post and cleared to the top of the box where Kerrison picked up the rebound, to put Benfica ahead. Benfica showed themselves stronger and more dominating, with the already traditional high pressure this team his known for, but Celtic started playing their game, and leveled things off midway through the first half. Off course with the fears expressed by JJ about the turf, Luis Felipe was brought out of the game at the 20th minute after what seemed like a muscular injury.
The last 15 minutes of the first half were clearly Celtic's, and Benfica's only bright spot was DiMaria who delighted all of the fans in attendace. It was right at the end of the half that Celtic got the equalizer, after a 1-2 left the Celtic player one one with Julio Cesar who was able to stop a close range shot, on the rebound, Celtic found an open net.

In the second half, Celtic continued in the same way they ended the first half, faster, more concise and more dangerous. Benfica's defense held Celtic, and Benfica would end up putting an end to Celtic's domination, the best way possible. After a turn over, all caused by Benfica's high pressure, Di Maria "pulls" two players to himself and finds junior Ruben Pinto in the heart of the box by himself, the junior put Benfica ahead. The goal woke up Benfica, stop Celtic's domination, and Benfica would dominate the rest of the way.
Saviola got the third, after another excellent DiMaria play and shot, to which "El Conejo" put the final touch on, after picking up the rebound from the save.
It was all Benfica after the second goal, and Benfica could have very well scored more. Keirrison had a good chance after DiMaria and Saviola combined in the box, and found the Brazilian in a privileged position, the Brazilian took the defender out of the way with a subtle touch, but could not finish.
At the end of the game, Amorim had to be substituted as he was a victim of a hard tackle by a Celtic man. Amorim limped over the touch line and quickly signaled to Benfica's physio. Benfica's Physio signaled the bench as Amorim seemed to not be able to come back into the game. Let's hope it's nothing serious. Luis Felipe is out, Amorim is out, Maxi is out, we could be seeing Miguel Vitor at right back.

A couple ending thoughts, The refereeing was very poor, the amount of fouls not called against Celtic were a joke, while Benfica was called for every little thing. Although state of the art, and FIFA Approved, the artificial turf provides for quite a different game. With both teams not used to the playing surface i think the turf was a big factor to some of the poor quality of futebol played. A lot of missed passes and overplayed balls.

Good game for JJ to give players time. Julio Cesar made a couple of good saves but had very little work. Roderick is talented, and can be one of the best center backs Benfica has ever had. He still shows some inexperience but his quality is indisputable. Ruben Pinto played well, and showed himself confident, also a player to watch. Keirrison, has yet to have a performance that is convincing of the money the Barca has paid for him, but there's a noticeable evolution.

Oh yeah, did i mention DiMaria played well?
I hope i'm wrong, but this can very well be the last year we see DiMaria wearing the Sacred Mantle, if he keeps playing the way he's playing, it'll be very hard for Benfica to keep the young Argentinean.

#Photo Credit - AP

Continue Reading..

Benfica 8 - Setubal 1 - Old School

8-1, something you don't see everyday, as a matter of fact last time Benfica won by an identical score it was back in the 82/83 season. Not a rarity but also not very common for professional top flight teams to play to such a lop sided game.
The game was just that lop sided, and don't let the "1" mislead you, the truth is that Benfica dominated the whole game, and could have very well have scored more.


JJ repeated Guimaraes' starting 11 with, Quim in goal, Amorim, Luisao, David Luiz and Shaffer in the back. Javi Garcia, DiMaria, Ramires and Aimar, Saviola and Cardozo up front.

Aimar who was doubtful for this game, started and seemed unaffected by any type of injury that had kept him out of training.

About the game, I'm not going to go into my usual write up on the game instead i will summarize it as this:
The game started, Benfica attacked, they scored, attacked, scored, attacked, scored, attacked, scored, attacked, scored, Half time.
The teams started the second half, Benfica attacked, scored, attacked, scored, attacked scored, and attacked some more, final whistle.

5 goals in the first half, 3 goals in the second, in what was a night to remember. Everything went well for the team, and we seemed to hit high gear. In the familiar style we have seen in pre-season, the team played a quick one touch game, and when we play like that it's very easy to not win.
Cardozo got on the successful PK track. Garcia got his first goal with a Benfica jersey and assisted Cardozo for his second. Aimar scored on a master piece, and Ramires showed why Benfica payed 7.5 million for him, he is truly a warrior, never stopping, never giving up the fight.

Notable how even after being ahead by 6 the team never toned down their pace and looked for the goal with every chance they got until the final whistle. Off course when you have a manager on the technical box, constantly giving the team directions and correcting positioning, it's easy to remain focused.
It's very easy to look at Setubal and conclude that this team is a young team lacking some maturity, and experience, hence dismissing the blow out. But the truth is that on the opposite end, Benfica looked like a fine tuned machine, and neither Setubal nor any other team could bring this team to a hault.

Memorable game, let's hope the team can continue showing and evolving from what they have shown us so far... I won't take anymore of your time below, is one for the ages.

Enjoy.
Goals
1-0 - Garcia - 16
2-0 - Luisao - 21
3-0 - Cardozo - 29
4-0 - Aimar - 35
5-0 - Ramires - 37
6-0 - Cardozo - 65
7-0 - Cardozo - 75
8-0 - Nuno Gomes - 85

Continue Reading..

Guimaraes 0 - Benfica 1 - Last Minute Gasp

Benfica got their first win of the season this past weekend against Guimaraes. Perhaps not the prettiest of wins, as the team showed themselves at a lower level than they have accustomed us to. Maybe the pre-season spoiled us, but the truth is that when you are used to seeing the team perform at a consistent level, pre-season or not, you have to worry whether this was an off day, or does team really have the
inabilities they showed.




For this game JJ fielded the following 11:
Quim in goal. Amorim, Luisao, David Luiz and Shaffer in the back. Javi Garcia, DiMaria, Aimar and Ramires. Saviola and Cardozo up front.

Benfica started well, pressuring high, playing fast, but soon slid right into the Guimaraes' defensive scheme. Almost like pieces in a puzzle, the Guimaraes men stepped right into the areas of action of each Benfica player and canceled Benfica's initial surge, with tight marking. With Aimar at a level below the normal, Benfica lacked someone who could serve as a catalyst to Benfica's offense. DiMaria who seemed to be the
only one trying to make a difference was covered tight and given very little room to create. Saviola looked too static, and both him and Cardozo were easy targets, falling into the Guimaraes defensive web, that kept the Guimaraes defensive line intact. That was the Benfica of
the first half, barring a chance Aimar had one on one with the keeper, i can't say that Benfica did much else to come out of the half ahead in the scoreboard.

In the second half, JJ subbed in Keirrison for Saviola, i'm not really sure if the change was made because of a physical problem, or if JJ felt that Saviola was unable to do what was being asked of him. But the truth is that with JJ there are no "Sacred Cows" and he makes the changes he needs to make, unfortunately Keirrison brought very little to Benfica, part because the ball didn't get too him, part because Benfica was having a hard time linking the midfield build up with their front men, part because the young Brazilian, much like Saviola, showed himself too static.

JJ didn't wait the full 15 minutes to see if the team was reacting to his instructions, and pulled Aimar for Coentrao at the 56th minute mark, hoping the youngster could spark Benfica's attack. Ramires slid to the middle and Coentrao and DiMaria stayed on the flanks. Coentrao seemed to bring the team a little bit of fresh air, but the real chance to shake off Benfica's offensive lethargy, came falling from the sky as the referee called an obvious handball inside the box. It was the break that Benfica needed, a penalty kick and the ejection of the culprit as a result of accumulated yellows. But it wasn't meant to be as Cardozo missed his second pk in three opportunities, and Benfica was once again forced to go looking for the goal.
Despite playing against 10 men after the 61st minute, Benfica was now having more difficulties getting into the final third as Guimaraes closed up, and backed into their defense, resorting to the counter. Benfica on the other hand, could not create or penetrate, and as the time ticked down, the team was losing the little bit of lucidity they had, as emotions were now taking over. With Nuno Gomes already on the field Benfica was even lucky that that they didn't suffer a deathblow, as Guimaraes hit the post and could have gotten past Quim on the rebound.
Luck would once again touch Benfica, as Coentrao found Ramires unmarked in the dying minutes of the game, the Brazilian elevated and headed the ball into the net, giving Benfica the goal they needed to win the game, the final whistle would sound shortly.

Not a pretty game for Benfica, defensively the team played well, but offensively the team was very far from the quality they have shown this season. The fighting team spirit is commendable as the team fought until the end, even when realizing that things weren't going their way. They fought and fought and found a way.
JJ stated that it's wins like this that win championships, but he also needs to have the presence of mind that these type of performances don't always win games, but i believe he would take an ugly win over a pretty tie anytime.

It's no surprise that every team we will play this year will have done their homework, and studied our team very well. They will be prepared to defend against us, if we are to win the championship we have to be able to change our game, and to find ways to win games past any defensive schemes that are thrown at us.

Continue Reading..

Benfica 1 - Maritimo 1 - Keeping Pace

It wasn't the start that we all expected, but not much can be said about the team's performance and desire to win except - unlucky. It's not the first time, nor will it be the last time that a team comes into Estadio da Luz and plays a game similar to a the 2 leg format in European competition. It's been a trademark of the Portuguese league, the little teams like to park the proverbial bus in front of their goal and hope they can come out with something positive.


JJ's first 11 were the same 11 i had projected in my preview: Quim in goal. Amorim, Luisao,Sidnei and David Luiz, from right to left. Javi Garcia, DiMaria, Martins and Martins in the midfield, while up front it was Saviola and Cardozo.

Benfica took the field with an unique opportunity, both porto and Sporting had tied their games, and Benfica could start the season by gaining two points on both of them.
With that in mind, Benfica started the game strong imposing their game but from the beginning it was easy to see how Maritimo was set up, all of their men behind the ball and a clear two lines of defense to cut the down the passing lanes to Benfica's game. While in the pre-season it looked so easy to penetrate the final third, the Maritimo men had done their homework, and there were very little spaces to get behind the defender's backs, off course the fact that Amorim and David Luiz aren't necessarily the players to add depth to Benfica's offensive game didn't help either. Our lack of luck knocked early, as JJ had to burn one of his substitutions following an injury by Carlos Martins. Fabio Coentrao replaced him.

Benfica had their first chance at the 19 minute mark, when Aimar hit the crossbar off a free kick, and that was all that Benfica could muster. Maritimo on the other hand, looked to push back pressure from their defense by playing long balls to the wings and let their wingers try to beat Benfica. It was during one of those few incursions that Maritimo benefited from a David Luiz handball in the box, a good call by the referee. Maritimo saw themselves up on the scoreboard without doing much. Benfica continued their domination but could only just come close. This time by Coentrao, with a long shot that came close to the target. No other chances for Benfica for the half, but the players went into the locker room knowing that they dominated their opponent and that the goal would come in the second half.

The second half brought out the same strong and dominating Benfica, with one difference - speed. The plays were now being executed a lot faster and little by little Benfica seemed to be able to get behind the defense. Coentrao had the goal in his sights, but Maritimo's keeper responded with a nice save. 7 minutes later, at the 58 minute mark, Sidnei blasted a close range shot, but once again the keeper answered, insisting on that play, it was DiMaria's turn to have his shot blocked by a Maritimo defender.
JJ decided to turn the heat up and replace Sidnei with Weldon, after all Benfica's defense were mere spectators to the attacking barrage Benfica was creating.
In the 75th minute Saviola was brought down in the box, and Benfica seemed to have finally found a way, but even then, Cardozo's shot was met by another save. After the saved penalty i got the feeling that it wasn't going to be our night, but Weldon met a Coentrao cross to finally put the ball past Pecanha. 86min and Benfica seemed to be running out of time to turn things around. Even with Nuno Gomes on the field, who had come in for Saviola 1 minute before Benfica's goal, Benfica kept on finding either a pair of legs or the keepers hands and could not breakthrough, a penalty for Benfica went uncalled as a Maritimo man slid and blocked the ball with his arm as he was going down.

An "authentic massacre" is how JJ described Benfica's second half, I have to agree with him. While the win could have been a better result, the way the team played and the effort they put in left me with a good feeling about this game, off course the fact that our most direct rivals also tied, adds to my acceptance of this result.
Benfica needs to be prepared to face these situations, where a team will lock themselves up behind the ball and that's how they play.
While last year, there were a lot of teams coming to Estadio da Luz with the desire and audaucity to win, playing an open style, i doubt that there will be many teams coming to play in that same manner.
It's evident that this year every team will try to shut down Benfica's passing game, JJ will have to find a solution, for right now the solution has to do with speed, and if Benfica wants to beat these little teams, they will have to play quick supported futebol and put away some of the chances they create.




#Photo Getty Images

Continue Reading..