Under the Knife

David Luiz will be undergoing foot surgery in the Netherlands today. As you may recall, Luiz suffered an injury to one of the metatarsals of his right foot and hasn't been able to give Benfica his contribute for quite sometime. After a brief period of indecisiveness on whether or not surgery would be the best choice, the young Brazilian and an element of Benfica's physio, traveled to the land of tulips to get a specialist's opinion, which suggested surgery would be the way to go.
Recovery period will be a minimum of 2 and a half months, putting at risk his participation in the summer games of Beijing for Brasil.
Wishes of a speedy recovery


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David Luiz - Out for the Season

David Luiz will be undergoing surgery on the 5th metatarsal of his right foot and will be out for the rest of the season. As you may recall, Luiz suffered this injury in the beginning of the season, and was able to recuperate from it, however the same injury came back to haunt him not too long ago and has kept him out of the line up. Surgery will now be required in order for a full recuperation.
David's Olympic hopes are also at risk as he might not recuperate in time for the competition.
Best of luck to David Luiz, we sure miss him and what he brings to the team.



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Belenenses - Benfica Preview

After a much needed period of rest, Benfica gets back into the flow of things with a visit to Belenenses. The two Lisbon teams meet in the 13th round of the Bwin, Belenenses is currently 9th, with 15 points, while Benfica is 2nd with 25 points. Belenenses has a very good team and will offer Benfica a real challenge. Benfica will need to continue their winning ways in order to continue their pursuit of Porto. Benfica bounced back from their first defeat of the season in the Bwin with 2 wins. Benfica beat Shakhtar in the Ukraine to clinch a Uefa Cup spot and they beat Academica this past weekend to go forward in the Portuguese cup.

Camacho has called the following players:

Keepers: Butt and Quim
Defenders: Léo, Luisão, Luis Filipe, Nelson and David Luiz
Midfielders: Katsouranis, Bynia, Maxi, Rui Costa, Adu, Petit, Cristián Rodriguez, Nuno Assis and Di Maria
Forwards: Nuno Gomes and Cardozo.


Possible Starting 11

Quim will once again be in goal after sitting out the Portuguese cup game. In defense, we will see Benfica's strongest back four, Nelson, Luisao, David Luiz and Leo. Katsouranis and Petit will be in front of the defense, with the Greek being the box-to-box man, providing support for the 3 attacking midfielders. Rodriguez will be back on the left wing, while Maxi will be on the right. In the middle it'll be Rui Costa supporting the red hot Cardozo.
This is clearly Benfica's base squad, one could argue for Di Maria to play on one of the wings, especially after having played well last weekend in Rodriguez's absence, but Rodriguez's favorite side is also the left. In order for them to both play, their changing of flanks would have to be seamless, and their contribute should remain positive no matter what flank they play in, and right now, there's too much of a Di Maria drop in performance when he goes to the right. Something that could very well be changed with time. It's hard to sit Di Maria when he appeared to be gaining confidence and building good form momentum, but, collective effort comes first.

As a Benfica fan, you have to feel good about Benfica's chances going into this game, after a whirlwind of a schedule, with games every 3 days, Camacho finally got a chance to rest key players like Rui Costa and Katsouranis. He can also count on Rodriguez who did not play the past 2 games, after picking up an injury against Porto. Team's rested and at full strenght, Quim seems to have recuperated from the knee injury he picked up in training earlier in the week and Leo also seems 100% from the mild concussion he suffered against Academica. I am expecting a hard fought game, evenly matched, with attacking third efficiency being the key for Benfica. Benfica's midfield has struggled at times in the past couple of games, they will need to be very sharp and make minimal mistakes. Finishing and midfield precision are my keys to this game. Let's hope that Cardozo continues his scoring streak, in what will definitely be a sign of him coming into the "Matador" role he came labeled as, upon his arrival to Benfica.

2-0 Benfica
Leave your own prediction, starting 11, and keys to the game in the comment box below.


On a side note, Benfica extended David Luiz's contract through 2013, and added a 50mm clause.

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A Welcome Return.

David Luiz is Back!! - The young Brazilian international worked out with no limitations this Thursday in a scrimmage match against the Juniors. Luiz fractured one of his toes a little over two months ago during a training session. Welcome Back!
Petit and Nelson continue their recuperation at a good rate.

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