JJ announced the list of players for tonight's game against Sporting. 20 players in all, 2 will will not dress. The biggest news has to be the return of Kardec to the game rosters. Yesterday JJ had said Kardec had a 50/50 chance of being called, and this morning the inclusion of the young Brazilian confirms the injury is behind him, and that he is getting close to getting to 100%, whether he will be in the 18 that dress, that remains to be seen.
Here's the list:
Keepers: Roberto and Júlio César;
Defenders: Maxi Pereira, Luisão, Sidnei, David Luiz, César Peixoto and Fábio Coentrão;
Midfielders: Airton, Javi Garcia, Ruben Amorim, Felipe Menezes, Carlos Martins, Pablo Aimar and Nicolás Gaitán;
Forwards: Cardozo, Saviola, Nuno Gomes, Franco Jara and Alan Kardec.
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Sunday, September 19, 2010
Roster Sheet for Sporting Match
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Benfica - Academica - Game Preview
Today Benfica initiates their title defense against Academica. Season kick off games haven't been good to Benfica in recently memory, as in the past 10 years, Benfica has only won their inaugural games twice - 02/03 and 04/05. In the last 4 years Benfica has started slow with all draws. Certainly today at Estadio da Luz JJ and the boys will try to invert past tendencies, and start off with a win. 50,000+ are expected today at the Estadio da Luz, expectations are high, following last season's stellar campaign, but there are still a few questions as to whether this team can repeat last years feat.
Academica comes into Lisbon, with a brand new coach in Jorge Costa, after losing Vilas Boas to porto, last season under the Morinho's clone guidance, they finished 11, 10 points above the relegation line. A team with a lot of tradition but without many means, Academica's first objective is first tier maintenance, Europe is a high plateau for the "Students", but this early in the season, the success of their will depend heavily on the players they added, and what Jorge Costa is able to do with this team.
As for Benfica, they will try to erase a bad image left in the Super Cup, and live up to their high offense reputation. Last year Benfica routed Academica 4-0 at Estadio da Luz, coincidently the same result the team opened up the the 38/39 season, also against Academica.
Here's the game roster for tomorrow's game versus Academica
Keepers: Roberto and Júlio César;
Defenders: Maxi Pereira, Sidnei, David Luiz, Fábio Coentrão, Roderick, César Peixoto and Ruben Amorim;
Midfielders: Javi Garcia, Aimar, Airton, Carlos Martins and Felipe Menezes;
Forwards: Cardozo, Saviola, Jara, Weldon and Nuno Gomes.
Notable absences are the ones of Luisao, Kardec and Gaitan, who have been hurt, and did not recuperate in time to be available for this game.
19 players in all, so once will watch the game from the stands.
The big question lies again on what disposition JJ will go with. While the 4-3-3 looked to have potential in the last game of the pre-season, it was the 4-4-2 that was defeated by porto. With the roster still missing 1-2 key pieces, JJ's decision will depend on how he feels the team can defeat this Academica team.
Last year's Academica relied heavily on the counter, but with quick transitions and not long passes, I'm sure Costa will try to take advantage pf the abilities of their players. The 4-3-3 might not be the best disposition to play against a team who relies on the counter, but it'll remain to be seen what Academica presents itself. With that in mind here's what i think JJ will line up.
With Maxi having had a week to get himself up to speed, i think he will start and Amorim will jump into the midfield as a result. Sidnei will take Luisao's spot in the center of the defense as Luisao did not recuperate in time, and Coentrao should be back to the left back position.
I don't think JJ will once again go with the Peixoto/Coentrao combo, instead either Aimar or Martins will help out Coentrao on the left in his offensive maneuvers.
The absence of a true left midfielder causes an unbalance on this line up, but with Amorim back in the middle, it'll give Airton more freedom to drift to the left side to cover, as Amorim can very well slide in the center spot.
Up front, no surprises, Cardozo and Saviola will look to renew last year's partnership, that netted the Paraguayan the award for the league's top scorer.
Not an easy game for sure, as tradition shows, but with Braga and porto already with their first victory under their belt, Benfica will have to break the tradition, and stay on pace.
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Saturday, August 7, 2010
Season Kick Off
Benfica gets their official 10/11 season underway today with a Super Cup match against porto. After an arduous 7 weeks of pre-season, in which we saw the team surpass last pre-season's goal output, Benfica will try to give continuity to last season's successful campaign. With the exits of Quim, DiMaria, and Ramires, Benfica has lost three key players, but the additions of Jara, Gaitan, and Roberto, all of which have gone straight to the starting 11, and the evolution of Coentrao, combined with the emergence of Airton, i think we has Benfiquistas have reasons to be optimist about the upcoming season.
In the 10 games played during pre-season, Benfica amassed the record of 7 wins, 1 tie, and 2 losses, scored a staggering 29 goal, 8 more than last season, and suffered 14, 5 more than last season. While the increase in offensive output is a stat that can't go unnoticed, the increase in goals allowed can very well be explained as the lack of starters in our our back line. Luisao, Coentrao, and Maxi all joined the team later after their World Cup presences.
Off course the offensive mindedness of the team, and the routines shown by the team this early in the season, has all taken a back seat to the the story that certainly has been made to be more than it is by the media, Roberto's shaky start.
There's no sense in sugar coating it, Benfica paid 8 million and change for Roberto, some of his performances this early in the season have left most fans, apprehensive, but nonetheless supportive.
The way i look at it, there's really nothing to worry about, and it's nothing but a psychological barrier, that he will soon get over.
At 24, Roberto's talent is undeniable, a product of the Atletico Madrid cantera, Roberto was part of Spain's U19 and U20 national teams, came up through Atletico's reserve system as a youngster, went on a couple of developing loans as Atletico had names like Coupet, Leo Franco and Christian Abbiati in their rankings.
While going on loan for a player who does not have chances to play is a great thing, when the loan repeats season after season, it affects the players psyche. Certainly the feeling of stability has to be the most affected, as you never know what your future holds, combine that with the fact that season after season you have to start over, as your change of clubs practically wipes your slate clean, and you have a player that is perhaps in a situation where confidence and uncertainty is not abundant.
Certainly his season at Zaragoza last year caught the eye of Benfica, who was willing to make Roberto one of the top 5 most expensive goalies of all time in the world.
Now, imagine if you will, you go from being 4th choice, and being a loan candidate season after season, to being the most expensive keeper Benfica as ever bought, just imagine the pressure and the expectations Roberto is being set up to live to?
To me those have been the biggest obstacles for Roberto, expectations and the fear of failing. It's all mental, and something that JJ and his assistants have been working on, it'll only be a matter of time before everyone forgets about Roberto's pre-season. No position is more under the microscope than the one of a goalie, and Roberto needs to be able to clear his head and do what he knows how to do best tend goal.
Now about today's game...
JJ has called everyone but Kardec, who picked up a muscular injury in friday's session.
In regards to the line up, i believe Benfica should line up something like the below, with one doubt, Gaitan or Jara?
Gaitan has been injured, and unable to play these last few games, but JJ claims he is ready to go, and that he is familiar with the inner workings of the team, hence making him a viable option.
Also, if Gaitan starts will Benfica revert to the familiar 4-4-2, or will they use the new 4-3-3 variant. That is the biggest question in regards to the team that will line up against porto tonight.
As for the game itself, there is no question Benfica comes into this game with the edge over porto, not only because of the pre-season, both have made, but because porto is starting a new cycle, with a new coach and new playing philosophies. They have also lost their defensive anchor and captain in Alves, and their defense has shown vulnerability, during pre-season.
There's no reason why we shouldn't be confident going into this game, the team itself looks very confident, and they have passed that message to us the fans. The pressure is definitely on porto's side, there are tons of questions in regards to their team this year. The mobster from up north overlooked the proven, man of the house, Domingos to take over his team, opting instead for a man who is often referred to as a Mourinho clone.Their pre-season hasn't been all that stellar, and there is a certain lever of suspicion as to whether or not this team is at a level where they can challenge Benfica this year. A loss for Benfica will not have as great of an impact as a loss for them, which will create even more doubts as to their competence.
Carrega Benfica!!!
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