Benfica Europa League Final

So Benfica have reached the Europa league final doe the second time in a row.

Tonight they play a team from their Spanish neighbors Sevilla. It may seem a little bit of a get to the final and see, but Benfica have been absolutely amazing this season, they wrapped up the league with 2 games to go, they won the League cup, are still to play the Portuguese cup final and tonight its the Europa League Final which means, Benfica have reached the final of all they have competed for this season (take away the champers league)

We are Benfica- NOT FOR SALE -

On the night where many players in red shone, the question will be raised from Socios and Supporters, when the group of players are more or less likely to be sold on to bigger clubs in Europe.

The likes of Fabio Coentrao, Aimar, Cardozo and Co are all on the wanted lists of the big teams.

With Portuguese football on the rise again, perhaps we should think about keeping some or most of the talent at home, make the league a force for Europe.

Why should our talent such as Coentrao go to Germany or Spain? I gather he is more then happy at Benfica, so seeing him in the red and white of Bayern Munich or the white or Real Madrid will not give me the same joy, unless he is wearing the red or Portugal.
Why should we not attract the TV audiences that the English Prem or the Spanish league do?

Benfica need to keep hold of Salvio, lets spend a little, be the club that buys big when the player is worth the money, and Salvio definitely has proven he can make a difference therefore worth the money.
Sign contracts early when we know a player is good to show the rest we mean business.

The investment on another keeper is also something we may need to look at, we spent big on Roberto, whom so far has been hit and miss, a decent back up should make him work harder.

We only have to look at Gomes the Tottenham keeper, a player that until he had no decent challenger was conceding silly goals.

Benfica should at the end of the season fight this temptation to make a bit of money, and establish the dominance of Portuguese football by creating a squad to consistently win trophies.

Maybe follow the footprints of rivals FC Porto whom don’t sell in massive numbers or build a new squad every year.

Consistency in squads is something adapted in Premier League team, top clubs keep top players, the likes of Manchester United buy 2 players and sell fringe players, Chelsea and Arsenal are the same.

Would we not be a greater squad with the likes of Ramires, David Luis, Di Maria, still in the squad? With the addition of the new faces then I am sure Benfica would dominate the league and even Europe.

We have the beautiful stadium, we have the greatest supporters on the planet, a team that can fight the title and win it every year is what it’s needed.

Let’s keep it big, lets make it great…. We are Benfica.

Benfica 4 PSV 1

Last nights result for Benfica in the Europa League was proof that Portuguese football is steadily getting back to its best.

The dominance of the decades past are starting to be seen.  Clubs like SC Braga reaching the quarters, FC Porto totally outclassing their opponents from Moscow can only show why Portugal will have the opportunity to have 3 teams in the Champions League from 2012/13 season.

Benfica’s game against one of Europe’s top teams gave the team much to think about, after the loss in the domestic league against their fiercest rivals FC Porto, a small number started to question the approach to Europe.

But Benfica seem to have a different approach to Europe, a much more attacking flow to their game. They seem to be able to find spaces and penetrate through gaps that come hard to find domestically.

The display from the whole squad was astonishing, the full backs constantly pumping up the pitch, the central and attacking midfielders seemed to connect well most of the time.

The danger from Benfica started earlier on and carried on, and with four really special goals, it will be a feat only worth repeating in Dublin for the final.

On the night it was the Opener from Pablito Aimar which came from a much hard fought play by Fabio Coentrao and Nico Gaitan to cross and find Cardozo, only for the ball to come off him and into the oncoming Aimar to smash it with great power for 1-0.

Salvio went on to score 2 further goals, the first with the hard work from Coentrao on to Salvio to back heel it into the net.

His second was another great work, this time from the right, he goes inside, and with a bit of skill manages to get past in-between two players to hit the inside side net on the far post.

PSV managed to get an away goal which may or may not be important in the return leg in Holland, after a ball from the by line is crossed low, Roberto fails to get hold and Ladyad stick a foot at it to make it 3-1.

Saviola Made it 4-1 on the 93^rd minute, Maxi Pereira gets the ball on the right, passes inside to Saviola, who turns his man and hits the top left for the final kick of the game.

This result will be comfortable to take into the Philips Stadion on the 14^th of April.

Benfica President attacked and the FC Porto scum

Someone not too long ago rightly asked me ''why do you refer to FC Porto as pigs'' my main answer was just the fact I grew up knowing them as pigs, the attitude of the club and its supporters is shameful, violent and damn right life threatening.

I will say this, many clubs across the world have violent fans, there is always a group that cause trouble, and Benfica fans are no exception. 

The club has its own hardcore mob that has been dealt with in the past, and have somewhat scaled down from its approach to violence.

But the scale of FC Porto supporters goes well beyond fans match day violence, and something that will have to be dealt with but the authorities.

As we know FC Porto have their own registered support group that has to account for its member’s acts, after all, you can’t legally accept membership for violence (unless you are an MMA licensed fighter).

The acts after last nights game could have easily caused the death of Benfica’s President Luis Felipe Vieira, the president was driving behind the Team bus when his windscreen was hit by a sack of stones causing the driver to be assisted by paramedics with Luis Felipe Vieira being treated for injuries to his hand and face.

A little over a week ago Benfica's Vice-President was attacked outside a restaurant in the city of Porto by two masked men, and told to never speak against FC Porto or suffer a repeat.

The constant harassment from the 'Pig corral' at any given time a SL Benfica team, be it football, handball, volleyball or basketball, they travel to the dirty mud, are given the dirty treatment.

So in short to my views of the FC Porto mob, I truly believe they are directed and if not so, they are encouraged by the actions and reactions to these incidents from the King pig himself, a Mr Nuno Pinto da Costa, a man so corrupt and with no little regard for anything but his gain. A man walking on water even after being proven to have brought Portuguese football to its knees only to be allowed to carry on presiding over a club that without his money and power and influence (in bribery more often then not) would frankly not have struggled to be where they are now.

With the club releasing a statement on their website (probably in the hope they wont be attacked on their travels to Lisbon) it might be a little too late.

Para sempre BENFICA (Benfica forever)

P.Ferreira 1 Benfica 5 Nuno Gomes shines

Pacos De Ferreira 1 Benfica 5

Benfica managed a sweet victory against a team that have so far been doing well in the league, the team from the Porto region however failed to apply the early needed pressure on Benfica, and inside four minutes, Javier Cohene seemed to catch Javi Garcia on the head and a penalty for Benfica, with Cardozo bravely stepping up to make it 1-0.
On the 13th minute after a team passing move, Gaitan connected well with Aimar, who put the ball past a helpless Cassio for 2-0.
the Eagles went ahead again on the 25th minute when Nico Gaitan from 35 yards out placed the ball on the top left corner with almost no pressure, and with such ease that he hardly felt like celebrating.


Pacos managed to grab one back when new boy Carole (yes its a boy) uknowigly directed the ball into his own net.
The team from the north finally got some grip on the game and pressed Benfica until the half time, managing to go close a couple of times, and forcing Roberto into some magnificent saves.
in the second half was a similar performance with the hosts finding the gaps, and creating chances with Benfica equally wasting them.
on the 77th minute with the introduction of Nuno Gomes the Reds looked a bit more capable upfront with the crowd cheering on and screaming for the man, and it didn't take long for the Benfica 'old boy' to get off the mark, and on the 82nd minute from the second attempt at goal.

Nuno Gomes made it 4-1 and then after playing off the last man on the 90th he finished for 5-1.

A performance that started well for Benfica, but died soon after the 3rd goal, and with some chances not being finished, the team had to count on their long serving striker to come off the bench and show some established strikers how to finish.

I for one would love to see Cardozo in games like this perform better, despite scoring a penalty, the Benfica hitman has failed to fire the bullets with the same accuracy that he had last season, and at times looking lazy.
Jorger Jesus for the tough man he is, should learn to accept that, despite having players like Kardec on the bench and an under performing Cardozo, sometimes an old head just knows better, as he has shown in the last 2 league games.
The tactics were about right but somehow the team were lacklustre in the middle part of the game, at times the leadership from the back isn't felt upfront.

But a happy day for any Benfica fan, a good over all win to ensure that 'Os Andrades' will not win the title in our back yard when Benfica will 'roast' FC Porto for the next round of the Liga Zon Sagres.

Bayern Munich Stars ''Europa League is worthless''

Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery have both recently claimed that the Europa League is not worth playing in, and it should be avoided.

With Bayern 4th in the Bundesliga, they will need to get their act together in the remaining eight games or face the humiliation of having to eat their own words.

Robben says 'I can't imagine playing in the EL competition' and that 'It would be the worst thing that could happen, and would be better not to play in it at all'

the flying dutchman also added "Even winning the Europa League would not mean anything for me," ending with "That is not the title you want to win and it is not something I want."


Robben seems to be more used to Champions League football, and playing in the Europa League seems to be bellow his standards.

Ribery's comments came a week after commenting;

"The Champions League is incredibly important for the team, the club and the fans,'' the French man also added. "The Europa League is rubbish and we have got to avoid that'' and also said "The best way is not to even think about that. Playing in the Europa League is no fun at all''
"Once you know the Champions League, then you always want to play in the Champions League.''

With this i am sure their team will really have to sell 2 players should they fail to qualify for the Champions League, or perhaps the two superstars are already paving their way out of the club should they not finish third at least.

But one thing is for sure.. I now want Bayern Munich to end up in the Europa League, keep both players, this way I can point at the TV and laugh... and should they end up playing an English side I will gladly pay to point at them and laugh... so look out for a banner ''HOW SHIT ARE YOU? ARJE & FRANCK''

Derlis Gonzalez

Benfica have put pen to paper on young Paraguayan forward, Derlis Gonzalez, the youngster plays for Rubio Nu in the Paraguayan 1st division.

 The deal has been agreed and from 2012 the player will make the full transition to the 'LUZ' on a five year contract.

Once Rodriguez is back from representing Paraguay in the South American U17s competition where he has already scored a goal vs Colombia.

Rodrigues made his professional debut at 15 and judging by his videos, the young striker has the physical and finishing ability to be a good player.

First video of his recent goal (last goal)

PSG v Benfica

A tense night at Parc des Princes, PSG needed to set the tone of the game but getting a goal and then defend. Benfica needed to get the away goal and hold on for at least a 1-1 draw.

On a night where the stadium was packed, and i mean packed by Benfica supporters and a squad that had been rested from playing the previous league game, the expectations of the visiting crowd and Eagle supporters were high.



Benfica started the match well, the attack from Benfica as usual was rushed forward, with a PSG defence able to stand the attack, Makelele seemed the man to break up most of Benfica’s attack from the middle, where Benfica had Pablo Aimar whom was being instrumental to create the offensive play.

Benfica took the lead on the 27th minute when Nico Gaitan was fed outside the area by Salvio, the Argentine looked up as to cross, but opted for a long range shot at goal, and with the ball swerving away from Edel Benfica went ahead 1-0 and with the much needed away goal.

But it was to be a short lived lead as on the 35th minute Bodmer equalized from a sweet right foot volley just inside Roberto’s goal area.

The second half was mainly dominated by the French, with Benfica being taken back to its goal at most occasions, the likes of Coentrao and Maxi Pereira constantly working the wings from the back, supporting Gaitan and Javi with Saviola in Behind Cardozo seemed to be always good for a counter attack at the ever attacking French side looking to get 1 goal to take the tie into extra time.

Roberto was called upon late in the match to make a point blank save to keep the reds in the game.

Benfica would have been able to get away from this with a goal more, but the usual connection of passing and finishing in the final third of the pitch was always stopping the comfortable passage through.



The atmosphere in the final 10 minutes in the stadiums was more than Benfica would have imagined, the crown of over 20,000 travelling an immigrant Portuguese people made it a home away from home, and the songs ‘Glorioso SLB’ and ‘Benfica Campeao’ could be hard to inspire the team on.



On another note with FC Porto and SC Braga through to the quarters as well, it could be a meeting between two Portuguese team or not avoidable should the all reach the semi finals.

Benfica-Portimonense

With the Eagle more or less out of the running for the league after the loss in Braga last week, Jorge Jesus had opted to rest some players for the upcoming second leg match against PSG.



A line up not including the likes of Fabio Coentrao and Roberto, Moreira took over goal guarding duties. Jesus gave January signing Carole his first start at left back with Luis Felipe at right back.

With Luisao, Javi Garcia and Maxi Pereira suspended, it was to be a different back four. The partnership of Jardel with Roderick at the back was to be tested.

Airton held the centre with Aimar just in-front, with Menezes and Peixoto at either side, Jara and Kardec upfront.

With the opposing team being rooted to the bottom of the league, it was as good time as any to try out some players, to observe strengths and weaknesses.

But the team from Portimao were in no mood to lay back and let their host mess about with the subs.

Portimao went ahead on the 29th minute when Ricardo Pessoa converted a penalty when Roderick handled just inside the area.

The game was only to be equalized on the 78th Minute, Nuno Gomes came off the bench to head the ball into the back of the net.

On a night where many questioned the decision to used that many players not often used.

But I liked a few things that I saw, I liked the Young full back Carole, although he will take some hard work to replace Fabio Coentrao, his style was different, he preferred the much direct passing forward, he pushed and was able to get in space, but clearly he needs more games.

The partnership of Roderick and Jardel, at times resembled the Luisao Sidnei, ‘oh the one where they don’t understand each other that is’, Roderick attempt to clear with his hand instead of his head resulted in a penalty. To say the back four could have had a rest on this night too.

The style of play from the team was somewhat usual, kept majority of possession, had more shots at goal etc etc...

But this was a game to try and rest the players for the match where the club is looking to concentrate on, the Europa League, going into the game against PSG 2-1 up, it will be important to score early or not concede a goal at least. So Benfica will need to have rested their more senior and established players to focus on such task ahead.

Even if those who attended the game or Watched it on TV and Stream were there hoping to see the likes of Coentrao and Saviola only but only saw Carole and Jara, it is important to know that when you support Benfica you support the players wearing the shirt, after all the saying ‘Benfica ate de baixo de agua’ (Benfica even under water) should come into effect regardless of the players on show.

But what would I like to see more from Benfica in the next couple of seasons is the acquisition or development of more Portuguese players.

Weldon on his way

Brazilian forward Weldon could return to Brazil this summer, after failing to feature in Jorge Jesus plans.

The Benfica man has been at the club since 2009 has rarely featured in the squad, having only played 12 games and scored only 5 goals.



But he seems to be receiving interest from three major Brazilian clubs, with Vasco da Gama, Corithians and Palmeiras all looking for his signature.

Since Weldon is out of contract in the summer, it seem very unlikely Benfica will offer to renew it.