http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/11/07/porto-5-0-benfica-hulk-belluschi-tactics/ Utter domination from FC Porto beating Benfica 5-0, and Fernando Belluschi was fantastic, combining well with Hulk on the right, were all 5 of our goals came from. Nice tactical overview in the link.
thanks for the update... benfica has no chance for the league title now do they? if they continue to struggle, and don't qualify from the champions league group, could you see Benfica off loading some players, most importantly Aimar and Saviola in january?
No problem, Benfica is now 10 pts behind Porto with 20 games remaining...so their chances are pretty slim, especially given how well Porto is playing. 2nd place is probably more realistic, since that would qualify them for the CL next year. Sure, there will definitely be some changes if they don't make it out of the group. They've failed to adequately replace di Maria and Ramires, as Gaitan, Jara and Salvio have all been disappointing, as has Aimar. I think both Aimar and Saviola will stay with the club for the rest of the season, but Pablo will probably leave this summer as he's struggling. Saviola still plays well when fit, so I think he might stay.
http://www.fcporto.pt/AdeptosFanzone/GaleriasFotos/Jogos/gal_fcp_slb_071110.asp From our website, here's 45 pics of the game vs Benfica, including several good shots of Fernando Belluschi. He's really enjoying his football this year for us, looks comfortable and confident...would be a shoe-in to be called up for just about any other NT in the world other than Argentina.
Benfica defeated Angola 2-0 in a friendly tonight--the club has huge support in the country. Goals were scored by Jara and Aimar, with Saviola assisting on Pablo's goal.
Very solid games from both Otamendi and Belluschi in our 2-0 win. Ota played LCB, and made several crucial interventions with his good anticipation and pace. Also, he is a real threat on our corner kicks, really attacks them with venom despite his lack of height. Finally, I love how he is ambitious and skilled enough to start attacks from the back; you can really see how playing RB benefited him, and the Porto fans are thrilled with his progress! Belluschi just continues to impress, he played a bit deeper yesterday since his usual MF partner, Joao Moutinho, was suspended. Very good footballer, and very deserving of another callup to Argentina for me!
Well you never know with Belluschi seeing as Ledesma has turned traitor. Otamendi. Does he still dive in rashly or does he try to stay on his feet Chacal ? Thanks for the reports. They are appreciated. Have to bear in mind Benfica were playing Naval the bottom club in the Liga Sagres even though Gaitan scored a brace. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm3tOY3VuZQ"]YouTube - Benfica - Naval 2-0 Gaitan 47'[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBh65PdvqKc"]YouTube - Benfica - Naval 3-0 Gaitan 52'[/ame]
He is still just a bit rash with his challenges...that is the only concern for me at this point. I think he conceded 1 free kick yesterday in a very dangerous area with a bad challenge, but overall played a very good game. We have a very solid defense with good support from midfield, so I think Otamendi will realize he doesn't need to be so aggressive with his tackles. I like him alot, and think he can be really good for us.
Well I hope he does improve and does a good job for you. He has Batista's favour I think as well though I'd personally choose Musacchio and Munoz at present before him.
Portuguese press claims Batista will travelling over Europe to scout players, including Portugal...looks like these are the guys he'll be talking too: FC Porto: Nicolas Otamendi Fernando Belluschi SL Benfica: Nicolas Gaitan Pablo Aimar Javier Saviola Eduardo Salvio
It just said he will talk with him, but I'm not sure if he'll get called up. He should, though. Belluschi is playing terrific football for us, really fits into our 4-3-3 system well...he can drift out wide to the right and link up with Hulk, but also possesses terrific passing range and vision, along with an ability to score goals.
Probably... another player he should consider is Nacho Scocco. He's in Greece but he seems to perform very well.
Yeah, I selfishly hope Belluschi doesn't get called up to Argentina as a Porto fan. I remember a couple years ago Lucho's performances really dropped when he was a regular NT starter, as he would get fatigued travelling back and forth. But Belluschi is playing great football, and is more deserving of a spot on the NT than anyone else in Portugal, to be honest.
Belluschi and Otamendi both called up tomorrow's huge derby vs Sporting, this would definitely be a good chance for both players to show the NT manager how well they've been playing for Porto. Belluschi will definitely start in MF, we'll see about Ota in the back.
Diego Valeri is heading back to Argentina (Lanus) after a disastrous 1.5 year spell in Europe with Porto and Almeria. Best of luck to him. Sebastian Prediguer is also heading back to Argentina (Colon) after a disappointing 1.5 year spell contracted to Porto; he didn't play a single minute on loan to Cruzeiro for the first half of this season, so hopefully he gets his career back on track in Argentina. Tomas Costa (formerly of Rosario Central) is on loan from Porto to CFR Cluj in Romania. He's a solid, versatile player who I still like a lot.
Also, I forgot that Porto still own Nelson Benitez, a LB who played 5 matches for us in the fall of 08 before getting loaned out to San Lorenzo, where he still is. Apparently Estudiantes want to purchase him according to Portuguese news.
Surprised to see how bad valeri's spell in Europe turned out, even though his output was already dwindling in Argentina after his groin strain.
Yeah, it was unfortunate. He was given Lucho Gonzalez's #8 after our former captain left the club, and high hopes were cast upon Valeri. He looked decent in pre-season, and had a chance to seize a starting position after Fernando Belluschi struggled. But he just couldn't get comfortable with our system, and we eventually purchased Ruben Michael in January, leaving Valeri on the bench. He was then loaned to Almeria for the first half of this season, but I really didn't follow his progress there. He admitted to the Portuguese press that his time in Europe was "a failure," which I respect. I hope he finds happiness and success back in Argentina. A couple other updates: --Benfica is very close to purchasing Jose Luis Fernandez from Racing; he should immediately compete for playing time at left wing. --Since Fernandez is a left-winger, Nicolas Gaitan (formerly of Boca) could move into a more centralized attacking role for Benfica after struggling at LW for the majority of this season. He's been disappointing after making a big-money move (8.4M Euro) from Portugal to Argentina, but remains positive and motivated. --Funes Mori (River Plate) continues to be linked to a number of clubs, including Benfica, and the Portuguese club will decide whether or not to make a third offer for him by January 2, according to his agent. The issue is simply a transfer fee, as River Plate may be asking too much for the player after rejecting 2 offers from Benfica already. Mori's agent claims that Benfica would be an excellent destination for the player, but River won't sell for anything less than 12M Euros. --Franco Jara (formerly of Arsenal) will probably stay at Benfica despite having few opportunities to play this season; Real Zaragoza, Racing, Independiente and River Plate have all expressed interest in the player, but his agent claims he will remain in Portugal until at least June. --Eduardo Salvio (formerly of Lanus) will also probably stay at Benfica until June despite a lack of regular first team football. He's on loan from Atletico Madrid, but recently scored 2 goals in a league win. Benfica have an option to purchase him from Atletico should he impress, so he could receive more playing time in the 2nd half of the season. --Pablo Aimar and Javier Saviola will remain at Benfica too until the end of the season, at least. --LB Leandro Grimi of Sporting (formerly Huracan and Racing) wants to remain in Portugal. He has been injured for this entire season, and had some issues last season as well. --Finally, Marco Torsiglieri (formerly of Velez Sarsfield and Taleres Cordoba) will also remain in Portugal, despite struggling to get on the pitch. Hamburg of Germany have been linked to the player, but he'd likely cost at least 4M Euro.
^ Haha, no problem. --Jose Luis Fernandez is in Portugal, but has not yet finalized his transfer from Racing to Benfica. The contract should see him sign through the summer of 2015, but Racing and Benfica are just having problems closing out the nuts and bolts of the deal. Fernandez is apparently anxious and nervous, but it sound as if this should get done in the next 48 hours. --Benfica have pulled out of the Funes Mori sweepstakes. Apparently River Plate want at least 11-12 M Euros, while Benfica won't offer more than 8.5M. --Fernando Belluschi in an interview last night said he is happy at Porto and wants to get back into the Argentina NT picture.