I wish Micael played with this type of confidence for the NT. He just seems afraid to be involved there. For Braga, he seems more willing to take risks and his game is much more dangerous.
Yeah but Celtic beat Barcelona which screwed us immensely. We have to beat Celtic then go to the Camp Nou and at least tie Barcelona...assuming Barcelona beats Spartak.
I think with the low quality players we have ( Matic, Jardal as a great example) , and while missing our best players.. IMO JJ is a great coach and he can change the match in the second half after reading the other team over the first one. he always does He only need good players.
I know the argument is stale but he had amazing players for a 3 year stretch and came away with one league title and some beer cups. The problem was him
Matic isn't "crap" but isn't Benfica material either. EVERY game he commits countless errors, terrible passer. Spartak beat Benfica in Russia because of Matic's error in the 3rd minute. He's just not improving like I thought he would after he became a starter. The shoes he has to fill are way to big for him to handle. Airton is better. Hope we do recall him from loan this January like it was reported earlier this season.
I agree, solid squad this season with a great bench. Bordeaux just lost to 16th place Stade Rennais, pardon my spelling, and believe we will advance comfortably. We have a chance to make it far into the competition.
Bordeaux just lost again this week, 2 weeks in a row. That's saying something. Although Europa League is a completely different competition, and we should never underestimate out opponents, lets be realistic, Benfica are big favorites. Carrega Benfica!
Benfica wins 1-0. Not the best performance by Benfica but they should be able to advance in France. Wasn't a big fan of the fans whistling the team after a win in a european game. The entitlement was uneccesary.
Agreed. Stadium was empty. And it probably sounds help that JJ said he's not interested in Europa League, and several starting players were benched. Enzo, Salvio, and Maxi were benched. Matic was suspended, so I'm not surprised it was a really bad performance. But we got the job done. Roderick starting DM in European competition after a horrendous exhibition Sunday against Beira-Mar? Horrible call by JJ. Andre Almeida at RB? Should have put Almeida at DM, his natural position in Matic's spot and kept Maxi at RB. Carlos Martins starting as well? I'm all for rotating the team...but at the right time. Too many question marks with JJ.
hello benfiquistas. long time, no see. i doubt that many will remember, but i used to post over here quite a bit back in the days (i wonder how ol' frank cunha's doing?). anyway, i don't quite follow the portuguese league as closely as i used to, if i'm honest, but i do keep an eye on your teams in europe - benfica particularly - and as both you and my beloved spurs are progressing to the sharp end of the europa league, some questions have arisen that perhaps you might help me out with. you see, whilst i know the odds are against it, there's a distinct possibility - should spurs defeat basel and you beat newcastle (both quite winnable ties) in the quarters - that spurs could be drawn against benfica in the semis. and this (the away leg) is something i'd rather like to see. but there are issues to consider before i plunk down the better part of a grand for airfare to lisbon. first is: a ticket. now, i've been a member at spurs for years, but from here in the states, and only being able to go to 1 or 2 games a year, it's impossible for me to accumulate the kind of loyalty points that will insure my ability to get a ticket from spurs. so a couple of questions ... 1) how readily available would home tickets for a EL semi be, should it come to pass? i've been to the estadio da luz before and had no trouble, and i know that the bordeaux game didn't come close to selling out ... but this would be a semi, and of course, would feature the mighty tottenham hotspur, so ... how easily could i get one on general sale? and 2) should i be able to obtain one, just how discreetly should i support spurs? obviously, i'd stay out of the primary supporter's groups entirely - and i can keep my true support 100% under wraps if necessary - but i've been to european games where away support mixed in with home fans without issue. any chance of that at yours? moreover, if going to lisbon for the 2nd leg, i'd have every intention of attending benfica's game v estoril on the following sunday (and, ok, i'll admit it - i'd go to the sporting game if it's the first leg). but as i look at the league fixtures for those weekends, it appears that all league matches are on sunday. will none be played on saturday? even all the liga di honra(sic?) games are listed for sunday. will that change, or will one league game be all that i'll have access to? anyway, again, i know the odds are against it, but if things fall into line, i'd love to have a few sagres and get back to the esadio da luz. so if anyone could take a moment to address my few concerns, it could greatly facilitate me getting over. thanks in advance, and sorry for blathering on so long. forca benfica, and all that.