S.L. Benfica

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/5917/benficacopywb5.png

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Official Website:

www.slbenfica.pt

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Full Name:
Sport Lisboa e Benfica http://www.abola.pt/imgs/euro08/bandeira_portugal.gif

Nickname(s):
As Águias [ The Eagles ]
Encarnados [ The Reds ]
Glorioso [ The Glorious ]

Founded:
28 February 1904

Stadium:
Estádio da Luz ( Lisbon, Portugal)

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/9387/21151644ho7.png

Capacity:
65.200

Chairman:
Luís Filipe Vieira http://www.abola.pt/imgs/euro08/bandeira_portugal.gif

Manager:
Quique Flores http://www.abola.pt/imgs/euro08/bandeira_espanha.gif [ 2008/2009 ]

League:
BWIN Liga [ 4th place - 2007/2008 ]

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Kits:

2008/2009

A | GK | H

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3950/57323509zt9.png

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Current Squad


-1 GK - José Moreira - Age: 26
12 GK - Quim - Age: 32
31 GK - Marcelo Moretto* - Age: 30

-4 DF - Luisão - Age: 27
-5 DF - Léo - Age: 33
23 DF - David Luiz - Age: 21
28 DF - Miguel Vitor* - Age: 19
25 DF - Jorge Ribeiro - Age: 26
27 DF - Sidnei - Age: 19
14 DF - Maxi Pereira - Age: 24
17 DF - Marc Zoro - Age: 24

26 MF - Yebda - Age: 24
15 MF - Ruben Amorim - Age: 23
-8 MF - Katsouranis - Age: 29
20 MF - Di María - Age: 20
18 MF - Binya - Age: 24
13 MF - Fellipe Bastos* - Age: 18
11 MF - Javier Balboa - Age: 23
24 MF - Carlos Martins - Age: 26
10 MF - Pablo Aimar - Age: 28
-6 MF - Reyes - Age: 25

-9 FW - Mantorras - Age: 26
21 FW - Nuno Gomes - Age: 32
-7 FW - Oscar Cardozo - Age: 25
19 FW - Ariza Makukula - Age: 27
16 FW - Jonathan Urretavizcaya - Age: 18
30 FW - David Suazo - Age: 28

* : From Benfica Youth team
* : Came back from loan


Squad changes for 2008/09 Season:

In:

Ruben Amorim - Belenenses - 1 Million
Jorge Ribeiro - Boavista .F.C - 0 cost
Hassan Yebda - Le Mans - 0 cost
Javier Balboa - Real Madrid - € 4 Million
Carlos Martins - Recreativo de Huelva - € 3 Million
Jonathan Urretavizcaya - River Plate de Montevideo - € 1,26 Million
Pablo Aimar - Real Zaragoza - € 6,5 Million
Ivan Santos - Boavista .F.C - 0 cost
Sidnei - S.C. Internacional - € 5 Million
Reyes - A. Madrid - € 10 Million

Total spending: € 30,76 Million

Out:

Rui Costa - Leader of the Football Department of Benfica - Retired
Sreten Sretenovic - Politehnica 1921 Timişoara - € 800.000
Hans-Jörg Butt - FC Bayern Munich - 0 cost
Cristian Rodriguez - Loan finished
José Fonte - Crystal Palace - € 720.000(?)
João Coimbra - C.S. Maritimo - 0 cost
Paulo Jorge - C.S. Maritimo - 0 cost
Manú - C.S. Maritimo - 0 cost
João Pereira - Back to Benfica Youth Team
Abel Pereira - Back to Benfica Youth Team
Pedro Correia - Racing Club Ferrol - 0 cost
Petit - FC Köln - 0 cost
Nélson Oliveira - Back to Benfica Youth Team
Bruno Costa - Cancelation of Contract
Marco Ferreira - Cancelation of Contract
Nuno Assis - Vitória de Guimarães - 0 cost
Yu Dabao - Dispensed
Nélson - Real Betis - € 5 Million

Total income: € 6,52 Million

Loan:

In:

David Suazo - Internazionale Milano

Out:

Marcel - Grémio
Andrés Diaz - C.A. Banfield
Rafik Halliche - Nacional da Madeira
Pedro Correia - Sporting da Covilhã
Fabio Coentrão - Real Zaragoza
Romeu Ribeiro - Desportivo das Aves
Ruben Lima - Desportivo das Aves
Miguel Rosa - Estoril-Praia
André Carvalhas - Rio Ave
Freddy Adu - AS Mónaco
Ivan Santos - Boavista .F.C
Sepsi - Racing Santander
Luis Filipe - Vitória de Guimarães
Tiago Gomes - Osasuna
Edcarlos - Fluminense


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Games Schedule


Liga Sagres

1º: Rio Ave 1 x 1 S.L. Benfica [August 24]: 55' Semedo; 56' Nuno Gomes.
2º: S.L. Benfica 1 x 1 F.C. Porto [August 30]: 11'[PK] Lucho; 56' Cardozo.
3º: Paços de Ferreira 3 x 4 S.L. Benfica [September 21]: 7' Nuno Gomes; 14' Ozéia; 27' Maxi Pereira; 44'[PK] Cardozo; 63' Rui Miguel; 76' Jorge Ribeiro; 85' William.
4º: S.L. Benfica 2 x 0 Sporting .C.P [September 28]: 67' Reyes; 72' Sidnei.
5º: Leixões 1 x 1 S.L. Benfica [October 5]: 33' Cardozo; 88' Wesley.
6º: S.L. Benfica 2 x 1 Naval 1.º Maio [October 26]: 71' Luisão; 82' Marcelinho; 86' Cardozo.
7º: Vitória de Guimarães 1 x 2 S.L. Benfica [November 2]: 15' Suazo; 18' Sidnei; 41' Douglas.
8º: S.L. Benfica 1 x 0 Estrela da Amadora [November 16]: 50' Sidnei.
9º: Académica 0 x 2 S.L. Benfica [November 23]: 31' Ruben Amorim; 47'[PK] Cardozo.
10º: S.L. Benfica 2 x 2 Vitória de Setúbal [November 30]: 35' Laionel; 48' Katsouranis; 59' Suazo; 90+1' Anderson.
11º: Marítimo 0 x 6 S.L. Benfica [December 7]: 20'[PK] Reyes; 42' 85' Suazo; 66' Luisão; 87' 90+3' Nuno Gomes.
12º: S.L. Benfica 0 x 0 Nacional da Madeira [December 21]
13º: Trofense 2 x 0 S.L. Benfica [January 4]: 44' Reguila; 82' Hélder Barbosa.
14º: S.L Benfica 1 x 0 Sporting de Braga [January 11]: 45' David Luiz.
15º: Belenenses 0 x 0 S.L Benfica [January 25]
16º: S.L. Benfica 1 x 0 Rio Ave [February 1]: 70' Mantorras.
17º: F.C. Porto 1 x 1 S.L. Benfica [February 8]: 45+1' Yebda; 72'[PK] Lucho.
18º: S.L. Benfica x Paços de Ferreira [February 15]
19º: Sporting .C.P x S.L. Benfica [February 22]
20º: S.L. Benfica x Leixões [March 1]
21º: Naval 1.º Maio x S.L. Benfica [March 8]
22º: S.L. Benfica x Vitória de Guimarães [March 15]
23º: Estrela da Amadora x S.L. Benfica [April 5]
24º: S.L. Benfica x Académica [April 11]
25º: Vitória de Setúbal x S.L. Benfica [April 19]
26º: S.L. Benfica x Marítimo [April 26]
27º: Nacional da Madeira x S.L. Benfica [May 3]
28º: S.L. Benfica x Trofense [May 10]
29º: Sporting de Braga x S.L. Benfica [May 17]
30º: S.L. Benfica x Belenenses [May 24]


Top Scorers:
- Cardozo [5]
- Nuno Gomes [4]
- Suazo [4]
- Sidnei [3]
- Reyes [2]
- Luisão [2]
- Maxi Pereira [1]
- Jorge Ribeiro [1]
- Ruben Amorim [1]
- Katsouranis [1]
- David Luiz [1]
- Mantorras [1]
- Yebda [1]



Portugal Cup

Eliminated

Third Round

[October 19] S.L. Benfica 0 x 0 Penafiel: Penalty Kicks: 5-4

Fourth Round

[November 9] S.L. Benfica 3 x 0 Desportivo das Aves: 3' Yebda; 19' Luisão; 30' Maxi Pereira.

Fifth Round

[December 13] Leixões 0 x 0 S.L. Benfica: Penalty Kicks: 5-4.




Carlsberg Cup


UEFA Cup

Eliminated

First Round
Group 4:
[September 18] S.S.C. Napoli 3 x 2 S.L. Benfica: 16' Suazo; 18' Vitale; 20' Denis; 55' Maggio; 60' Luisão.
[October 2] S.L. Benfica 2 x 0 S.S.C. Napoli: 57' Reyes; 83' Nuno Gomes.


Group Stage

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/5662/semttuloqu4.jpg

[October 23] Hertha Berlin 1 x 1 S.L. Benfica: 51' Di Maria; 74' Pantelic.
[November 6] S.L. Benfica 0 x 2 Galatasaray: 52' Emre; 69' Umit Karan.
[November 27] Olympiakos 5 x 1 S.L. Benfica: 1' Galletti; 18' Patsatzoglou; 24' 53' Diogo; 33' David Luiz; 44' Belluschi.
[December 18] S.L. Benfica 0 x 1 Metalist: 85' Rykun.

Nice to see a thread about Benfica. I was used to see this team win and win all the time. What has happend in the last couple of years?

Lack of a strong direction.

.. combined with the mafia environment that characterized the Liga and portuguese FA in the past 25 years, referee scandals etc. benefiting some particular clubs.


Anyway, nice post there Coruja. (Y)

Let's hope this thread'll be well alive this season ;)

So, from the 50 or so players the press is linking with us as usual do you guys think would be a good addition?

I think Aimar would be awesome, though it may be difficult to get him.

Aimar is really close, and it looks that he like the idea to play in Benfica, and that is important for the "project" that Rui Costa is planning for the new season. To close the contract, the only thing left to do, it's the conversation between Aimar and the Zaragoza President. If Aimar really comes to Benfica, i think it will be a great acquisition for our squad, a great 10.

Aimar is a fantastic player, with lots of recognition in the world of football, with lots of clubs looking for his services and probably with a gold wage, so having all that in account I can safely say, Aimar will not be a Benfica player, next!

Well, the "Aimar Saga" will probably be finished this week, i believe in a Sucefull transference, but, anyway.. Talking about Pongolle's confusion.. it's turning a little anoying.

Anyone knows when the 2008/2009 kit is presented?

Probably in the first day of work, you can pre-order the shirt on the official site already.

Maybe around, 7th of July, I guess...

O avançado Sinama Pongolle, que era fortemente pretendido pelo Benfica, afinal optou por ingressar no Atlético Madrid. Segundo o site do jornal desportivo espanhol "Sport", o avançado francês já está a fazer exames médicos e a sua contratação por parte dos colchoneros deverá ser confirmada nas próximas horas.


Looks like Pongolle opted for A. Madrid. It was expected, but in a certain way, im happy, because in the nowdays market there are a plenty of good players to occupy his position. The press talks about Miccoli, and isnt a bad option.. He knows some players of the actual squad, the majority of the fans like him, is a good player, so... It's not a bad choice.

Last News:

The press says that Javier Balboa it's confirmed for 4 seasons.

Presentation of Balboa:

It's wearing the last season kit.

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/23844.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/23840.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/23842.jpg


The press rumours says that Benfica is interessed in Rafael Sóbis ( Real Betis ), Seitaridis ( A.Madrid ), Dica ( Steaua ) and Ayala ( Real Zaragoza ).

Sóbis is a great player, but for the Benfica economy it's a little expensive.
Seitaridis.. played well in Euro 2004, besides that.... And we have Nelson, that is quite good.
Dica, i dont know him, i only see it a few times in the Romanian games in Euro 2008..
Ayala, it might be good, but... 35 years old.. if it's only for a season... it's ok then.

Well I haven't really watched Balboa play, so I can't comment on that, guess we'll have to see if he delivers.

Sóbis will be too expensive and I rather have Miccoli :)

I think Nélson may leave to Aston Villa or other premiership club, I wouldn't mind to see go, he's been very inconsistent. Either he performs consistently or he should go IMO.

Ayala would be a waste of money, he's too old we should use that money to buy someone we really need, Aimar or another quality AMF.

I heard about that ( interest in Nelson ), yes, he's a little inconsistent, but Seitaridis as a solution if he really goes out... im "afraid" of that.. i prefer Nelson. Is "young", and with help maybe he can surpass his inconsistencies.

Ayala, well.. 35..

Tomorrow it's probably the conclusion of "Pablo Aimar Saga".

The young promises: André Carvalhas and Miguel Rosa renewed their contract with Benfica for 3 seasons.

Some press news:

Pablo Aimar, Miccoli and Codina are close to sign with Benfica.

We don't need Codina... He's certainly worse than Quim so I think it's enough Moreira gonna have to be sitting on the bench for most of the season why another keeper? If they're trying to screw Moreira's career to an even further extent than they're succeeding.

The 3rd keeper should be someone from the Juniors team or something.

Maybe Quique isn't confident about Quim, or he wants Codina to be the next number 1 goalkeeper of Benfica..

Now we're being linked with Maiorca's midfielder Jonás, he's a right/left winger.

However we'd have to pay €8M. Think it's too much, never watched him play but I rather we spend that money to make sure Miccoli and Aimar would come, especially because we have Di Maria and Coentrão for the left wing, he's favoured position, according to the papers.

Wouldn't be surprised if Pinto da Costa will go after him though, now that our interest in the player is public.


By the way let me express my views on this, I think the man has lost it, even a freakin junior (Carvalhas) that renewed recently confirmed he was persuaded to join FCP, same as Balboa and I think Balboa ain't that good so what's the point? Just to piss off LFV?? That's just senil stuff right there man.


EDIT: I forgot Wilhelmsson would be a really nice buy though, I'm a big fan of him and would be cheaper than this Jonás.

Aimar agent is waiting for a offer from Newcastle.. but Aimar wants Benfica. (Press news)

I saw some videos of Jonás.. well, it's not bad, but, seems to expensive..

Benfica's only thinking about the attack, our defence isn't famous, so some reinforcements are welcome. ( Ayala is good for only 1 season if it comes together with Aimar, with no extra cost )

Porto's exaggerating, i don't know if is coincidence, but i never saw nothing like this in Portugal.. Javier Balboa, Carvalhas, Rodriguez... We're rivals, if it was only 1, but "in some time, they will call to all Benfica squad".

Benfica's only thinking about the attack, our defence isn't famous, so some reinforcements are welcome. ( Ayala is good for only 1 season if it comes together with Aimar, with no extra cost )

Yeah I agree, especially that right side of defence, but I think Rui Costa will only look into that after it's decided if Nélson stays or goes.

A good possibility would be Rafinha from Schalke, well at least that's who I bought in FM to replace him (H)

As for the rest the LB is pretty well assured with Léo, Sepsi and possibly Jorge Ribeiro. We have a great young talent in David Luiz he's our best CB already imo. Luisão is world class when on form, so if he stays let's hope he keeps away from injuries, unlike last season.

I like Miguel Victor, the potential is definitely there. We should bet on those young hungry players from our youth teams and Edcarlos kinda improved/adapted throughout the season, so for an ocasional replacement I guess it's fine, but I rather have someone like Zé Castro instead (we have the option 'cause of Simão's deal with Atlético, LFV is forgetting this!) and Ricardo Rocha was also linked with us.

Wouldn't be surprised if Pinto da Costa will go after him though, now that our interest in the player is public.


By the way let me express my views on this, I think the man has lost it, even a freakin junior (Carvalhas) that renewed recently confirmed he was persuaded to join FCP, same as Balboa and I think Balboa ain't that good so what's the point? Just to piss off LFV?? That's just senil stuff right there man.

Porto's exaggerating, i don't know if is coincidence, but i never saw nothing like this in Portugal.. Javier Balboa, Carvalhas, Rodriguez... We're rivals, if it was only 1, but "in some time, they will call to all Benfica squad".


IMO that's just a giant dose of envy of our curriculum, it's actually kind of sad...
That's also why those super dragoes guys insult our club even when playing against Paços de Ferreira or teams alike...

Ricardo Rocha is a hard player ( in a good way ), when he played in Benfica it was really cool to see him, of course that in some games he made some bad mistakes, but in a general way he made a group of good seasons.

What i really want to see are the players of the youth team ( André Carvalhas, Miguel Rosa ). It's said that Q.Flores bet frequently in young players from their youth team ( in this case: Benfica youth team ), so i expect to see them in some friendlys.

Carlos Martins is official, oh well...

Good luck!

Presentation of Carlos Martins:

It's wearing the last season kit.

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/23927.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/23929.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/23934.jpg

i'm happy that we signed a portuguese player with great potential. on the other hand i'm suspicious about his attitude, hope that he has changed or that he'll change during his stay at benfica but i think he'll good addition to our squad.
hope time doesn't proove me wrong

I don't know what will be the formation Quique will employ and it kinda depends on which players we get, so I'm not sure he'll be a regular starter or not. Maybe depending on what he shows.

If throughout the matches you can see he hasn't changed his antics and attitude I'm pretty sure he'll be shown the bench or he won't be called up at all.

You never know, but somehow I think he won't do that, like Rui Costa said Benfica only wants players who want to be here, who have pleasure in playing for the club.

According to the press news, Jonathan Urretaviscaya just signed with Benfica for 5 seasons. Jordi Codina is waiting for a phonecall to go to Benfica as well, and the negotiation with Pablo Aimar is going well, he rejected Everton ( that would give 10 Million for him, more than Benfica, Real Zaragoza (his current club) says that he wants to go to Benfica, so the club wants to respect that wish ) and Panathinaikos.

http://www.larepublica.com.uy/publicaciones/101/20080401/images/305231_0.gif

Jonathan Urretavizcaya for 5 seasons.

Well, the official website of C.A. River Plate confirmed the transference a while ago, i was waiting for the official announcement in Benfica's website to post the transference but if it was officialy confirmed in their (River Plate) website, is because it's true.

I dont know much of him, but the press says that he's a talented young promise, and a old coach compares him with Figo. He's 18 years old.

The Portuguese league now is called: Liga Sagres instead of BWIN Liga, the partnership between the league and the sponsor is up for 4 seasons.

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Official presentation of Ruben Amorim:

It's wearing the last season kit:

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24004.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24003.jpg

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The official presentation of 2008/2009 kits are marked for tomorrow at 5:45 PM. The players who will presents them are: Moreira, Di Maria, Fabio Coentrão, Makukula and Ruben Amorim.

Liga Sagres?? And I thought BWIN liga was bad.

That's great for the kids, we have Carlsberg Cup now this - the message is clear - to associate beer with football. (H)

:mrt1: pitties the bunch of foo's who came up with that idea. :willis:

http://members.cox.net/joshlemonds/mr%20t%20vs%20cm_files/image052.jpg
"Children, don't forget drink milk! [instead]"


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Ruben Amorim sounds like a nice guy, let's hope he's Benfica material, a friend of mine who supports Belenenses wasn't very confident that he is. Though I think it's unfair to judge him before he has some matches.

Aimar is very difficult said Rui Costa so let's be prepared for him not comming (though I'm sure some of you already were). That's what I'm doing, not getting my hopes up, he still can sign with us but let's see what happens.


Oh and guess we'll have the traditional white away kit back, according to "A Bola" :)

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/9648/uuop1kc8.jpg

I like them, except the Sapo :|

I hate them, they're to bad. Since they signed with Adidas the kits were worst every year.

The kits are nice, but TMN and SAPO sponsors look really bad in our shirts, I only see one "bad" thing in the shirt design, is the big quantity of black, in the away kit, black overcomes the red.. if the socks were red it looks nice, but i dont know if they really do that. The home kit has big quantitys of black to, the color tradition of Benfica isn't presented in this year kits.

Well, i might be biased because i always loved the red/black combo.

For me, a great composition of our kit:

Home: Red | White | Black

Away: White | White | Red



It really looks nice in black and red, i like too, but the tradition is important as well, i expect that the shorts of the HOME and AWAY kit are white instead of black, im afraid that this happen. I heard that the training kit of Quique Flores is really nice, but i cant find pictures of that. if anyone could post them here, i appreciate that.

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24012.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24013.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24014.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24017.jpg

I was looking for pics of the full home/away kits but couldn't find any.

I think it'll look better with the full kit, I actually like the home shirt. I always liked white kits but somehow you're right it looks like there's something wrong with the away shirt, I don't know if it's that stupid frog or what.

Those 3 stars above the club's symbol represent the 32 league titles we have (10 for each star), I think it's pretty cool.


Oh and the sponsor for the european matches will be Meo. Now, because of this we'll be the laughing stock of not only nuestros hermanos but everyone that speaks castellano, meo meaning "piss" or "urine" :(

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/6094/x435ij5vt4.jpg

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/8721/x4352db7yq6.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2953/x4353lf5ef6.jpg

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/2326/x4354nc8be4.jpg

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5823/semttulows6mj7.png

Honestly, now that I saw the combo I don't mind the frog at all, it would look better without it, but it still looks amazing, specially the away kit, it's beautiful!

The first post is actualized.

Aimar is closer. I want to see the suprise of Rui costa to Quique...

i think these new kits are cool
they're unusual, the 1st kit with those black stripes and int the 2nd there's a certain milan style going on
but i'll only be able to tell if they look nice for sure once i see how they look during a match

After seeing the Home kit a couple of times, i think that the shirt maybe dont fit well with the shorts..

For me, in Benfica miss only 3 reinforcements, 1 Defender, Aimar and 1 Striker. Leo and David Luiz are good, i want so see some Zoro, Luisão is good but he lacks frequently in one to one, so let's see if Zoro shows some service in the pre-season. I like Nelson, but... im not sure about him... so i think we need one player for Nelson's spot. The past seasons of Aimar aren't famous but, if he really comes, let's hope that he gain some motivation, and play his great football. About the striker, we need a partner to Cardozo, Makukula i dont think so, he's style is "similar" to Cardozo's one. So we need a fast striker, cardozo is good but slow, i think that if Luis Garcia comes it would be a great option, but of course that's difficult, so let's see..

Why not Nuno Gomes alongside Cardozo? He's great at combining with another striker, especially a player like Cardozo who he can assist and give him more opportunities to score.

Makukula is a total waste of money, 4 M for that ****er, can't even make one decent reception of the ball :rolleyes: Yes he's strong but he isn't a prolific goalscorer either, he may have scored a few for Maritimo but he was a really bad choice, especially for that amount.

Oh and we should give more playing time to Adu.

I forgot Nuno Gomes, sorry. You're right, and in the Euro he proved that. I think that Adu must be loaned to some Portuguese club, like Académica, Setubal, a club where he can play more times, Benfica has options so i think it's difficult for Adu to play often.

Yeah, I think the loan could be a good option for him to consider. But we have many competitions the liga, portuguese cup, UEFA cup/CL*, taça da liga he should have more time than last season if properly managed.

Although certainly it'd be different if he could play week in week out in another club. However, I'm not sure Adu with be okay with it, as we already rejected some offers for him, and he was the first stating he'd like to remain at the club.


About the Aimar case latest news is that Zaragoza are playing hard, not letting him come to us for less than € 8M. We're offering 6-7 it seems. Let's see how this goes.

I think that Aimar can be considered Benfica player, he wants Benfica, Benfica wants him and the negociation is going well so... but i know that's not enough.

Benfica's defence needs a upgrade, i like David Luiz and Leo. Luisão lacks a lot, he's good but not enough, Nelson does 1 good game in 3. I like the attitude of both players, but we need alternatives. For Nelson spot, i like Vasilis Torosidis instead of the rumored Seitaridis and Belleti. For Luisão spot maybe Thiago Silva. For what i saw about Torosidis and Thiago Silva i think that they are good for Benfica's squad.

I have no ideia who the hell is Vasilis Torosidis so I can't comment on him to be honest but I like Seitaridis a lot.

I actually knew him before his spell at Porto so I may be a little biased towards the lad. Still, he's solid defensively and attacks quite well (better than Nélson nowdays). He's also tall for a RB giving him clear advantage in the air.

Besides, he could be one of the players involved in that Simão deal, so it maybe a cheaper option.


Btw Luis Garcia did not sign for the Spurs for those alleged € 12M. This still doesn't mean he'll sign for us, I think he won't 'cause let's face it right now Tottenham can offer more money to Zaragoza for him.

I have no ideia who the hell is Vasilis Torosidis so I can't comment on him to be honest but I like Seitaridis a lot.

I actually knew him before his spell at Porto so I may be a little biased towards the lad. Still, he's solid defensively and attacks quite well (better than Nélson nowdays). He's also tall for a RB giving him clear advantage in the air.

Besides, he could be one of the players involved in that Simão deal, so it maybe a cheaper option.


Btw Luis Garcia did not sign for the Spurs for those alleged € 12M. This still doesn't mean he'll sign for us, I think he won't 'cause let's face it right now Tottenham can offer more money to Zaragoza for him.

The Aimar fever attacks ;)

If Benfica has to pay a approximately value to sign with Garcia, then i hope that the transfer will not happen, 7 - 12 Million for him is to much.

I know that Youtube insn't the best place to see the complete perfomance of a player, but, just have a idea of Torosidis:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kBN3qi-vWXo

Thanks for the vid mate (Y)

He does look a very interesting player indeed, he integrates himself in the attack very well and seems pretty good at defending.

For granted he must be more consistent than Nélson and better than Luis Filipe aka nódoa, so he's very welcome to Estádio da Luz as far as it concerns me :D

Jonathan Urretavizcaya arrived today in Lisbon, and tomorrow will make the medical examinations. Hadja-Aissa arrived today as well to make proves in Benfica.

Coentrão cedido ao Feyenoord

http://fansbenfica.bloxode.com/images/118727847767.jpeg

O extremo-esquerdo do Benfica, Fábio Coentrão, de 20 anos, vai representar o Feyenoord, da Holanda, na próxima temporada, por empréstimo do Benfica.

O jogador, que trabalhou no Seixal, às ordens do treinador espanhol, Quique Flores, nos primeiros dias de estágio, já não se apresentou ontem no Caixa Futebol Campus, tendo sido autorizado pela SAD benfiquista a tratar dos assuntos relacionados com esta mudança radical na sua vida.

Não obstante ser muito pretendido por clubes portugueses, o facto de o Benfica poder lucrar significativamente com a sua transferência pesou muito no desfecho da situação: se o Feyenoord exercer a opção de compra sobre o passe do jogador, então terá de pagar cinco milhões de euros.


The Portuguese midfielder returned to Estádio da Luz at the end of the season after spending six months on loan at Nacional da Madeira, where he established himself as an important player.

Coentrão, 20, was hoping he would finally be able to hold down a regular spot at Benfica and even trained under Quique Flores this week but quickly learned that his situation would not improve.

He missed yesterday's training in Seixal after being allowed by the club to take care of personal matters concerning his move to the Rotterdam-based club.

It is further reported that Feyenoord have secured a buying clause of €5 million for the player, who was also being followed by a host of clubs in Portugal.

I prefer waiting for official news about this, despite of being almost confirmed.

-----------

Tomorrow maybe the "Pablo Aimar Saga" ends, and he's presented officialy.

Nuno Gomes said he wants to stay in Benfica but Olympiakos is interested in him and he said if they give him a good offer he might leave

Quique said in TVI that Nuno Gomes will not be transfered to any club, because Benfica need him, and i think the same way. Despite that, i dont believe that Nuno wants to iniciate a new chapter in his career, i think he wants to finish it in Benfica.

Estoril vs. Benfica July 19 - 21:00 GTM Friendly

Blackburn vs. Benfica July 25 - 21:15 GTM Guadiana Cup

I had already put the matches in the first post, but thanks.

Some news said that Aimar arrives this night in Lisboa [ RTPN and TSF ]. Im not really convinced of that, but lets see.

EDIT: Well, it was just especulation.

This Aimar thing is going way to far, I'm sick of it, every day he's at one step of signing, yet it has been like this for almost a month now! It's unbelievable, I honestly don't know what's worse, Benfica's ridiculous negotiations ability, our press that keep saying the EXACT same thing EVERY ******* DAY, or people who actually believe them.

My opinion, if we really sign Aimar we can only believe in it when we see it on the official website, or in the official communication to CMVM, the press knows absolutely nothing.

But, honestly, I could bet my left ball that Aimar isn't signing with us.

Also Aimar wether he comes or not, has failed to impress in Zaragoza and was very injury prone. He can still be a good addition I believe, if he stays healthy that is, but I read many comments in spanish websites regarding this and most of the fans were questioning if he'd be the same player.

And again I don't like Zaragoza's president attitude at all. Who the f*ck does he think his club is anyway? Have they won anything that's actually worth caring? Yeah, I don't think so. Hell I didn't even hear about this club before say 2-3 seasons ago. Plus they just dropped to the 2nd division..

I wouldn't pay more than €8 M considering all the issues, if they don't accept well that's just too damn bad for 'em, we have other alternatives you know. I too am really tired about these soap operas every year, FFS.

Putting aside Aimar, the press news ( like always ), throw away a name for Benfica, it was Belleti, but loaned to us. It's really more experienced than Nelson, and better, so if is true, i think it will be a good reinforcement to our defence ( really good reinforcement to our defence ). I dont hear any news of Codina, it was "confirmed".

Back to Aimar.. well.. "Está por horas" since a month ago..

Im not very convinced Aimar is coming since he went to Zaragosa's practice today, but if he is coming abola said he should be ariving in Lisbon tomorrow

zaragoza are trying to make as much money as they can and noone can blame them for that
benfica doesn't have more money so i don't know if we'll be buy him
what i know is that the press knows nothing about and unless i see the officila confirmation of the transfer i won't believen in it

zaragoza are trying to make as much money as they can and noone can blame them for that
benfica doesn't have more money so i don't know if we'll be buy him
what i know is that the press knows nothing about and unless i see the officila confirmation of the transfer i won't believen in it

Oh really? Because Benfica had an agreedment with all parts involved (this is confirmed by O Jogo, A Bola, As etc. around 7,5 - 8 M) and all of a sudden another club comes up an interfeers.

It is as if there was no agreedment, he decides to completely ignore it and starts demanding more money, which means the Zaragoza president word means ****. If you think noone can blame him in steping back with his word then that's your call, I guess.


EDIT: if it weren't obvious enough who that other club was, surprise surprise:
FC Porto tenta desviar Aimar


http://www.correiodamanha.pt/noticia.aspx?contentid=0F4F5A63-F4C6-472B-A30F-C31D8071F713&channelid=00000213-0000-0000-0000-000000000213

I swear, he's obssessed with Benfica in such an exaggerated manner it has to be considered a psychopathology. Poor senil oldman.

Sorry, but that's enough for me...

Stop blaming Porto for everything, it's absolutely unbelievable how we spent about 6 f*cking weeks negotiating with a team on the second division... I mean, it's absolutely pathetic. And even more pathetic, how can Rui Costa and Quique make public statements declaring their interest on Aimar when the deal is no near finished, Rui Costa even said he was one of the best, this is pure incompetence, I mean, I'm still speechless on how f*cking dumb our direction is...

Same happened with Rodríguez, 5 months negotiating, when we should get him before that, and after that, there's Rui Costa again declaring to the press his interest on renewing his contract, yet, we failed to do in 5 months what Porto did in 5 minutes.

Erikson was another brilliant act, and to convince Quique Flores we took ages...

Our transfers so far are... well... they are ALL of unproven value, at least at an high level:

Aissa(or whatever), Urreta, Yebda and Balboa are unknown...

Amorim was nothing more than a good player in Belenenses, and Martins NEVER convinced me, neither in Sporting nor on Huelva.

We lost our two most influential players of last season, Rui and Rodríguez, players that could make the difference, and now we don't have anyone like them, we could've Aimar, but we missed, again!

There's not one more million to offer to Saragoza, but there's 4 for Balboa, oh god...

We need a right back, an offensive midfielder, two wingers for both sides and a forward, I can see the picture, and it's no good at all. With all honesty, only Quique can save this, and it will be sooo hard, and let's see if he doesn't quit before Christmas, since he's a young coach and doesn't want to add a bad experience to his curriculum... Because I believe, if Benfica doesn't give him the players he want, he'll leave, just like Camacho did, because he was fooled like Quique is being now...

My predictions to this season:

3rd place, way behind the second which I honestly can't tell between Sporting and Porto that have both good teams.

Another year without winning a thing, thank god the elections are coming soon, that's what still keeps me paying my "quotas"...

Sorry, but that's enough for me...

Stop blaming Porto for everything, it's absolutely unbelievable how we spent about 6 f*cking weeks negotiating with a team on the second division... I mean, it's absolutely pathetic. And even more pathetic, how can Rui Costa and Quique make public statements declaring their interest on Aimar when the deal is no near finished, Rui Costa even said he was one of the best, this is pure incompetence, I mean, I'm still speechless on how f*cking dumb our direction is...

Same happened with Rodríguez, 5 months negotiating, when we should get him before that, and after that, there's Rui Costa again declaring to the press his interest on renewing his contract, yet, we failed to do in 5 months what Porto did in 5 minutes.

Erikson was another brilliant act, and to convince Quique Flores we took ages...

Our transfers so far are... well... they are ALL of unproven value, at least at an high level:

Aissa(or whatever), Urreta, Yebda and Balboa are unknown...

Amorim was nothing more than a good player in Belenenses, and Martins NEVER convinced me, neither in Sporting nor on Huelva.

We lost our two most influential players of last season, Rui and Rodríguez, players that could make the difference, and now we don't have anyone like them, we could've Aimar, but we missed, again!

There's not one more million to offer to Saragoza, but there's 4 for Balboa, oh god...

We need a right back, an offensive midfielder, two wingers for both sides and a forward, I can see the picture, and it's no good at all. With all honesty, only Quique can save this, and it will be sooo hard, and let's see if he doesn't quit before Christmas, since he's a young coach and doesn't want to add a bad experience to his curriculum... Because I believe, if Benfica doesn't give him the players he want, he'll leave, just like Camacho did, because he was fooled like Quique is being now...
.

Can you point out in any of my posts where I "blame Porto for everything?"

The reason why you are unable to do so is because I never did. What annoys me is the fact that pdc is ridiculously going after any player we show interest in, regardless of his quality, for instance Balboa isn't good enough imo, even though I haven't seen him play, and he still was persuaded to join them. Even a freaking junior, a random player.

Now, that being cleared of course the lockeroom isn't protected as in when Veiga was at the club. And yes that must be resolved and it's important to do so, I agree.

Granted, LFV is an idiot you're right about that, I don't think you ever heard me defending that he should remain at the club, I don't defend illiterate "patos bravos" who think they know everything about any subject. And I also know of some of his obscure deals in more detail than what's public and I dispize him. However he did some things right, but sure it's time for him to leave a long time ago, everyone knows that.

The worst of many mistakes I believe was when we wouldn't pay those 5M for Miccoli.

But about Aimar I have to disagree, it's not "just another million" like you said. When people have an agreedment and all of a sudden one of the parts neglects it and starts making more demands is a total lack of respect.

Mourinho for exemple, was fired from Benfica because he told he had a propousal from Sporting (while still having a contract with us) and he said either they paid him more or he would leave, even if he was in charge only for a few months. Of course he was fired, and rightly so. At least I don't want that kind of "professionals" in the club, he didn't even had a full season and was already sending ultimatums to the board.

Rodriguez is a sellout, goes public about how he'd love to stay in the club, then says the opposite, then says again he'd love to stay then signs for Porto. What posture. He's a complete mercenary that lied in all this process, and you're still defending him? I don't want that kind of players in the club, thank you very much. I want players that at least respect the club, do you think that's asking too much?

I wasn't talking specifically to you, but yeah, you did point out that Aimar isn't with us yet because Porto interfered on the negotiations, but whatever, that's not my point anyway.

Of course I don't know the exact conditions they are negotiating, neither you, the one million thing was just speculation, my point is that if we actually had professionals in our boards and presented them the money instead of love letters there would be no time for the other club to take a step back, neither of any other club to interfere on the deal at all.
We have to face today's football without lyricisms and stop living in Disney World. There's no such thing as love, and even if there is, money always comes first. That's the hard reality and if we want to be a competitive team we have to have that in mind.
And the same happens for the Rodriguez case... I am not defending him, I obviously condemn his attitude towards Benfica, but my point is that - once again - if we bought him back were we had the chance without any other club being involved he would be with us right now, I don't have any doubts on that, I do have some doubts though on our director's intelligence when our transfers depend on a player's good will, that comes from Uruguai, knows nothing about Portugal or about Portuguese clubs, and doesn't give a fat crap if we would feel offended with that, he wants to get as more money as he can, that's absolutely natural. Porto was champion, we ended almost with a 30 points gap, they will play CL, we will play Uefa. I wonder what would you do in a similar situation on another country that says absolutely nothing to you.

If we always had to count with player's love for the shirt, we would only have Nuno Gomes on the team, and Rui Costa would comeback.



Because of things like this and others similar we have already lost:

Tiago, Miguel, Manuel Fernandes, Karagounis, Miccoli, Simão, Rodríguez and let's see if Luisão or Katsouranis aren't going the same way.



I actually had some hope that with Rui Costa things would be different, I might be a little precipitated doing judgements without the championship even started, but with all honesty I keep seeing the same mistakes of last years, the movie is exactly the same, just with different actors. And because of that, I don't have ANY hope in this season, oh god, I wish I was wrong, let's see...

The only good thing i see that happened to Benfica was Quique. This season reinforcements aren't bad, they're young and talented, what they need is a good coach who can give them trust.

Ruben Amorim, in Belenenses was good, of course that the level of Benfica game is more elevated but his not a bad player, and it's young, he can improve a lot.

Balboa, well, Quique knows him from the youth team of Real Madrid, so if he trust him, i think we can trust him to, because Quique isn't dumb to bring a player who can't play at Benfica level.

Yebda, 0 cost, good trainings, let's see..

Carlos Martins, i think he's good, in Sporting not that good, but his season in Huelva was great, and in the trainings he has shown some qualitys.

Maybe Balboa was to expensive, besides that i think it was ok with all the others.

Aimar, well, if it's confirmed the recent news, of course it's a great
disappointment, so many weeks for nothing..

To be a competitive team, i think that we need:

- Right Back ( Torosidis, Belleti, etc etc )
- Left winger
- Forward

I dont want to think that Benfica this new season will be at 3º our 4º. I hope that Quique " saves us " and that Rui Costa give Zaragoza what they want, 1 Million more? Give them 1 Million more, and in the next signing instead of wasting 4 Million, waste 3 Million.

Oh really? Because Benfica had an agreedment with all parts involved (this is confirmed by O Jogo, A Bola, As etc. around 7,5 - 8 M) and all of a sudden another club comes up an interfeers.

It is as if there was no agreedment, he decides to completely ignore it and starts demanding more money, which means the Zaragoza president word means ****. If you think noone can blame him in steping back with his word then that's your call, I guess.



confirmed by the newspapers ? come on... how much credidiblity do they have ?
benfica never said they had an agreement so i don't think we ever agreed on the price
but the newspaper have to sell so have to come up with numbers to entertain us

I wasn't talking specifically to you, but yeah, you did point out that Aimar isn't with us yet because Porto interfered on the negotiations, but whatever, that's not my point anyway.

Of course I don't know the exact conditions they are negotiating, neither you, the one million thing was just speculation, my point is that if we actually had professionals in our boards and presented them the money instead of love letters there would be no time for the other club to take a step back, neither of any other club to interfere on the deal at all.
We have to face today's football without lyricisms and stop living in Disney World. There's no such thing as love, and even if there is, money always comes first. That's the hard reality and if we want to be a competitive team we have to have that in mind.
And the same happens for the Rodriguez case... I am not defending him, I obviously condemn his attitude towards Benfica, but my point is that - once again - if we bought him back were we had the chance without any other club being involved he would be with us right now, I don't have any doubts on that, I do have some doubts though on our director's intelligence when our transfers depend on a player's good will, that comes from Uruguai, knows nothing about Portugal or about Portuguese clubs, and doesn't give a fat crap if we would feel offended with that, he wants to get as more money as he can, that's absolutely natural. Porto was champion, we ended almost with a 30 points gap, they will play CL, we will play Uefa. I wonder what would you do in a similar situation on another country that says absolutely nothing to you.

If we always had to count with player's love for the shirt, we would only have Nuno Gomes on the team, and Rui Costa would comeback.



Because of things like this and others similar we have already lost:

Tiago, Miguel, Manuel Fernandes, Karagounis, Miccoli, Simão, Rodríguez and let's see if Luisão or Katsouranis aren't going the same way.



I actually had some hope that with Rui Costa things would be different, I might be a little precipitated doing judgements without the championship even started, but with all honesty I keep seeing the same mistakes of last years, the movie is exactly the same, just with different actors. And because of that, I don't have ANY hope in this season, oh god, I wish I was wrong, let's see...

Again, I agree with you generally but I wasn't talking about love or anything like that, they're professional players. What I mean is to have a little respect for the club they're representing, that is all.

Ex.: Luis Figo when asked about the interest of Real Madrid - I will not leave Barça, etc. Next morning, he's all happy signing for Real. Now, if he did or thought that he might have wanted to leave the club why on earth did he say he's staying? He could've just said he was considering Real's offer or that he wouldn't say anything about it or something.
I hate C. Ronaldo's behaviour in all his transfer saga, but at least I never heard from him (not from the media) after Real's interest was public that he would love to stay in United, in fact he always stated he'd like to leave, to try a different championship, that all BS, but at least he didn't lie, I give him that.



-------

@ Capela:

You have to admit O Jogo is a realiable newspaper, even if they are close (and somewhat bias) to Fc Porto.

Also, Quique said Aimar was very close to sign. I believe he wouldn't say that if he didn't have some sort of assurance.

But I understand what went on, it ain't that hard to figure out. Someone came up with a higher offer for him, and so the Zaragoza director in order to get more for him, just said if Benfica still wants him they have to offer more because we have some other club or clubs offering more. While that maybe legit in some way, I don't think it is very ethical. (if of course, they had a pre-deal with us)

Again, I agree with you generally but I wasn't talking about love or anything like that, they're professional players. What I mean is to have a little respect for the club they're representing, that is all.

Ex.: Luis Figo when asked about the interest of Real Madrid - I will not leave Barça, etc. Next morning, he's all happy signing for Real. Now, if he did or thought that he might have wanted to leave the club why on earth did he say he's staying? He could've just said he was considering Real's offer or that he wouldn't say anything about it or something.
I hate C. Ronaldo's behaviour in all his transfer saga, but at least I never heard from him (not from the media) after Real's interest was public that he would love to stay in United, in fact he always stated he'd like to leave, to try a different championship, that all BS, but at least he didn't lie, I give him that.



-------

@ Capela:

You have to admit O Jogo is a realiable newspaper, even if they are close (and somewhat bias) to Fc Porto.

Also, Quique said Aimar was very close to sign. I believe he wouldn't say that if he didn't have some sort of assurance.

But I understand what went on, it ain't that hard to figure out. Someone came up with a higher offer for him, and so the Zaragoza director in order to get more for him, just said if Benfica still wants him they have to offer more because we have some other club or clubs offering more. While that maybe legit in some way, I don't think it is very ethical. (if of course, they had a pre-deal with us)

I get your point also, and I despise these kind of negotiations, but hey, it's what we have and we just have to deal with it and make sure it won't happen in the future.

I'm sure that if we had a real deal with Saragoça they couldn't do nothing but give us the player, now, did we really have a deal? Or was it a words deal? You know words don't count much, specially when you have money involved, and our board should know it even better than us...

João Coimbra, Paulo Jorge and Manú to Maritimo.

... for free ...

Well, looks like Aimar is official now!

Great, great signing. The best signing of the past years, along with Simão, fabulous player.

Welcome Pablo!

6,5 Millions. I hope that he can surpass his "bad" seasons and help us to win the title.

Welcome http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/5576/iconslbxb7uv6.gif

I hope he's worth the trouble he put benfica through

Finally that saga comes to an end. Glad that we got him.

I hope he's worth the trouble he put benfica through

Precisely. And here's hoping he'll stay injury free.

-------

About the three players that signed with Maritimo, the only one who I think has some potential is João Coimbra. However, letting them go for nothing in return is hard to understand..

I believe Aimar will be our most influential player, just like Simão was, or even better. I'm a little biased because I always liked him, but I believe that in Portugal he will "partir a loiça toda"

Our probable start eleven right now:

------------------------- Quim -------------------------

-- Maxi --------- Luisão ------- D. Luiz ----------- Léo --

-- Balboa ------- Petit ------- Martins -------- Di María --

------------------------- Aimar -------------------------

----------------------- Cardozo -------------------------

In my opinion this still looks a bit bad, I don't know what guarantees can players like Amorim and Yebda give, but in the wings we are pretty weak. I'm already putting Di María considering we don't have no one more but I rather see him in the middle. Also, we should get an alternative for Aimar, maybe a forward that could substitute him and we could play with two strikers, or substitute Cardozo.

So, I think we definitely need two more wingers, and a forward. A right back wouldn't be bad too...

For winger, i like Wilhelmsson, since 2007, his career is based on loans, he's good and maybe cheap.

In the right back, Torosidis would be great, but maybe to expensive, so Seitaridis is a good option.

The official website of Real Zaragoza confirmed the transference of Aimar:

http://www.realzaragoza.com/r2z/paginas/noticias.php?id=2804

Don't understand why we don't make a move for Wilhelmsson to be honest, he looks affordable and I don't think Balboa is better..

Aimar could also play as a false winger, going to the middle a bit like Zidane played for Real Madrid and if so we could play with Nuno Gomes - Cardozo upfront (or others).

Looks like Coentrão is going to Zaragoza instead of Feyenoord.

Yes, he'll be loaned with a buyout option at the end of the season. I think he deserved a chance with us this season but he's probably going to return.

And we actually paid 6,5 M for Aimar. Nicely done, Rei Costa. :)

Official presentation of Pablo Aimar:


http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24188.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24189.jpg

http://www.record.pt/imgs/IMAGENS_109964.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24187.jpg

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Imagens/24190.jpg

http://www.boavistafc.pt/imgs/plantel/100_IVAN%20SANTOS.jpg

Ivan Santos signed with Benfica for 3 seasons, the player cancelled his contract with Boavista F.C, and now joins to us. His future in this season is probably the loan to another club to gain more rhythm.

Benfica tried to make an offer on Cisse to be our new forward but hes too much money so they're trying to get LUIS GARCIA AGAIN

Reyes it's out of A.Madrid plans for this season, he can be a winger or a foward, so he can occupy 2 positions that deserves our attention. It's not a impossible transfer because of the negotiation of Simão clause but is very difficult because he gains too much..

Friendly

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/3407/imagens109839gl2.jpg

Estoril-Praia 1 x 1 S.L. Benfica

12' - Hassan Yebda
63' - Nuno Sousa





------------

A weak game, with positive and negative points, but it was a training game, Quique saw the players and the errors of them, and now is training to correct them all.
I "liked" André Carvalhas, i hope that in Rio Ave he can get a spot and play frequently.

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2180/sdfvj5.png

Does he have any chances to join Benfica?

If we can't buy Luis Garcia, Smolarek is a alternative, but maybe is just speculation of the newspapers.

About the friendly not much to see but I liked Yebda and Balboa made some good movements. André Carvalhas made a good impression and I already liked Miguel Victor and he continues to play well when he has the opportunity to play. I for one rather have him in the squad than the likes of Zoro.


Regarding Smoralek it might just be speculation but quite honestly I prefer him to Luis Garcia.

Fernando Meira has become a free agent and i think he would be happy to get an offer from his former club "benfica":read:

what do you guys think about adu's loan ?
i think it might be good for him, if he plays more than he did at benfica but i'm a bit worried that if he has success monaco might buy him and we don't know how much is his "clasula de rescisao"

Yeah it's good for him to play more regularly, though they may still use him as a sub, but we'll see. I think he has a € 5M buyout clause for Monaco, which I think it's perhaps little considering his potential and his age.


On another topic there is a site announcing Maniche will return to Benfica. I have doubts about its credibility and really hope this isn't true. He's no more the player he used to be and I don't like him, he'd create bad environment in the lockeroom (or maybe not, because the coach is Quique, he seems very strict with his players).

Resuming I can't see Maniche's return as something good if true, especially because we'd be making use of that Simão's deal clause for buying him when there are players like Reyes available from Atlético.

Here's the link anyway:
http://www.desporto10.com/detalhe.php?id=16247

http://www.internacional.com.br/imagens/elenco/sidnei_grupo2007.jpg

Sidnei's going to sign with Benfica for 5 seasons, the player has 19 years old, performes in the defence ( Central Defender ) and his former club is S.C. Internacional.

i'm very surprised with this buy
firstly because i've never heard of him and we've spent 5 million on him
secondly because i don't see the need for another centre-back as we already had 5 in the squad
i frankly don't know where we're getting all this money but i guess i'll just have to trust on the maestro

I agree with the signing, Luisão lacks frequently and our alternatives aren't so good. Zoro didn't show service, EdCarlos... well, you know... Sidnei is young and talented, i hope that he shows some real good service in our defence.

Official Presentation of:

Sidnei | Jorge Ribeiro | Urretavizcaya

http://www.record.pt/imgs/IMAGENS_110115.jpg

So many players, jesus christ!

Always buying, to loan and loan again... If only I could understand this...

Idk what benfica's thinking with all these transfers. I know they're geting great players but they're losing a lot of money

Last year they spent € 31 Million, and i think if they have the possibility to spend that quantity of money and use it to increase the team quality, so let they spent money. They aren't donkeys to ruin their "bank", so let's trust in what they're doing.

benfica lost 2-3 with blackburn:mad:
and i heard they're interested in Gonzales from Real Betis

Friendly

Guadiana Cup


http://youtube.com/watch?v=aNfNUFdkIzc



S.L. Benfica 2 x 3 Blackburn Rovers

7' - Urretavizcaya
32' - Pedersen
34' - Roberts
49' - Emerton
66' - Makukula

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8558/resultadosfutebolbt7.png

----------

Quique Flores is doing experiences so with a formed team it would be difficult for us to win. Aimar playing in a uncommon position it's one of those experiences. Some defence mistakes ( Edcarlos..... ), lack of organization in offensive moves, etc.. Well a major confusion. This week the squad will be reduced, so i hope that against PSG we will see some improvements in Defence and Attack cordenation.
Talking about good things, i liked Urretavizcaya, and Carlos Martins, principaly Urretavizcaya, he tried a lot.

According to RR: Bola Branca, Smolarek is close, and i like if he really comes, Luis Garcia is very expensive and Smolarek is a good player, he made a bad season in Racing Santander, but Aimar made a bad season in Zaragoza as well, so if he signs to us i hope that he can make up his mind and play at full potential.
Guess Petit is leaving, im not satisfied about that but im not sad, he was the spirit of the squad, but if he leaves, let's hope that Yebda, Binya, Katsouranis or Bastos can handle the position.

Awesome if that happens. Portugal is the right place for Ebi because of his technique skills and ability to be in the right place in the penalty area. He only needs a bit more support from the head coach than he had at Racing. Smolarek must play regularly because Poland needs him for WC qualification.

Looks like Petit was confirmed in FC Koln. 6 years with the eagle in the chest, good luck to him.

it's time to loan or sell player to shorten the squad i think that there are 4 player who must not be part of the squad
luis filipe, edcarlos, binya (probably the worst player i ever seen playing for benfica and i've seen a lot of bad players) and makukula
it also seems that petit is leaving (good luck to him) so i think the squad should be:
quim, moreira, bruno costa
nelson, pereira, leo, ribeiro, luisao, david luiz, sidnei, m.victor
yebda, bastos, katsouranis, amorim, martins, di maria, assis, balboa, aimar and another winger
cardozo, n.gomes, urreta and another striker

petit will leave in a free transfer. WTF ???
karagounis and butt have already left that way and i really don't see a good reason.
of course it's good for him cause he'll earn twice what he earned at benfica but i think it's an incredibly bad deal for benfica....
anyway best of luck to him

We have to be more fast in the negotiations, because Quique has to prepare the squad to the season, Benfica in this moment is the most incomplete team in terms of organization and in terms of "Team" ( Talking about the 3 bigs ) so i hope we can get Luis Garcia this week to put aside the forward question and dispense some players like Edcarlos, Luis Filipe, etc.

Quique is looking to get rid of Makukula, Nuno Assis, Luis Filipe, Edcarlos, Zoro, and Sepsi. 4 defenders that's going to cause some problems. Well if he gets rid of them.

Benfica might be interested in Edu from Real Betis. I have seen him play and he's good but in betis his salary is 1.2mil a season.

I think we dont need Edu, we have players for Petit's position that are showing some service. I prefer spend that money in a good left winger.
I hope monday we'll get to see Luis Garcia in Benfica.

Benfica played better as a team today than in the last matches, but this still aren't good enough with the team they have. Also Aimar is not a good foward so Quique should play him in the midfield and Sidnei looked like a good cb much better than edcarlos.
this is the formation i want to see
4-4-2(diamond)
--------------------Quim----------------------
Nelson--David Luiz--Miguel Vitor/Sidnei--Leo
---------------Carlos Martins-----------------
Balboa-----------------------------Di Maria
-----------------Pablo Aimar----------------
----Luis Garcia/Nuno Gomes-----Cardozo-----

I think we dont need Edu, we have players for Petit's position that are showing some service. I prefer spend that money in a good left winger.
I hope monday we'll get to see Luis Garcia in Benfica.

edu is striker

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/5730/resultadosfutebolfv2.png


Goal Videos:

0-1

http://videos.sapo.pt/duhAK4bFfPF9nIQKl2Nr

0-2

http://videos.sapo.pt/pakgPsQ9sHgAScyy8ylC

1-2

http://videos.sapo.pt/cs8eMQONeGensLjw5S4A

2-2

http://videos.sapo.pt/JWlk8i9shiWDi8WEz08V

edu is striker

Im talking about Eduardo Costa from Espanyol, i think that portugal2167 is mistaken because the news talked about the signing of Luis Garcia, and Edu comes inclued in the transfer, of course that's just newspaper rumors.

aaah lol so my mistake. but luis garcia sign is dead, benfica dont wanna pay what espanyol want.

Hum, i dont think so, They're close, and the president of Espanyol said to Garcia that his future maybe is in Benfica, Garcia wants to come, so that is good for us, and Benfica offered 10 Million €, Espanyol wants 12 Million, so let's see.. Benfica will give a conlusive answer in Monday.

yea sry my mistake on edu but i read that benfica wouldn't offer more than 8 million for luis garcia

Yes, i read that too, and i read 6 Million, 10 Million, 9 Million... Every newspaper has a different value. But i think that 10 Million is the right one, because it appears in majority on the media, but let's see.. Monday, all this confusion is gone ( I hope so ).

Talking about today's game. It was weak, but i liked Sidnei and Makukula that tried and scored a great goal, well... more experiencies like last week.

Reyes from Atletico Madrid signed a contract with benficahttp://footballuncut.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/joseantonioreyes.jpg

wow, i saw that in the news, and... just WOW. I know that he made a weak season, but is a great player.. and in the portuguese liga, he can make a good season.

20:49 - Futebol - Benfica
José António Reyes apresentado amanhã

O Benfica garantiu hoje mais uma aquisição de peso, segundo apurou O JOGO: o internacional espanhol José António Reyes, do Atlético do Madrid. O clube da capital espanhola chegou a acordo com Reyes, um extremo esquerdo de 24 anos que jogou no Sevilha, no Arsenal, no Real Madrid e no Atlético de Madrid. Um jogador-chave para um dos lugares que Quique Flores mais tem necessidade de preencher. Reyes será apresentado na Luz amanhã.

Yeah, both O Jogo and Record confirm that. Also if anyone didn't watch the match the commentator also said is was very close.

in the game today between benfica and vitoria i think benfica was lucky to win. They should be playing better and in the 2nd half when aimar went a little more towards the midfield he played much better. He's a great player but hes only an ok foward.

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/4554/resultadosfutebolin3copaf7.png


Goal Videos:

0-1

http://videos.sapo.pt/35ZcTTnTDeluSiOzKl48

0-2

http://videos.sapo.pt/ivlknBprcpzZTpcVvG0O

1-2

http://videos.sapo.pt/YhgaCSaGhhjVDZMy0ZZA

We did well considering all the players Quique has to make choices and experiences.

I liked the first half, Urreta looks very promising (he's only 18) and Katsouranis must play in the midfield, not as CB that'd be a waste. He's very underrated, he's best center midfielder we have. (considering Aimar is more of an AMF or SS)

What happened to Luis Garcia wasn't his future supposed to be decided today

Reyes will come in loan?

yea hes loaned

Thanks, i read that benfica have a buyout clause in the end, that's good, and expensive.

There an article in abola saying the Nuno Assis ans Luis Filipe might go to Guimarães

I like Assis, but it was predictable that it would happen.

Sepsi was loaned to Racing Santander... Maybe because of Smolarek? Luis Garcia case is getting far, so our other option can be him..

Yea i think hes the one we'll end up with because espanyol wants more for luis Garcia and Miccoli wants to stay in palermo

Rui is trying to sign Ricardo Oliveira from Zaragoca. So i guess he might be our long awaited foward

The news say that Hull City wants Makukula for 5 Million €, for me is a really good business, and with that money we could give the 2 Million that is necessary for Luis Garcia.

The loan with Reyes is slowing down, i thought it was confirmed, but guess not, his not happy with the economic part of the loan and in a spanish journal says that he doesnt want to come.. If he comes with the thought that he can go to the night and drink some beers and in the next morning go training, i prefer that he stays there in Atletico, but if he comes and make up his mind to triumph with Benfica, is welcome.

Ricardo Oliveira is a good acquisition for us. We have great players, now it faults turning them into a team.

Guimaraes sign Assis and get Luis Felipe on loan

Good luck to Assis, and i hope that Luis Filipe learn something in Guimarães.

SIC NOTICIAS said that Reyes is going to cancel his contract with A.Madrid... false?/true?

how can assis go and binya stay is beyond me....
anyway, regarding makukula, if the 5 million offer is real i'd accept it immediatly, benfica will never recover the investement in another way

José Antonio Reyes já está caminho de Lisboa para finalizar o acordo com o Benfica e poderá ser apresentado ainda hoje como reforço do clube da Luz.

Depois de saber que o Atlético Madrid não incluíra o seu nome na lista de jogadores inscritos para a Liga dos Campeões, o internacional espanhol percebeu que teria mesmo de deixar os colchoneros.

Reyes estava em Sevilha com a família a gozar um dia de folga mas já iniciou a viagem para Lisboa.


I hope is true, but like i said before, he has to makeup his mind, and forget the money, he's destroying his football life and he has just 24 years, he needs support from Quique and his family and then try a new begin in Benfica. Please Reyes! Think at the things you were in the past! I count with Rui Costa to slap him if he's going to make mistakes in here.

http://www.slbenfica.pt/Informacao/Futebol/Noticias/noticiasfutebol_futreyeschegada_070808_38510.asp

Now it's confirmed.

Reyes will take jersey number 6.

Strange choice considering the position where he plays, I reckon he'd probably sell more shirts if he'd choose another one, like 19 or something.

Zidane was 5, Fabregas is 4... maybe it was him that choose the number 6, whatever... i wasn't expecting such "beautiful" words of Reyes to Benfica, im happy about this presentation.

Official presentation of Reyes:

http://www.record.pt/imgs/IMAGENS_110352.jpg


@RECORD

«Vou relançar aqui a minha carreira» (Reyes)

José Antonio Reyes, novo reforço do Benfica, foi apresentado ao início da noite por Rui Costa, na sala de imprensa do Estádio da Luz. O extremo espanhol vai envergar a camisola n.º 6 (pertenceu a Petit) e mostra-se ambicioso: «Vou relançar aqui a minha carreira.»

«Trago muita ambição e podem esperar o melhor de mim. Acredito que o Benfica pode ser campeão», começou por afirmar Reyes, convicto de que as coisas vão sair-lhe bem, até porque conta no plantel encarnado com algumas caras (e um treinador) conhecidas do campeonato espanhol, o que facilita a sua adaptação. «Sinto-me um pouco mais em casa. Tenho sido bastante apoiado.»

Questionado sobre Quique Flores, Reyes respondeu assim: «Nunca fui treinado por ele, mas disseram-me que trabalha muito bem em todos os aspectos e isso tranquiliza-me.»

José Antonio Reyes coloca o Benfica ao mesmo nível do Real Madrid, onde já se sagrou campeão. E não considera que vir para a Luz seja um passo atrás na sua carreira desportiva: «Não creio que seja um passo atrás. O Benfica é um clube com a mesma grandeza do Real Madrid, o maior de Portugal. E tem o melhor centro de estágio que já conheci.»

Feita a apresentação, Reyes desceu ao relvado da Luz para uns toques na bola, perante o olhar atento dos adeptos encarnados.

benfica won 1-0 with feyernwood and they played great

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/8286/resultadosfutebollt2.png

Goal Video:

1-0

http://videos.sapo.pt/bCn8AwLnVyER236dVVRe


Benfica played very well, of course that they made mistakes, but in a geral way they played great, Quim didn't make a defence in the whole game. The Little Leo was BIG, Aimar played well, Urreta is a devil always running, never gave up, Amorim is pure class, The left foot of Cardozo is a bomb, Luisão played great, and in the finish, REYES, oh my god, Reyes enter in minute 80 and shoot at the post at 81, beside that he made a couple of danger situations for Feyenoord.
Very good game, Congratulations benfica and all the players that played.

Great game, no doubt.

We should have won for more as well, had those balls to the post got in.

But the result doesn't really matter, Benfica is looking more like a team now, and there is definitely a significant improvement since the beginning of the (pre)season.

And man, that Urreta kid is amazing, he just needs more time to adapt to European football, but he's already showing his class. He's only 18, picture him in a few years.

Talking about the design of the numbers and letters of the kit... i really dont like them, they're to fat and rounded... in the last season they're way better.

Now is Inter. If we play like this last game, we gonna make some troubles to Inter.

2 great videos of Cardozo and Rui Costa:

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=YmMJt_5hv0c

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvrwYAlEr8

"Radamel Falcão is the alternative of Luis Garcia"

If this was true, it would be awesome, but i think it's just newspaper imagination.

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/9714/resultadosfutebollm6.png

Penalty Kicks Video:

http://videos.sapo.pt/wiydAUg4dmbnrkEz6SJo

Tribute to "Pantera Negra" Eusébio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE6fIA8BMa0

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/2036/resultadosfutebolte3.png

I think we can say that Nelson is gone to Betis, and the newspapers talk about 4 players to subsistute him:

-Belleti [Chelsea]
-Seitaridis [A. Madrid]
-João Pereira [Braga]
-Miguel Lopes [Rio Ave]

I think that the best choice is Belleti or Miguel Lopes, Belleti "everybody" knows, is experienced, and to Benfica is good to have a player like that in our defence. Miguel Lopes is young (21) with a great potential, looks like Quique and Rui Costa liked to see him in the last game. Two friends of mine (Rio Ave supporters) are always talking about Miguel Lopes, and i saw some games of him and he played good, so let's see what Rui Costa pick to us.

David Suazo in Benfica for 1 year.

im exited to see Suazo play:mike:

http://www.record.pt/imgs/IMAGENS_111134.jpg

Suazo, Reyes, Cardozo, Aimar, Di María... Now that's something :icon_spin:

Now let's see if we can make an actual team out of this, if we can... oh man...

Benfica will play Napoles on Uefa Cup, bad luck, but we are favourites.

Yeah, Rui Costa aka "The Negotiator" did a nice job. :tongue:

I'm also glad we're getting rid of Edcarlos (to Fluminense probably) and Makukula is set to leave.

What I don't understand is why don't they buy a RB. Not that Maxi Pereira is doing a bad job, especially defensively he's been surprisingly good but when he goes forward he could do better. I know Miguel Victor can play as a RB (that would be even more defensive) but do we have someone decent from the youth team who can also play there?


True Napoles isn't an easy team, but we should be able to win.

Edcarlos is officialy in Fluminense for 1 season and half.

I don't think Benfica was the best place for Suazo to go. I would have liked him to go to Roma or Spain. Is a shame that he didn't get a chance at Inter. He's on a loan so if he does well and maybe Adriano goes wild again he might be going back to San Siro

Does anyone know where I can watch the Portugese league on the internet? Portugal has always been my favorite NT in Europe and though I don't have an allegiance towards a team, I want to watch Porto games. I hate to say it at a Benfica thread but I just want to see Quaresma play, I don't give a sghit about Porto.

Quaresma isn't playing anymore because of his situation with Inter.

Tomorrow is the classic: S.L. Benfica x F.C Porto

About the match:

First half Porto was almost did not create any danger (except for Lisandro's shot). Jesualdo Ferreira opted for being a pussy and defended with 10 men behind the ball.

In the second half I believe Benfica was going for the win after Cardozo's goal but Katsouranis second yellow affected immensely the team. And yes he's the only one to blame, silly mistakes really.

In fact, a good summary of tonight's match can be Katsouranis unnecessary penalty and then his sending off on the second half. He's usually such a regular player, though one can argue center back isn't his favored position.

Porto was then unable to score even against 10 men and with several of our players injured.

About the injuries, they did condition the game and here's hoping especially Aimar and Léo won't be out for too long. :(



Oh and of course, the game cannot have ended with yet another demonstration of anti fair-play from Porto players.

Not throwing the ball out when Di Maria was needing assistance lying on the field with "caimbras" just shows what are most of the Fc Porto directors, players, ultras of recent years = common corrupt scumbags who don't know the meaning of fair-play INside and OUTside the field.

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/8497/resultadosfutebolpn3.png

About the game against Porto, im happy about the result. We played without Katsouranis, we had Aimar, Leo, Yebda, Di Maria, Reyes with physical problems, so it was good.

I like Quique, but i think there is some players that are being bad utilized, Aimar position is hurting my mind, i think he plays better football in the classic number 10 position... Katsouranis for me is one of the best in Benfica, but as a central back it's moderated, if he plays in Yebda's position it would be one of the best players in Portuguese League ( I think so ).

I hope that in 17 days we can play better football and beat Napoli.

Benfica was the uncontested winner of tonights derby against Sporting.

The result was 2-0, here are the goals:

Reyes' goal (http://futebol.videos.sapo.pt/YGJjJArZrj5IqowKwKfM)

Sidnei's goal
(http://futebol.videos.sapo.pt/rWNgjhVQM6ParCmf3wiN)


Reyes showing that he also knows how to do "trivelas" (H)

Benfica 2 - 0 Napoli!

We passed!

What a fantastic game we made!

Congrats to the boys!

Great win!

Even though there's some things to improve, we're playing more and more like a team.

Tomorrow against Hertha. Im (very) confident .

Maybe the line-up will be:


-------------------Quim------------------------
-----------Luisão----------Sidnei---------------
--Maxi------------------------------Leo------
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
--------------YEBDA-----------Katsouranis-----
-----------------------------------------------
---Di Maria----------------------------Reyes----
-----------------------------------------------
----------------Suazo-------------------------
----------------------------Cardozo------------
-----------------------------------------------

Sidnei --> Katsouranis
Leo --> J. Ribeiro
Katsouranis --> C. Martins
Di Maria --> Amorim

Benfica is after Marcos Angeleri

http://www.eldia.com.ar/edis/20081025/deportes12.htm


In the last market, in the beginning of the season, Angeleri was mentioned, and seems that Benfica never put him aside. We need a right-back like him, so i hope that in January this rumor comes true.

FC Porto lost 3 points in Matosinhos against Leixões. So if we win today, we'll be in 2nd place.
Yebda recovered from his injury, so maybe he will play today against Naval, he's an important piece of our team.

Today's line-up maybe will be this:

------------------Quim-------------------
-----------Luisão----------Sidnei---------
-Maxi-----------------------------Ribeiro-
-----------------------------------------
--------------Yebda-----C. Martins-------
-Di Maria---------------------------Reyes-
------------------------------------------
---------------Nuno Gomes---------------
------------------------------Suazo------

C. Martins --> Katsouranis

We won 2-1, now we're in Third. It was a suffered victory, they didn't played very well, i liked Reyes, Ribeiro and Sidnei perfomance... Yebda looked a little tired (maybe).

"My precious Cardozo!"

Reyes is really working hard, he's an amazing player.

Yebda just came from an injury, so maybe that's why he wasn't totally fit.

I personally wouldn't field Jorge Ribeiro instead of Léo. I don't know what happened but there clearly is a problem between Léo and Quique, in their relation, it's not about the player's ability.

Imo, Jorge Ribeiro is a very good crosser of the ball and has a more accurate and powerful shot than Léo. However those are the only things in which he's better, in everything else and despite Léo's age, he is the better player. I mean, defensively Ribeiro is very limited and because he isn't by any means a very fast player (he can't recover his position very quickly) this exposes the defense on many occasions, e.g. Naval scored by exploiting the left side of defense and of course Luisão was sleeping, well most of the team was but anyway they attacked much more from Ribeiro's side, and so did Hertha.

Regarding Sidnei, he's a wonderkid. Seriously after watching his matches this season can you believe he's still only 19? The way he anticipates the play, the tackling, positioning and aerial ability make him an excellent defender already. If he continues to improve he has a great career in front of him.

More can't be asked to Cardozo, he entered well in the match playing well and was rewarded with a goal.

Still, we won and deservedly so but this team should know how to control the game when winning, they just totally slacked off, somehow thought the match was won and that almost cost us the win. They still have a lot to improve, but still glad we won of course.

Sorry 'bout the long post :)

In Leo's case, i heard that in the trainings he doesnt make what Quique wants, so he put Jorge for Leo to see him.. ( I think that in Valencia, he did the same with Ayala, and it worked )

I prefer Leo than Jorge, but in this game, i give credit to him, because he tried a lot.

Reyes is improving a lot, i hope that he can recover his "vicious" mind.

There are some rumors about Marcos Angeleri in January, and if this really comes true, our defence and attack will highly improve.

I don't think that's the issue, Léo is very experienced and a dedicated professional. He always gives his all, he has much more tactical knowledge and positioning sense then Jorge Ribeiro, but for some reason Quique doesn't like him. (I'm guessing it has to do with his age)

But yeah he did do something like this with Ayala and doing it with Léo is a mistake imo. I can see he's trying to get more of Léo, but apparently he didn't watch him in previous seasons, where Léo was probably our best player and produced on a regular basis. People are different, just because it worked with one individual don't mean it's gonna work with the other, but hey he's the coach.

Also you could see in the match against Penafiel that Léo was really unhappy playing, instead of working hard to win his spot back.


On that other topic I don't know Marcos Angeleri but we need another RB, not that Miguel Victor does a bad job when he plays there, it's just that his natural position is CB and we need someone to give more depth in the right flank, like you said.

Porto lost again, lets see Sporting...

Aimar is in the group for tomorrow's game against Guimaraes, i hope to see him play.

We won 1-2!

Im sad about our league referees, Benfica was extremely prejudicated.

Aimar pass for Suazo's goal! :O

Congratulations to Benfica players, great attitude.

victory against Aves. I didn't see the game so i cant say anything, Yebda goal was great.

3-0

This game was boring... we won 1-0, but we played bad.

Sidnei is a wonder kid.

9 league games, 0 defeats.

Today's game was alright... the defence played well, our attack was a little bad i think.

0-2

Suazo was unlucky. He would have scored a beautiful goal if the ball wouldn't have hit the post.

Suazo is incredible fast... poor Academica defence :clapwap:

Now we have to win against Olympiakos... Quique didnt use some players in Academica that probably will play, so maybe the tactic we'll use is:

---------------------Quim----------------------
----------Luisão----------------Sidnei----------
M. Pereira---------------------------J. Ribeiro---
---------------------Yebda---------------------
------------------------------------------------
R. Amorim----------------------------Reyes-----
---------------------Aimar----------------------
------------------------------------------------
----------N. Gomes------------Suazo------------

If he plays in 442 Diamond... but i think he may play in 442 classic.

... 5-1, it's hard to see a team like we have been beaten like this..

Haha, damn! (H)

The transfer rumors appeared:

- Marcos Angeleri - Estudiantes de la Plata[Old Rumor, but not forgotten]
- Daniel Carvalho - Internacional
- Albin - Getafe
- Soldado - Getafe
- Uche - Getafe

If we win today's game, we reach to the 1º place, because Leixoes lost points in Naval [1-1]. Luisão, Nuno Gomes and Pablo Aimar are injuried, so our team maybe will be this:

-----------------Quim------------------
---------M. Vitor--------Sidnei----------
-M. Pereira----------------------D. Luiz-
----------------------------------------
---------C. Martins----Yebda------------
----------------------------------------
-R. Amorim-----------------------Reyes-
----------------------------------------
------------Cardozo---Suazo------------

2-2 against Setubal. The victory was so close, but Quim let the ball pass like that... Since he was called to the National Team, he wasn't the same keeper of last year... 3 games, 13 goals... I think that Quique may put him aside to think about his condition and let Moreira play, he's a great keeper.

Uefa Cup "is gone", we have chances in qualification if:

Hertha x Galatasaray ( Hertha lose or draw )
Metalist x Olympiakos ( Olympiakos win )

We need a "Miracle"!

We will wait Benfica's win or draw against Metalist.
If you guys will beat them or get a draw against them, we will qualify as the leader of the group.
Go Benfica :D

We still have a chance to pass... If we win 8-0 against Metalist and Hertha draws... Easy. :clapwap:

Tomorrow's the game against Maritimo. A real difficult task. We have to win this game if we want to stay in 2nd place or if Leixoes lose, in 1st place. I think that the best option to our tactic is the 442 Diamond, so my team for tomorrow would be:


-----------------Moreira------------------
---------Luisão------------Sidnei----------
-Pereira---------------------------D. Luiz-
---------------Katsouranis----------------
------------------------------------------
--------R. Amorim----------Reyes---------
------------------------------------------
------------------Aimar-------------------
----------N. Gomes-----------------------
-------------------------Suazo------------

6-0 against the best defense of the liga (H)

Just what the players needed.

Portugal Cup... Gone.

Uefa Cup... Gone.

We're in 1st place of the league but if we continue to play like this i dont know if the 1st place will be ours.

Some transfer rumors:

Leo free cost to Fluminense
Kameni from Espanyol.

What about Suazo back to Inter? I heard Mourinho has been spying him.

His return to Inter, staying in Benfica or being sold to another club will only be decided at the end of the season.

This is confirmed by his agent.

I dudes!!!

Long time no see!!! How's things going around here?

I dudes!!!

Long time no see!!! How's things going around here?

Slowly dying... (the whole forum that is)

i see that!!

there's no portuguese league discussion now? who comes here often?

where's :shinji:, infesta, etc?

we won the league cup today, but sporting deserved the win clearly, benfica football sucks nowdays, i dont know what Quique is doing, it's a good person, i like him, but, his decisions are quite sad... with great players he couldn't put benfica at the top...

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5XP61RG9eqE/RimBqG_LbHI/AAAAAAAACH4/6iCRGwu52zU/s400/LucilioBatista.jpg

(H)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N6TdJOK1MHs/SZAiQfBYjFI/AAAAAAAAAK4/i1epRbeJfRM/s320/lisandro_e_placar.jpg

:mrt1:

thanks for the pic dude, at the time I didn't notice Yebda's left arm obstructing Lisandro!

(H)


I guess we all agree that Lucílio Baptista has always been a ******* douche.

How was Suazo's performance? Since it was his 1st after his recent injury.

Suazo wasn't in the game, in 90 minutes he touched 4 or 5 times in the ball, he played really bad to me. When the game was almost finished he made two good sprints with the ball, but with no good results. I think he lacked confidence in this game.

thanks for the pic dude, at the time I didn't notice Yebda's left arm obstructing Lisandro!

(H)


I guess we all agree that Lucílio Baptista has always been a ******* douche.

lol I know you're joking but Yebda doesn't touch him, and besides what's on the refs report is "Yebda rasteira Lisandro". Right..


But I didn't enjoy winning the cup I have to say. I didn't celebrate, it's just a stupid cup anyway. Porto did well not caring much about it and concentrate on the league/CL. And because Benfica didn't deserve to win. Seems the players don't care. Quique sucks.

Seriously, I know the feeling, Benfica lost too many times unfairly with direct influence of the ref. Lucilio was in a bad position to judge the play, he should've gone with the linesman's opinion of the play. It either is a BAD technical error or he was trying to compensate us for the numerous occasions we were harmed this season.

I think the worst of it is seeing Benfica this year has quality players and good substitutes and we don't even play as a team. Quique should be able to do much better, at least make them play like a team for a change, not every player trying to resolve things individually. Oh and an attacking formation instead of defense-counterattack, FFS.


Regarding Suazo, man did he suck or what? I don't know if it has anything to do with his latest injury but we can't use him on a 4-4-2 he's pretty much useless, he's a good player to use in 4-3-3 formation though.

And concerning this, Quique is burning Cardozo - our best goalscorer hands down. We must play with Nuno Gomes and Cardozo upfront. And how about the wingers actually advance to the goal line? I know it's a crazy idea but could work.:rolleyes:

Benfica is in a total MADNESS!!!

Quique Flores (our manager) was taken out today!
Luis Filipe Vieira (our President) was taken out today!

I hope that this madness will make good changes in Benfica and we can come back to the glorious team that we were years ago.

who is the man of your avatar? looks like lucho.

that'd be cool (H)
it's actually Yebda.

aaah, never seen yebda with such hair.

yeah I miss the yellowish turd too :(

http://i.goal.com/files/images/stats/goal/player-images/21/19321_200x250.jpg

Benfica is in a total MADNESS!!!

Quique Flores (our manager) was taken out today!
Luis Filipe Vieira (our President) was taken out today!

I hope that this madness will make good changes in Benfica and we can come back to the glorious team that we were years ago.

I don't know why but I think Quique is better than Jorge Jesus.. He deserved another chance and we need stability, can't keep changing coach every year, we look like Real Madrid.. Also the way LFV handled this situation shows lack of class..

And again LFV is running alone for the elections, (early elections - another classy move) great! :clapwap:

You better play Adu next season :mad:

I hope so. Adu and Coentrão. Luis Filipe Vieira made a great plan to himself. Veiga now is clearly out of the elections, and he's alone to take Benfica again.. well, we have Bruno Carvalho, but i really dont like him. If Bagão Felix went in with the right people it was the best that could happen to us. Well, Quique has qualitys, but with the players that we had, he made a bad season ( like the other ones, but this time was more frustating ). Jesus knows the Portuguese football, is a a man with charisma and hardworking, and we need that in our team, so i think that he's the best option. But with these things happening right now, i dont know. If we had a proper President, i'd like to see something like: Manager: Humberto Coelho Co-Manager: Mozer. They are 100% Benfiquistas and they have a lot of charisma and a strong hand to punch the players when they forget what is Benfica!

Is it true that the elections are antecipated because in July José Viega won't have 5 years as sócio, as he would in October?

we look like Real Madrid..

Man, you wish.

Is it true that the elections are antecipated because in July José Viega won't have 5 years as sócio, as he would in October?

It's not that. Viega said a time ago that he isn't candidate to the October elections ( because of the 5 years ), but he want to join someone who will candidate to take part of Benfica SAD. But with the elections in July, he hasn't time to prepare or to contact someone, or be contacted to take part of someone "candidatura".

I think it's that.

Man, you wish.

I was talking about the instability in the managing postion, just like I said, coaches entering and leaving the club every year, and you know it. Taking stuff out of context is easy but wrong.

But since you insist, we are definitely the Portuguese club that most resembles Real Madrid , simply because we are the biggest and most successful football club in Portugal. We may be going through a bad phase but it happens in every club or company. Check the numbers if you will.

It's not that. Viega said a time ago that he isn't candidate to the October elections ( because of the 5 years ), but he want to join someone who will candidate to take part of Benfica SAD. But with the elections in July, he hasn't time to prepare or to contact someone, or be contacted to take part of someone "candidatura".

I think it's that.

I agree with that, it's partially that.

But it's also true that this gives less time for other candidates to prepare their campaigns. It seems pretty cowardly to me. To have other points of view in a club, other opinions can only be healthy, be it a club or anywhere else. And this basically gives no time for the other candidates to explain their project, what they want to do, etc.

I mean, it's how he did it. If LFV wanted the early elections because of that, then he should've told so in due time, in order to give an opportunity for everyone to prepare for them.

It's think time to change the Tyres

But since you insist, we are definitely the Portuguese club that most resembles Real Madrid , simply because we are the biggest and most successful football club in Portugal. We may be going through a bad phase but it happens in every club or company. Check the numbers if you will.
Dude, rivalry aside: do you realy believe it's fair to consider that Benfica is "only" going through "a bad phase"?
In Portugal, Benfica has succumbed to Porto's dominance for a decade (if not two) now!
I did bother to check the numbers, you can check them too right here (http://www.tvi24.iol.pt/sporting/liga-porto-benfica-sporting/1062009-1457.html).
It's also true that you've been no more than average in European competitions since I can remember...

I was talking about the instability in the managing postion, just like I said, coaches entering and leaving the club every year, and you know it. Taking stuff out of context is easy but wrong.

But since you insist, we are definitely the Portuguese club that most resembles Real Madrid , simply because we are the biggest and most successful football club in Portugal. We may be going through a bad phase but it happens in every club or company. Check the numbers if you will.


That's exactly the kind of mentality that will keep putting you in 3rd place.






Eusébio was great, man, but he's 67 now.

Dude, rivalry aside: do you realy believe it's fair to consider that Benfica is "only" going through "a bad phase"?
In Portugal, Benfica has succumbed to Porto's dominance for a decade (if not two) now!
I did bother to check the numbers, you can check them too right here (http://www.tvi24.iol.pt/sporting/liga-porto-benfica-sporting/1062009-1457.html).
It's also true that you've been no more than average in European competitions since I can remember...

Guys do you even remember those 19 years where Porto didn't win the title? I think every club goes through some bad phases. In both cases it has direct influence of the people in charge of the club, some trying to take advantage of it instead of helping.

Eusébio was a great great player but honestly Benfica is far more than a player, no matter how good he is. That is a very reductionist approach.

And clubs get their history by winning titles for sure, but history isn't just one or two decades, if so Liverpool wouldn't be the club with more titles in England for instance.

But please don't get me started in how Porto's been dominating in the last 2 decades, for sure Porto has merit and a very organized structure but we all know there's more into it... Only a blind man cannot see..

We didn't win it's a fact (and again it's also the club and its presidents etc. fault, I'm not saying it isn't) but at least we don't try to win at all costs, our presidents do not invite the ref before the match to his house, our club president does not have a company that offers travels to Brasil to the refs, nor do we offer them "fruta ou café com leite" we don't tell the refs if they refuse to benefit us they will not get the grades to climb the career ladder, we do not have 30 or so players divided by almost every team in the league (on loan) to have an affect on the result, and so on, subverting the idea of sports.

Keep on denying it if you want to, I don't care. Nor do I mean to go again through all this discussion, but you got to understand the context too, it's not easy to win with the incompetence of the club director's board and a well organized "crime" scheme. Crime is too strong since it's a sporting issue, but it's how real crime organizations work, the processes are very alike. Let's just call it mafia.

*sigh*...why do I even bother :rolleyes:

Guys do you even remember

I should've stopped reading there... That's all you guys can do. Remember. Dude I'm proud of Porto's history, but even Mourinho's victories don't make a difference to me now. I don't give a crap about how many titles Benfica has more than Porto, except for the fact that we are probably going to surpass them in the near future. Future, you know what that is? Present, Future, not Past. And about the only thing you guys can throw at us, which are the Pinto da Costa allegations, the fact that he's been cleared of those means I too can say your presidents are shady workers. Vale e Azevedo and Felipe Vieira are such saints. Give me a break.



É fodido.

If you and your fellow FC Porto supporters are so proud of your achievements and are so superior, why do you insult Benfica every single game you play?

Jealousy maybe?

I recall the usual chants at this year's championship victory celebration, don't you?

Don't you think that's disrespectfull to your players and staff?

I'll give you every break you want when you people start being anti-benfiquistas instead of portistas.

yes, it's ****ed up when you acknoledge that we are supperior chanting that every single time.

This discussion is stupid, when Tiago_10 said: "Guys do you even remember", he wasn't talking about the titles that we have won, he was just talking abou what MaSsiVe said: "Dude, rivalry aside: do you realy believe it's fair to consider that Benfica is "only" going through "a bad phase"?
In Portugal, Benfica has succumbed to Porto's dominance for a decade (if not two) now!"

I think everyone knows that Porto is better in this years than us. And we know that we can do better than him if we had a decent direction. Real Madrid is a wonderful historic team, but look at them now. Barcelona is far better. If we and Real Madrid had decent people managing our club, certainly we would change this victory road of Porto/Barcelona. Im not saying that we would be champions every season, but we would make things more difficult.

But for now, i have my mind clear, because i know that Porto deserve this sucess, putting that "Apito Dourado" aside.