Been a While…But Im Back!!!!
By: Carlos |
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So what sort of results has Benfica put forth this new year???
Well here is a good recap…….(More recent first)
GP W D L P
1 FC Porto 20 12 6 2 42
2 Benfica 20 11 7 2 40
3 Sporting Lisbon 20 11 5 4 38
4 CD Nacional de Madeira 20 10 5 5 35
5 Leixoes 20 9 8 3 35
5 Braga 20 10 5 5 35
February 27, 2009
SLBenfica 2 – 1 Leixoes
Elvis (own goal 16′) Rodrigo 74′
Nuno Gomes 67′
Benfica got off to a good start from Reyes cross into the area intended for Cardozo but to make matters easier the defender, Elvis, tapped it into his own net. I thank you for that. Benfica continued to play well for the most part with Ruben Amorim coming off afetr getting hurt for Carlos Martins. After half-time, Reyes and Di Maria both came off, 60′ for Nuno Gomes and 72′ for Balboa respectively, and in the 67′ Nuno Gomes headed in a cross from Cardozo. Benfica had the game but were down to 10 men after Carlos Martins pulled a muscle and since there were no subs left to use Benfica had to play the rest of the game with 10. Even with one men down Benfica fought threw and won the game 2-1 after Rodrigo scored for Leixoes in the 74′.
February 21, 2009 DERBY
SLBenfica 2 – 3 Sporting
Reyes 36′(penalty) Liedson 10′, 81′
Cardozo 89′ Derlei 47′
Lisbon Derby filled with many goals. Great game to watch but bad result for Benfica fans. Quick paced match with Liedson converting in the 10′ from a mistake of David Luiz(his worst performance of the season). Benfica then got a penalty after Polga fouled Suazo so Reyes scored from the spot. 1-1. Sporting appealed for a penalty after a shot from Ismailov hit Maxi P’s arm but ref saw none of it..bad decision. Half-time Score 1-1. Benfica started slow and Derlei capitalized. 2-1. Benfica had no control of the second half and this resulted in another goal from Liedson later on making it 3-1. Oscar Cardozo added a goal from his head at the end but it was too late and Sporting partied all night with the precious win. A horrible performance by Benficas defense…
February 15, 2009
SLBenfica 3 – 2 Pacos de Ferreira
Cardozo 69′ Ferreira 76′
Ruben Amorim 73′ Chico Silva 90′
Di Maria 83′
This game aside from all the goals in the second half was highlighted with Di Maria’s GOLASO!!!!!!!The ball bounced perfectly in front of him from about 35 yards out and he lasered it past the Pacos keeper making it 3-1. Pacos added one at the end and scared Benfica because they hit the post in the last second of the game.
February 8, 2009
SLBenfica 1 – 1 FC Porto
Yebda 45′ Lucho Gonzalez 72′(penalty)
What a controversial match that unfavoured Benfica. Game started off very well with equal possesion in the first half. Just at the end of the 1st half Yebda popped a goal in with his head from a corner from Aimar. Benfica dominated most of the game but in the second half Porto came out strong and in the 70′ minute a controversial penalty led to Porto tieing up the game. Lisandro was deemed to be fouled in the area by Yebda and Lucho converted. But on the replay Yebda did not even touch Lisandro…he fell by himself!!!The game ended 1-1 and BENFICA WAS ROBBED!!!!!BIG-TIME!!!!
February 4, 2009 SEMI-FINALS CARLSBERG CUP
SLBenfica 2 – 1 V. Guimaraes
Gregory (own goal 70′) Desmarets 90′
Aimar 88′
Benfica is through to the final of the Carlsberg Cup with a 2-1 win over Guimaraes. Aimar got his first goal for Benfica and what a nice goal it was! They will now face Sporting Lisbon in the final on March 21. Book that game in your soccer calendars!!!!!
January 31, 2009
SLBenfica 1 – 0 Rio Ave
Mantorras 70′
MAANNNNNTTTOOORRRAASSSS!!!!!!! Thats all there is to say. What a player he is to our club…Could have been the new Eusebio if it wasn’t for his knee injuries.
January 23, 2009
SLBenfica 0 – 0 Belenenses
Good result for Benfica achieving a point away from home. Bad pitch conditions made the game lack excitement. Miguel Vitor was shown a red card in the 83rd after fouling Joao Pedro.
January 11, 2009
SLBenfica 1 – 0 SC Braga
David Luiz 45′
Benfica benefited with the refs help in this one as David Luizs goal was actually in an offside position. But after all the ref did not see so Benfica won this hard fought game 1-0. Braga is going to be a surprising team in the late run for pole position. Watch them in their Uefa Cup match agaisnt PSG after they beat Standard Liege 4-1 on agg.
January 4, 2009
SLBenfica 0 – 2 Trofense
Reguila 44′
Helder Barbosa 82′
Disappointing start to the New Year with a loss to last place team Trofense. Benfica played a horrible game and Binya was sent off early in the second half due to his dumb choic eof tackling players without getting the ball. Aside from this result, Benfica will win the league this year and for many others!!!!
Category: Team News
Tags: Aimar, Belenenses, Benfica, Cardozo, Carlos Martins, David Luiz, Derlei, Di Maria, FC Porto, Leixoes, Liedson, Lisandro Lopez, Lucho, Mantorras, Miguel Vitor, Nuno Gomes, Pacos de Ferreira, PSG, Reyes, Rio Ave, Ruben Amorim, SC Braga, Sporting, Standard Liege, Suazo, Team News, Trofense, V. Guimaraes, YebdaHappy New Year 2009
By: Carlos | 1 Comment
Well the new year is here and so a new year to start new. To all Benfica fans out there and all soccer fans, the Benfica blog wishes you a happy and prosperous new year filled with peace. And hopefully this year brings Benfica back to the top as Champions of Portugal!!!
Category: Team NewsTransfer Rumours: Benfica
By: Carlos | 5 Comments
With the transfer market opening up in a couple of days, teams are looking to fill in those empty spots on their rosters to create a full and strong squad. Benfica is said to not be making many moves or any big moves during this winter transfer door but rumours do float around:
Here are the Numbers:
50 – Theres a 50/50 chance that Di Maria might make a move to Real Madrid either now or in the summer. Benfica is wanting 30 million for him and right now Real Madrid has put in an offer of 21 million.
Prediction: Unlikely that Benfica will accept an offer lower than 25 million.
2 – Number of fullbacks Benfica has in its roster. A big problem!!! Maxi Pereira and Jorge Ribeiro are the only ones their as Leo seems to be moving back to Brazil. David Luiz has adapted to the left back position and has played very well but Benfica still needs a vital fullback on the team.
Prediction: The most likely transfer move might be to get a fullback. If not, David Luiz will continue his new role at right back.
5 – Reyes signing a new contract of 4 or maybe 5 years to have a stay at Benfica through 2012 atleast.
Prediction: Very likely as Reyes is in love with the team and will expose him more to try to get back into Spain’s national team.
20 – A new Simao!!! Yes Benfica badly needs another classy winger just like Reyes to fill in on the right side. Di Maria is the man but his injuries have put him behind this season.
Prediction: Di Maria is now back and should now start on the right but there is that possibility of him being transferred so Benfica is alert is finding a new winger for a price above 8 million (but for a VERY GOOD winger NOT like Balboa).
For now this is what is heard of Benfica. Not much action in this tranfer market but we will see in the upcoming days.
Give us your opinion on what will happen and on what Benfica really needs to buy.
Player Profile: Moretto
By: Carlos | Add Comments
- Moretto #31
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Club Team
Marcelo Moretto de Souza, Moretto was born on May 10, 1978 (age 30) in El Dorado, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. His early soccer career consisted of playing for Brazilian sides such as São José Esporte Clube, Associação Portuguesa de Desportos, Londrina Esporte Clube, Sport Recife and Brasiliense Futebol Clube.
In 2003, he came to Portugal to try his luck:
– joined Salgueiros, however they were facing a financial crisis at that time and as a result were relegated and lost all their pro players
– He was forced to look for another club and joined FC Felgueiras where he caught the attention of other clubs.
– Jan. 2005, ended up at Setubal (in the top flight) to replace Ricardo Batista (who had signed for the English Premier League team Fulham F.C.) after signing a two-and-a-half year contract. Performed very well and won the Portuguese Cup after beating – soon to be player of – Benfica.
– Season 2005-06, Moretto ended up being the number one goalkeeper of all European leagues, with the less number of goals conceded per minute played.
– Winter of 2005, Moretto was given offers by both Porto and Benfica. He chose Benfica where he signed a 5 and a half year contract at a transfer cost of 1 million.
– 2005-06 was his best season at Benfica. Moretto played on 18 occasions in the league, once in the cup and 4 times in the Champions League, against reigning european champions Liverpool FC (conceding no goals), and FC Barcelona, where he stopped Ronaldinho’s penalty.
– 2007, joined AEK Athens on loan. Returned to SLB for 08-09 season.
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National Team
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- Status Update
Moretto is Benfica’s third choice keeper. This season he has played one game as a starter which was last week in the Portuguese Cup agaisnt Leixoes. They lost in penalties 5-4 after regulation time ended 0-0. Moretto rarely appears for Benfica now-a-days but is still a very good keeper.
- Did You Know?
Moretto stopped Ronaldinho’s penalty shot when Benfica played Barcelona in the 2005-06 Champions League Quarter Finals. Eventually Barcelona won 2-0 but easily could have been eliminated by Benfica.
Category: Player ProfilesBenfica loses final match in Uefa
By: Carlos | 3 Comments
Lisbon, Portugal – Benfica is now knocked out of the Uefa Cup with today’s 1-0 loss to Metalist. Benfica had no hope of making it through since they would have to beat their opponent by 8 gooals. They played with a sub-eleven squad to showcase players in a European stage and let them gain experience. They all played an overall good game and Cardozo had many chances to score with one shot ringing off the post in the second half. After that shot by Cardozo, Metalist counterattacked and was lucky to score and make the final score 1-0. Benfica finished last place with 1 point; an embarassing run in what was to be an easy top 3 finish for them!!!
Standings:
Group B Pld Pts
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Metalist 4 10
Galatasaray 4 9
Olympiacos 4 6
Hertha 4 2
Benfica 4 1
Category: Team NewsOut of Taca de Portugal
By: Carlos | 2 Comments
Benfica has been eliminated from the Portuguese Cup losing 5-4 in penalties against Leixoes. It was a heartbreak for Benfica fans and another miserable Cup run this year. During regulation time the score was 0-0 and penalties were the only way to solve the affair. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsPlayer Profile: Moreira
By: Carlos | 1 Comment
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Moreira #1
- Club
José Filipe da Silva Moreira was born in Massarelos, Porto, Portugal on March 20, 1982 (age 26). Moreira played football throughout his young life and used to play as an attacking midfielder but his dad saw otherwise and put him playing in net. He took trials with SC Salgueiros in 1992 and by 1997 at the age of 15 he had been highly scouted by the “top 3″ in Portugal. Benfica made the highest bid and was granted this young talented goalkeeper.
He made his home debut in 2001 agaisnt V. Guimaraes after Robert Enke, Benficas first choice goalie at that time, got injured in the 24th minute. This game ended 0-0 with Moreira getting his first ever clean sheet. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Player ProfilesBenfica Regroups after 6-0 Win
By: Carlos | Add Comments
Funchal, Madeira – Maritimo was no much for Benfica on this day. After an early sending off of Maritimos goalkeeper Marcos Benfica stomped all over Maritimo with a 6 goal drubbing. Reyes capitilized from the penalty spot and Suazo put one in before the half. In the second half Benfica bombarded Maritimo with goals in the back of there net. Luisao made it 3-0 in the 66th, Suazo scored once more, and Nuno Gomes who came on as a sub added 2 more goals. With this victory who knows what can happen on Thursdays match agaisnt Metalist. Benfica do need 8 goals to have a chance of advancing and they sure showed that they can put in goals away from home so let us see what happens on Thursday.
Best of Luck to Benfica.
Category: Team NewsPlayer Profile: Quim
By: Carlos | Add Comments
Starting today this page will be posting player profiles of each Benfica player so you can get to know them better. Posts of these will be made on the regular.
Quim #12
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Club
Joaquim Manuel Sampaio da Silva, better known as Quim, was born in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal on November 13, 1975 (age 33). He started his career with SC Braga making his debut in the year of 1994. He stayed at that club until 2003/04. At his time there he played in 230 games and grew to be one of the top goalies in Portugal. Due to this, Benfica picked him up at the start of the 2004 season and eventually Benfica won the title that year where Quim split the net with fellow companion Moreira. The next year Quim had injury problems and so did not play much but in the 2006/07 season Quim was the first choice goalkeeper for Benfica. From then on he has kept being Benficas #1 and still has because of his amazing consistent performances. Until now Quim has played in 124 games with Benfica.
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National Team
Quim developed in the youth program of the national team winning a UEFA European Under-18 Championship in 1994. In August 1999, Quim made his senior debut agaisnt Andorra which they won 4-0. Throughout his history with the National team he was always the back-up goalie for them at international competitions. Finally, now in 2008 he has cemented the starting role for Portugal but is coming off an embarassing loss to Brazil of 6-2.
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Status Update
It seems like Quim is not going to be in the starting lineup for next weeks game against Maritimo due to the great amount of goals being let in his net in the past few games…Recall: 6 from Brazil, 5 from Olympiakos, 2 from Setubal (13 goals allowed in 3 games!! YIKES!!).
Category: Player ProfilesLast-Minute Blunder
By: Carlos | Add Comments
Lisbon, Portugal – Last night Benfica closed out the Jornada with a 2-2 tie against Vitoria de Setubal. The game did not start well for Benfica as they went down 1-0 in the first half due to a goal by Laionel. In the second half they came with a bang. Katsouranis scored in the 48th to level things up and ten minutes later Suazo put the Eagles in front 2-1. Everything kept going well for Benfica and it looked like they were going to get those three points to put them in first place but then Setubal striked back. In the final minutes of regulation time Setubal was awarded a corner kick. From that ensuing corner kick, Benfica cleared the ball but only as far as the 18-yard box. From there, Anderson performed a bicycle kick and surprisingly lobbed Quim and the game was tied. It was a blunder by Quim; a big blunder. How can a player score a bicycle kick from outside the damn box!!! All i know is that Quim is having a terrible year as he is letting far too many goals in but the blame can also be put on the rest of the team too.
Well Benfica stayed put in 2nd place and hopes for next round to be different.
Category: Team News
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