Looking at the Squad

With the first game of the season a mere 5 days away, It's time to take a look at the squad. Benfica currently has 27 players on their squad, 2 more than what Quique had originally stated he wanted to work with. The transfer window closes on August 31st, and it's very probable that(at least)one more player is yet to come.

The Luis Garcia saga continues, as he is Quique's number one choice, but I believe Benfica currently has a plan B and a C, in case Garcia fails.

Keepers - Quim, Moreira and Moretto.
In my opinion, a well rounded trio, as any one of them can be a starter. Quim is currently the best Portuguese keeper, and it'll be tough to beat him to the number 1 spot, but both Moreira and Moretto will be working hard to deserve a shot.
With the League Cup and the Portuguese Cup, Quique might very well give both backups a chance. With the realistic possibility of being Portugal's number 1, Quim knows he needs to continue to work hard and perform the same way he did last year, judging by the Inter game, Quim seems to be close to that level. The big question for the goalkeeping sector is, who will be #2? Not who will be the starter.

Defenders

Left side - Leo and Jorge Ribeiro
Leo is without a doubt the best left full back playing in Portugal, let's hope he remains injury free, and that he continues to be the great professional he is. Certainly with the contract renewal issue out of the way, Leo can concentrate on what's most important - the team.
Jorge Ribeiro is his back up, and in my eyes the only thing he brings more than Sepsi is experience. His actions towards Benfica in the past, have a big part of the fans against his acquisition. He has a long road ahead of him, first to be a worthy substitute, secondly to make peace with the fans.

Right Side - Maxi Pereira and Nelson
The right side of the defense is Benfica's weakest position, Nelson was plagued by injuries last season, Luis Felipe was just atrocious, and now there's Maxi, who plays right back for his national team, but is far from being a stellar player. Nonetheless, Maxi brings a bit more consistence to the right side of the defense, he might not be your modern wing back, but when it comes to defending, he gives a solid contribution.
Nelson, who continues to fight back to full health, will need more consistency in his game if he is to be the starter. His quickness and good services from the touchline, make him the ideal right back, but his oscillating performances bring vulnerability to the position.

Center - Luisao, David Luiz, Sidnei, Miguel Vitor and Edcarlos
Along with the right side of the defense, the middle was one of the sectors that lacked consistency, and the solidity of years past. Luisao is the leader of this defense, and one of the team leaders, but his last year was probably one of his worst years since he's been at Benfica. He will need to remain injury free and focused on Benfica if he is to be a starter.
David Luiz is coming off a debilitating foot injury, and is still lacking competitive rhythm, he can very well grab the starting spot next to Luisao, but I very much doubt he will be ready to go this Sunday. He needs a bit more time.
Sidnei is the new face, he will need to go through his adaptation period, before he can start. He has considerable talent and is still young, he will emerge some time this season.
Miguel Vitor is Benfica's formation product, the only promoted Junior to make the squad. His chances will be scarce and far between, but making the squad should serve as encouragement to continue to work hard. He did get some starts under Camacho, last season, when Luisao and David Luiz were hurt, so he is no stranger to pressure and starting, he was also tested at right back during the Guimaraes tournament. Edcarlos is not at the same level as any of these players and he should be one of the players cut before the 31st of August. If his poor performances last season weren't proof enough, he cleared up any doubts with his pre-season performances.
Also able to play in the center of the defense is Katsouranis, who will most likely fill in until David Luiz is competition ready.

Midfield
Defensive - Yebda, Binya, Kastouranis, Fellipe Bastos
Katsouranis is the prime candidate to the defensive midfielder position. His positional flexibility and experience make him a great utility player. With Katsouranis most likely starting the season in the middle of the defense, Yebda should be the second choice to start. Strong on the ball, good vision and good aerial game, are some of the traits that make Yebda a serious candidate for the spot.
Binya's talent is well known by everyone, but the Cameroonian, lacks a certain consistency for the position. His endless stamina make him a great defender, but his aggressiveness and his lack of passing accuracy, at times, can be a bit frustrating and can throw off the team's rhythm. With Petit's exit, Binya secured a spot on the squad, but we'll have to improve if he is to get the starting job.
Fellipe Bastos, shows considerable talent for his age, but is still inexperienced, perhaps he can emerge some time during the middle of the season.
Jorge Ribeiro can also play defensive midfielder

Right Side - Balboa, Ruben Amorim.
Last year's nonexistent right midfield, gets a breath of fresh air this year with Balboa, and Amorim.
Balboa is a pure winger, while Amorim is more of an interior player. It'll all depend on how Quique sets up the team, although he started Amorim on the right in most recent games, he can very well change the tactical set up. Balboa has shown talent at times, but continues to be an enigma, as to what he can really do. Perhaps as the season goes by, he will become more comfortable and more confident.
Amorim had been this pre-season's biggest disappointment for me, up until recently. He is more of an interior player, although he can do nice things on the right. Let's hope the fact that he is a Benfiquista since birth does not weight too much on his mind.

Left Side - Reyes and DiMaria.
Just like last year, Benfica's left wing will be where most of the offensive damage will come from. With the arrival of Reyes, Benfica has more than compensated for the gap left by Whoredriguez. Reyes is world class, and can play the left wing probably better than any other player currently in the Liga Sagres. Let's hope he can give Benfiquistas many reason's to cheer.
DiMaria has become an overnight sensation with his performances in the Olympics. Media outlets reported that both Chelsea and Real Madrid had their eye on the Argentinean. Benfica acquired DiMaria's pass in its totality last week. Let's hope when he comes from Beijing, his ego does not affect his focus. He can very well have a spot in Quique's 11, as both, he and Reyes can play on both sides, even though they both favor the left. Let's wait and see how he returns from Beijing and if Quique will take advantage of his good moment of form.

Attacking - Aimar and Carlos Martins
Aimar is Benfica's #10, enough said. It'll be up to Quique to use him where he feels Aimar can contribute the most. In my opinion, he is not as effective playing behind Cardozo, as he is coming forward from the midfield. Time will tell where he will fit in the best.
Carlos Martins, is Benfica's "box-to-box", he is our transition man, and if he stays healthy and keeps his head on his shoulders, he can do great things for Benfica.

Forwards - Nuno Gomes, Cardozo, Makukula, Mantorras and Urretavizcaya.
Clearly an overcrowded sector, taking into consideration that Benfica has only been playing with one true forward.
Cardozo is the front runner to the position, having scored 20+ goals last season and looking very confident, Cardozo comes into the season well rested, and with the adaptation period behind him. He has scored in the last 3 games he has played in, and shows even more promise than last year. It'll be tough for anyone to steal the spot from him, under normal circumstances.
Team captain Nuno Gomes, is in a difficult position and can very well start the season riding the pine. He has been in clear decline these past couple of years, and has to be feeling that time is running out. If anyone will get a chance it'll be Nuno Gomes, what will he do with his opportunities, will ultimately seal his fate. Makukula has worked hard all pre-season to remain at the club, as he knows that if another forward arrives he is on his way out. He has been linked to moves to England as of late, and will most likely end up either there or in Spain.
All pre-season i have been writing how Urreta's flexibility could be his biggest argument to convince Quique to keep him. He has basically played every single position in the offensive trident, and every time he has shown spark. His quickness and his recklessness to engage a 1-v-1 situation have made him a mainstay in Quique's 11s. He still lacks some decisiveness on the last touch however, but it'll come with time. Don't be surprised if he shows up on the right wing on Sunday. Lastly Mantorras, everyone knows that Mantorras is more of a psychological help than a physical help. He played a total of 214 minutes(season + pre-season) last year. I know that Benfica has an obligation towards this player, but isn't it time that Benfica defines his situation?
How many minutes will he play this upcoming season, with everyone that is in front of him, + another forward that's yet to come?

All and all, a much better squad than last year. While last year we spent lots of money and got players that were virtually unknown, this year, for the most part, the acquisitions are well known players - Aimar, Reyes, Amorim, Martins and Ribeiro. Then we got Balboa, who was part of last year's Real Madrid team, and Yebda, who despite being an unknown, is a young player who was part of France's U-20 national team.
The biggest unknown is the 19 year old Uruguayan, Urreta, but he has already proved that the money Benfica spent on him was well worth it, as he is a player with considerable talent and a large margin of progression.
Let's see how the team performs under Quique, new methods, new ideology, it always takes a bit to get going. SO far the team has shown gradual improvement with every outing. They will not have that much time to improve as the porto clash comes right in the second round.

Benfica's acquisitions this year have been well thought out, and have been within the club's financial limits. Rui Costa has been instrumental for this to happen and so far he has done a great job in his new position.

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Catching Up

After a much deserved vacation, I'm back, feeling refreshed and ready for the new season. Three weeks have gone by, and in the Benfica world, some things have changed some things have not. Talking about these past three weeks in detail would be tedious, instead, I'll run through some of the highlights of these past 3 weeks.

Petit
As i was leaving for vacation, the media reported that Petit was on the way to FC Koln, the move would eventually materialize with Benfica allowing the experienced midfielder out of his contract and annulling any wage obligations Benfica had with Petit through 2010, somewhere around 2m. At 32 years old, Petit isn't at the pinnacle of his career, and despite having been an undisputed starter at the Euro 08, Petit's season was all but consistent. Staying away from the "what have you done for me lately" mentality, there's no doubt in my mind that Petit has served Benfica, and well, the experience he brings to the team, and his leadership, are qualities that no other player in the current squad has.
I have mixed feelings about his exit, but when it comes down to it, Benfica's decision is understandable. Benfica and Petit reached a crossroads, and both parties decided well.
On one side, Petit signs the contract of his life, a contract that will see him finish his career making an amount of money he has never made before.
On the other side, despite the obvious future financial gain, Benfica stays on course with their project and opts for youth. With Binya, Yebda, Fellipe Bastos and Katsouranis, all being able to play the defensive midfield position, the sector was crowded for so many players. All 4 players bring different levels of experience, none of them like Petit, but they ensure a bright future for the project.
Thank you for everything, you have done for Benfica, wish you all but the best.

Obidos Concentration

Following the Guadiana tournament, Benfica entered a week long training camp in Obidos, a training camp that culminated with the team's participation in the Guimaraes tournament. 30 players entered camp but the squad would be trimmed before the week was out. Moretto replaced Bruno Costa mid-week, in a move that made a lot more sense than spending 2m on Real's Codina.
Zoro, Sepsi, Yu Dabao, and Bruno Costa all got their orders and by weeks end were training apart from the main squad.

Guimaraes Tournament

I was fortunate enough to be in the north of Portugal during that time, and drove two hours south to the beautiful city of Guimaraes to watch Benfica play PSG. It was just another pre-season match, but it was good to see the team up close and notice a bit of progress from the Guadiana tournament. Benfica's newest signing, Sidnei, got the surprising start and apart from PSG's 2nd goal, he really impressed me. Relaxed, strong on the tackle, and aerial game, with good feet for a center back. Quique experimented 2 separate configurations, but it wasn't until the second half, when Benfica played with 2 center forwards that Benfica, ended up being a more dominating team. The result was the least important, there was a small, but noticeable improvement from the past weekend.
Benfica would eventually win the tournament after beating hosts, Guimaraes, on monday, in a game where Quique stayed with the retracted forward configuration, with Aimar as the chosen one.

Reyes

Along with Aimar, Reyes is Benfica's biggest acquisition of the season, regardless of coming on loan, Benfica acquired 25% of the player's pass from Atletico Madrid for 2.65m, in a move that probably involved the 2 player option Benfica had from the Simao deal. At the end of the season, Benfica will have the option of acquiring Reyes.
There's no questioning the talent of Reyes, the whole issue is whether the Sagres league and Benfica's project will present enough of a challenge for Reyes, that he will feel compelled to stay in the long run, and perform above what he is known for in the short run.
Reyes is a player that is used to the highest level of competition, and despite his career looking like it has hit a snag in recent years, this may be his chance to project himself to the top. Wish him all the best.

Luis Felipe & Assis

The media had, for quite sometime, been reporting that both Luis Felipe and Assis were on their way to Guimaraes. Benfica announced their departure, on their official site on the 6th of August. Luis Felipe on loan with buy out option, Assis was let go at 0 cost, but Benfica signed a "first dibs" clause, as well as a clause in which Benfica would have to authorize the player to play for any other club in Portugal.
Assis opted to bad mouth Benfica claiming that the club had kept him in the dark about his future.

Official team introduction.

No matter how many times i have been to Estadio da Luz, it never fails to impress me. Every time i walk down the tunnel, into the seating area, chills are always present. Off course, Vitoria's flight is always one of the highlights of the night.
Benfica dominated and won convincingly, let's hope their domination at home this year is better than last years. Cardozo scored the lone goal, his 3rd in as many games. Benfica showed some more improvement from last game, and Reyes got the crowds approval when he hit the post the first time he touch the ball. Estadio da Luz was far from being sold out but still a good crowd of around 42k.

Eusebio Cup

The final, and by far, the hardest test for Benfica came against Inter in the Eusebio Cup. The team is starting to take shape, and despite still waiting for another forward, there's already routines established between the players. It was a good game, and Benfica did not dissappoint, even though they still showed some deficiencies, typical for this time of year. Inter snapped up the trophy after the penalty shootout.



With the season less than a week away and the squad more or less defined, let's hope Benfica can have a good start of season. The team shows some promise, but only time will tell, it's a rough first 5 games, with matches against Porto and Sporting.

Upcoming Posts:

- Looking at the Squad
- First month preview
- Rio Ave - Benfica Preview

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Petit on his way out

According to Monday's "A Bola" Petit is on his way to F.C. Koln in the Bundesliga.
"A Bola" which based their reporting on Germany's football publication "Kicker" and later confirmed with a source of "Kicker", claims that Petit is close to signing a 2 year deal with the Bundesliga club, and will possibly be introduced as early as this Monday.
Petit who is about to turn 32, has been an important member of Benfica's squad, but last year was well below what he has accustomed us to, much because of the injuries that plagued him throughout the season.
Petit's exit would not only make room in Benfica's payroll, it would also make room for Binya's stay.

-END-

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Still a lot of work to do

Benfica finished off their Guadiana participation with a loss to Sporting by the score of 2-0. Sunday night's game served as another observation point for Quique, who at this point should have a good idea of who is staying and who is leaving and what else is needed to close up the squad.

For this game Quique fielded the following 11:

First Half
Quim, Maxi, Luisao, Katsouranis and Leo. Binya and Martins in the middle, Balboa and Assis on the flanks. Up front Urreta and Aimar.

This was a more distinct and closer to the projected starting 11 that will be used by Quique. In the defense Maxi confirmed that he will be an option for right back, and he will be fighting for a spot with Nelson. In the middle of the defense, Luisao and Katsouranis, which, with David Luiz being hurt and Sidnei unproven, is probably the strongest tandem Quique could field. On the left Leo, barring an unfortunate stroke of luck, is the owner of the left back position.
In the midfield, Quique opted for Binya, perhaps wanting to see the Cameroonian one more time, or maybe to put him on display for any team interested in the defensive midfielder. Martins played in his natural position and Assis was once again tested on the left side. On the right, Balboa has shown to be the front runner for the spot.
Up front, Urreta got another chance to prove himself along with Aimar, who can play the withdrawn forward position, but appeared useless due to the lack of connecting play from the midfield.
Edcarlos came in at the 20 minute mark, after Katsouranis went down to injury. Quique who had sent both Miguel Vitor and Edcarlos to warm up to replace the Greek, would eventually give the chance to Edcarlos, and if there were any doubts about Edcarlos' future, his terrible performance dissipated those doubts.

Benfica played in a classic 4-4-2 and showed periods of attractive futebol, but the machine is yet to be firing on half the cylinders.

In the Second Half:
Quim remained in goal, Maxi, Luisao, Edcarlos and Leo, also finished the game. In the midfield, Binya and Amorim, Jorge Ribeiro on the left, and Urreta dropped back to right mid, to replace Balboa. Makukula joined Aimar up front.
Also getting minutes in the second half were Fellipe bastos, who came in for Aimar, as Urreta returned to the front line and Yebda who replaced the injured Binya.

Sloppy second half, with defensive mistakes being the cause for the 2 goals allowed.

Observations from these two games:

The defensive sector continues to be our weakest sector, David Luiz is still sidelined, but the personnel that's available to Quique provides little or no solutions.
On the right Nelson and Maxi will be the right back options. Maxi might not have the same attacking characteristics as Nelson but he brings consistency, something Nelson often lacks. In the middle of the defense, Edcarlos and Zoro seem to be the men on their way out. Edcarlos for his performances, Zoro for not even deserving a chance to play, seem to have joined Sepsi and Luis Felipe on the list of "not needed". Luisao and Katsouranis make a strong tandem, but with Katsouranis' future uncertain and Luisao alluding to a possible exit, the middle of the defense exhibits a certain instability and lack of depth. I'm against Luisao's exit, and i think he deserves the support of all Benfiquistas as he can still lead our defense, with David Luiz and Sidnei being so young, having Luisao along with one of the youngsters would be a good move. Miguel Victor is still very young and taking into consideration that Katsouranis might be leaving acquiring an experienced center back should be a priority, too bad we missed out on the Meira train. On the left, Leo and Jorge Ribeiro are good options.

In the midfield, Fellipe Bastos impressed me the most,Amorim continues to be extremely discreet, and so far has disappointed me, let's hope he can turn that around with more time. Yebda has proven to be a great acquisition, Martins still needs time to find his groove, and Balboa has also proven to be the right man for the job.
I don't think Benfica has room in the squad for Binya. The left side is starting to look like our right side last year, orphan of decent player. I know that DiMaria is at the Olympics and all, but i think that we need a player that can do both wings, but primarily the left wing. Both Maxi and Ribeiro can do the flanks, but they are far from being your classic offensive minded wingers.
Still early for Aimar, let's not forget about Petit also, who has yet to put on a Benfica jersey this preseason. It's hard to get a read on Assis, Quique seems to be trying hard to find a niche for Assis, whether on the right or on the left. He can do both flanks, but with his natural position being an attacking center mid. He is far from being the classic winger, but provides for an interesting dynamic in flank play when he is on the field. He worked very hard these games to convince Quique, time will tell.

Up front, Nuno Gomes and Cardozo have yet to step on the field. Speculation grows around Mantorras' future and apparently there's a forward on the way. We saw 3 forwards over the 2 games, Makukula, Urreta and the youngster Nelson Oliveira. Makukula seems to be working hard to remain in the squad. Urreta impressed me with his fight and his work rate, but still seems a bit green. The 16 year old seems destined to return to the formation ranks.

Benfica will now enter a second phase of their preseason, where they will be in Obidos for all of next week, a week that will culminate with the Guimaraes tournament, where they will face PSG on Saturday(Aug 2) and Guimaraes on Monday(Aug 4).
Rui Costa has already announced that the squad will "shed" some weight before entering this stage, we will see who will be sent packing, my money is on Luis Felipe, Sepsi, Edcarlos for now.

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Guadiana Cup in Sight

Benfica plays 2 games this weekend in the Guadiana Cup. The first one is tomorrow against Blackburn Rovers, and the other one is against Sporting on Sunday.
With all of the players at Quique's orders, these two games will take on a more serious tone, despite Quique stating that the most important game against Sporting is the one for the league.
Last year Benfica won this tournament by beating Sporting in the final game, with a goal from David Luiz.
Quique has also mentioned that the players that made their return this week will be getting little or limited time, as they are still not in the optimal playing condition.

In a day that served as a formal introduction to UrretaVizcaya, Jorge Ribeiro and, fresh off the plane, Sidnei, Quique also announced the list of the 28 players making the trip to Algarve.

Here they are:

Keepers: Moreira, Quim and Bruno Costa

Defenders: Luís Filipe, Edcarlos, Luisão, Léo, Zoro, Miguel Vítor, Sepsi and Sidnei

Midfielders: Petit, Katsouranis, Aimar, Balboa, Fellipe Bastos, Maxi Pereira, Ruben Amorim, Binya, Carlos Martins, Nuno Assis, Yebda, and Jorge Ribeiro

Forwards: Nelson Oliveira, Cardozo, Urretavizcaya, Makukula and Nuno Gomes.

Notable absences are the ones of Nelson, David Luiz and Mantorras, who are all bothered by injuries, or in the recovering process.

What can we expect from these two games? Not a lot, but a lot more than what we saw on Saturday against Estoril. For some players, it'll be one of the last chances(if not the last)to impress Quique, namely the players on the "bubble".
With Rui Costa announcing today that there will be more players leaving next week, and that there are still 3(!) players to come, Quique will surely be shedding excess very soon.
We can also expect a team trying to apply a certain automatism and playing routines, in a style of play that will come close to what Quique wants for this 08/09 Benfica.
I don't expect to see Aimar for too long, but I expect to see him during the course of these two games.
Don't be surprised to see Maxi and Ribeiro on the right and left side of the defense, and we may even see Sidnei at one point.

In the midfield, the battle will continue, Petit, Fellipe Bastos, Amorim, Yebda, Martins, are all fighting for a spot and will be out to impress Quique. As far as Binya, looks like his days numbered as he has been rumored to be headed to Spain. Assis will continue to plug away but he can very well be headed to Guimaraes come next week.

We should see some interesting pairings in Benfica's starting 11s this weekend, with the focus falling in the center of each sector. In defense, Luisao, Edcarlos, Miguel Victor, Katsouranis, Sidnei and Zoro, will all likely get minutes, the question is, who will be at their side? It'll be interesting to see the who will be paired with who.

Same deal in the midfield, but in a more complex way. Quique has been showing a 4-4-2 with different looks and variations, the personnel used will ultimately determine how Benfica will function in the midfield.
There are no shortage of players and different characteristics for Quique to adopt any variation he desires, whether it's a 4-2-3-1, 4-1-3-2, or your classic 4-4-2.

Up Front, it's every man for himself, has Cardozo looks to make up for lost time and Nuno Gomes, tries to convince Quique he can still be important to the team. Makukula has been with the squad since day 1, and he will continue to work hard to deserve a spot on the squad and justify why Benfica spent 4.5mm on him last season. UrretaVizcaya now has 2 weeks under his belt, and his biggest weapon is not only to show Quique he can complement anyone else up front, but also provide depth to the front line, as he's a player that can play all forward positions.
Nelson Oliveira continues to live the dream, but his alarm clock is about to go off. There's no question about his talent, but at 16, you'd have to be incredibly gifted to make the squad. Write his name down, he will be sure to pop up again, he has a bright future ahead of him, not only for Benfica but also for the national team, who currently lacks a world class center forward.

Looking forward to seeing a more serious Benfica this weekend, as the team starts taking steps towards defining itself.

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Sidnei on the Way to Benfica

Sidnei is the next Benfica signing, according to "A Bola". A 19 year old center back ailing from Porto Alegre's Internacional. Sidnei is set to sign a 5 year contract contract valid until June 2013, the Portuguese Daily also reports.

I don't know much about Sidnei, but from what I have read, Sidnei is a young budding talent who was on the radar for many European giants.

What pleases me most about this acquisition, if it's confirmed, is the fact that up until now there wasn't much talk about Sidnei, and that is the way acquisitions should be done, despite sometimes no being that easy.
With Sidnei's arrival we can be certain that Zoro is on his way out, and barring a Katsouranis exit, Edcarlos might also be at risk.

As i posted yesterday, the squad was reduced by six players today, Andre Carvalhas(Rio Ave), Miguel Rosa(Estoril), Ruben Lima(D Aves), Romeu Ribeiro(D Aves)were all on their way to their new destinies, as well as the juniors Abel Pereira and Joao Pereira who will be with the Junior team.

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Benfica News 7/18/08

On the first day of work for Pablo Aimar, there were also a few other returns. Luisao, Katsouranis and Maxi all made their 08/09 pre-season training debut, one day before Benfica's first game of the pre-season against Estoril.

According to news reports, Katsouranis arrived with an offer from an European club, but Benfica will be very reluctant in letting Katsouranis go for anything less than the price they are asking, somewhere around 10m.
Rui Costa as mentioned that Benfica only wants players that want to be at Benfica, and Quique Flores reinforced the same statement this morning when he was asked about Katsouranis, stating that Benfica will not try to convince any player to stay at Benfica. Players should feel drawn to the club’s projects and ambitions, and should have the desire to defend the sacred mantle.


The remaining missing players, with the exception of Freddy Adu will report to work on July 21st.
A time where Quique will get the finally observe them. More “cuts” are expected to come by the end of next week.

Freddy Adu was officially named to the US Olympic squad, and won’t be available for a return until mid August. As I had written on the post before this one, the USMOT will be entering camp this coming week in California, then flying out to Hong Kong on Friday(7/25) where they will play 2 tuners(Cameroon and Ivory Coast Olympic squads) before they open the tournament against Japan August 7th.

In a 30 minute interview conceded to RTP, Luis Felipe Vieira stated that there are still 1-2 more important players to close, before the squad is closed, but was not specific in positions.
In this interview, which the main topic was the “golden whistle “case, Luis Felipe Vieira also admitted that there were 3 candidates for the coaching job, Quique, Queiroz and Eriksson.



From the practice field……

All four new faces warmed up with the squad, but did their own pre-season workout, which involved endurance and flexibility training.

Nelson, Quim, Fellipe Bastos and David Luiz also did specific work, part of their recuperation process from their respective injuries.

Despite their loan announcement, Carvalhas, Romeu Ribeiro, Ruben Lima and Miguel Rosas, continue to work under Quique. There’s also talk of Carvalhas possibly staying, as the winger position is a bit light, with both DiMaria and Adu away on Olympic duty, and Coentrao now out of the picture.

Don’t look now but 16 year old forward Nelson Oliveira, is still with the squad, and has been impressing Quique.


In today’s short scrimmage Quique used the following 11s :

Bruno Costa; Luís Filipe, Miguel Vítor, Edcarlos and Léo; Nuno Assis, Binya, Carlos Martins and André Carvalhas; Makukula e Nélson Oliveira.

Moreira; Romeu Ribeiro, Abel Pereira, João Pereira e Sepsi; Balboa, Ruben Amorim, Yebda and Ruben Lima; Yu Dabao and Urreta.

Looking at these 11s, and assuming that Quique will not risk using Nelson, Quim, Fellipe Bastos and David Luiz, we can see a starting XI very close to the first one mentioned above, with the exception of Moreira being in goal instead of Bruno Costa and a few other tweaks. Expect a whole new 11 for the second half, or variations of the first 11, for Quique to observe certain players together.
Don’t expect to see any of the players that started training today in tomorrow’s match.

As far as I know the game will be televised by RTP, and you can probably catch it on your usual P2P portals, if you do not have access to RTPi.

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Feeling Froggy

According to several media sources, a representative of AS Monaco, will be in Lisbon with the purpose of convincing Benfica to loan Freddy Adu. Not too long ago, Monaco's coach, Ricardo Gomes, publicly claimed that Adu was too expensive for the club, which leads me to conclude that the move would involve a loan period and not a sale.

I've written it here once before, and i'll write it again, if Benfica is to loan Adu, it'll be an incredible dumb move.
If in fact the whole purpose of Freddy going on loan is to give him an opportunity to play more, then why send him to another country, where he will have to go through the whole adaptation process again?

Logically, it makes no sense to me, but if you think dollars and cents, Monaco is very capable of paying Adu's wages for the year, and that would be the only way Benfica would let him go.
Loaning Adu to another Portuguese club, and have that club pay for his wages for the year, is something that would be very rare in Portugal, as most clubs, can not afford that type of an expense.
With Adu going on loan, and subsequently having his wages paid by another club, Benfica would free up some of their payroll.

We can't forget that, at this time it's all about Aimar, every effort is being made to bring the Argentine to Benfica.
We'll wait and see how the process plays out, but if you ask me, if in fact a Monaco representative is in Lisbon, conversations are already underway, and may very well reach a conclusion soon.

Word of advice to Benfica - see if you can include Marc Zoro in the deal, i heard he is one of Benfica's top earners, and he already speaks French.



"A Bola"(Portuguese)
"Tutto Mercato"(Italian)
"ASM Foot"(French)
L'Equipe

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Pre-Season Friendlies set

With the new season 8 days from starting, Benfica has announced 2 pre-season friendlies. On August 9th, Benfica will play Holland's Feyenoord on what will be the official team introduction.
Benfica has also announced a match with Mourinho's Inter, that will be part of the first Eusebio Cup, to also take place in August, with a tentative date of the 15th.
The date has been left as tentative, as Benfica will be waiting for a decision by Uefa as to wether they will be participating in the Champions League or not.
Benfica has appealed UEFA's decision to include porto in the Champions League this year. If you recall, UEFA returned the case to the first instance, but later admitted porto in, claiming that the case would not have deliberations before August 1st, a date in which the CL drawings will take place. Both Benfica and Guimaraes submitted appeals to Europe's Sporting Tribunal requesting that a decision be reached by July 31st, in order for UEFA to deliberate.


The Eusebio Cup will only be one game in its first year(this year), it'll then take on a 4 team format.

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