With practically one foot in the semis, Benfica hosted Belenenses needing only one point to go through to the final four. Belenenses, second place in the group could have ruined the competition for Benfica had they been able to beat Benfica at Estadio da Luz.
A rare afternoon game for Benfica, who took advantage of this competition to attract more families to the stadium. 30 thousand and change were in attendance, in what will most likely be one of the highest single game attendance figures of the competition.
In a time in which TV broadcasters have "taken over" game scheduling, Benfica has recently manifested their interest in bringing back afternoon games.
Most of my childhood Benfica memories, are of going to the old Estadio da Luz with my father and his friends, to watch Benfica play, watching those games and feeling that afternoon sun on my face while the game was going on, is something that is etched in my memory banks regardless of my tender age at the time. I think that it would be a great thing for all Benfica fans to be able to attend the games at a time which is not inconvenient, such as a Sunday night 8 pm game.
On to the game...
Quique wasn't going to mess to much with the team, as a matter of fact, i predicted that the line up would be very close to what he usually fields for the Liga Sagres.
Moretto, Maxi, Luisao, Miguel Vitor and David Luiz, made up the defense. Katsouranis and Yebda were in the middle. DiMaria and Amorim were on the flanks. Aimar supported Cardozo up front.
With the exception of Moretto, the other 10 can very well be a starting team on any given weekend.
The game itself wasn't a very good game, it was slow and not very exciting, but Benfica looked cohesive defensively, and well organized positionally.
From the midfield forward, Benfica did very little, as the speed in which the game was being played at, allowed for Belenenses to close up passing lanes and get back behind the ball. Offensively, Belenenses didn't do much either and didn't even seem like they were a team needing a win. The only time that Benfica sped up the game they were able to find the back of the net, as they executed a perfect build up which finished with DiMaria serving Katsouranis in the box for the Greek to head the ball home. It was the best play of the half for Benfica, and perhaps the game.
Benfica went into the locker room with the lead, and giving the impression that they wouldn't be in jeopardy of crashing out of the competition.
The second half was also uneventful, with Benfica in control and playing at a very slow pace. Quique would give second half minutes to Suazo(61'), Reyes(67') and Martins(72') for Cardozo, DiMaria and Yebda respectively. Towards the end of the game, we still had time to watch Moretto be Moretto, saving a ball forward, in a play that was almost a carbon copy of Olhanense's goal. And a last minute butterfinger act in which the ball ended up in Benfica's net, but that the referee called an infraction on Moretto in his box by a Belenenses defender. A bit of controversy, that can be dispelled from watching the video below.
A video Via Magico SLB A video that was aired by Benfica TV.
Nonetheless, Moretto has now proved why he is Benfica's 3rd goalkeeper. He can make amazing saves, but he can also be capable of the worst mistakes a keeper can make. That type of inconsistency will never inspired confidence to the defensive block, who will always be second guessing what Moretto will do.
I liked Aimar in this game, as he is showing to be in clear ascendant of form. At the top is Katsouranis, the Greek is going through one of the best periods of his career at Benfica.
A deserved win for Benfica, who sent the fans home happy.
Benfica, Sporting and porto advanced as group winners, Guimaraes advanced as the best 2nd place team. The drawing was today and it dictated that Benfica plays host to Guimaraes and Sporting host porto. It'll be the 4th meeting for Benfica and Guimaraes this season, Benfica has won all of the match ups, all 3 having being played in Guimaraes.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Benfica 1 - Belenenses 0 - League Cup Recap
Friday, January 16, 2009
Benfica - Belenenses - League Cup Preview
Benfica will close out the group stages of the League Cup when they face Belenenses this Saturday. A rare afternoon game for Benfica, who is hoping to play more afternoon games in the near future according to Luis Felipe Vieira. Benfica currently has a 2 point lead against Belenenses and can win the group with a tie as the very minimum result.
Here's the list of players that Quique called for this match :
Keepers: Quim and Moretto.
Defenders: Luisão, Maxi Pereira, David Luiz, Jorge Ribeiro and Miguel Vítor.
Midfielders: Katsouranis, Yebda, Aimar, Ruben Amorim, Binya, Carlos Martins, Reyes and Di Maria.
Forwards:Cardozo, Nuno Gomes and Suazo.
Quique should field a team that's very similar to the what he usually fields for the league with one or two changes.
Moretto should once again in goal, but i wouldn't totally rule out Quim. Maxi, Luisao, Miguel Vitor and David Luiz, should compose the back 4.
In the midfield, Katsouranis and Yebda should be back in the middle, while Reyes and Amorim should occupy the flanks, although Quique could take advantage of DiMaria's psychological momentum and give him the start. Up front, Aimar and Suazo should be Quique's choices.
A tough game for Benfica who will need to get the very minimum of a tie in order not to be left hoping that no other second place team will have more points than Benfica. Remember, the 3 first place teams from each group advance to the semis along with the best second place team. After crashing out of the UEFA Cup and the Portuguese Cup, the League Cup has taken on special importance for Benfica as it is 1 of 2 objectives still left this season. Expect the team to take the game very serious and come out to win the game.
As far as I know, the game will not be on TV for the North American Continent, I will try to make some links available towards game time, check back for those links
Legue Cup Recap
Benfica hosted, and beat Olhanense this past Wednesday in the second round of the League Cup. 4-1 was the score, in a game that matched up the leaders of Portugal's first and second flights. I didn't get the opportunity to watch the game, but from what i have read, the scoreline is somewhat misleading regardless of Benfica's complete domination.
As it is customary in games for the League Cup, Quique rotated in some of the less used players. Moretto got his second consecutive start. The defense was composed of Miguel Vito, Luisao, Sidnei and Ribeiro from right to left. In the midfield, it was Katsouranis and Martins in the middle, Fellipe Bastos and Reyes in the flanks. Up front, Cardozo and Nuno Gomes.
Olhanense got on the scoreboard first after an incomplete save by Moretto. Benfica was able to tie the game 12 minutes later by Nuno Gomes, and turn the scoreline around 4 minutes later by Ribeiro 30 minutes into the game. 2-1 at the half, and a lot was written about Olhanense's first half performance, a team that came to Estadio da Luz with clear intentions to play ball, and not defend with 11 men.
In the second half, the Liga Vitalis leader lost some of its steam and Benfica kept on, getting their 3rd goal in the 62nd minute by Sidnei. Following Benfica's third goal Quique started his substitutions, DiMaria for Reyes(64m), Amorim for Bastos(68m). DiMaria, who had Maradona in the stands watching him, came out with a full head of steam determined to impress his national team coach, which he did.
With his last substitution, Quique put in Maxi for Martins(80m). Benfica would close out the game in style, with DiMaria authoring a masterpiece that got a standing ovation from Maradona.
4-1 the final score, as Benfica is through to the semis, but can come out group leader with at least a tie this coming Saturday against Belenenses.
A fairly easy game for Benfica, that encountered and adversary that came to play and deserves a lot of credit for their attitude. The scoreline is perhaps harsh on what Olhanense did throughout the game, but that nonetheless, shows the seriousness in which Benfica is approaching this competition.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Cups drawing results
This past week Benfica found out who their opponents will be in the League Cup and Portuguese Cup. In the Portuguese Cup, it'll be current Liga Sagres leader Leixoes, in a match that will take place on the 14th of December at Estadio do Mar. In the League Cup, also known as Carlsberg Cup, Benfica will be paired up with Olhanense, Belenenses and Guimaraes.
After defeating Desportivo das Aves and moving on to the round of 16, Benfica will now face harder competition in Leixoes. Benfica, who up until this point, had played all of their Portuguese Cup games at home will now have to travel to northern Portugal to face Leixoes at Estadio do Mar. It'll be the second time Benfica will play at Estadio do Mar this season, the first time took place back on the 5th round when Benfica let a win slip between their fingers in the 88th minute.
Here are the rest of the Portuguese Cup pairings:
(Torre Moncorvo / V. Setúbal) - Vitória de Guimarães (L)
Atlético de Valdevez (II) - (Santa Clara/Lusitano/Fiães/Freamunde/U. Madeira)
Estrela da Amadora (L) - Olivais e Moscavide (II)
Paços de Ferreira (L) - Vizela (LH)
Cinfães (III) - FC Porto (L)
Trofense (L) - Nacional (L)
Naval 1º Maio (L) - Portimonense (LH)
There's still a couple of pairings to be decided by preliminary games.
In the second edition of the Carlsberg Cup, the League decided to change the format of the competition and will now have a group stage in their 3rd round, the round where the Liga Sagres top teams enter the competition. The league has decided to split up the field into 3 groups of 4 teams each. Each team will face the other team in their group only once and the top two teams of these groups will then advance to the final stages of the competition, where the round robin format will apply.
Benfica drew, Guimaraes, Belenenses and Olhanense, a team from Portugal's 2nd flight division(liga Vitalis), and will be part of Group C.
Here are the fixtures:
@ V. Guimarães 1/7/09
Vs Olhanense 1/14/09
Vs Belenenses 1/18/09
The Carlsberg Cup is one of Benfica's objectives this year, and will be taking very seriously by the team and its technical staff.
