Parks and recreation in Lisbon: Keaton at NYCFC (on loan from Benfica)

Spoilsport!!

 

You that old?

Man, I'm impressed.

 

Record did a big interview with Keaton and are releasing it in pieces (I think? I can't find the whole thing online). SapoDesporto has a solid summary here:
https://translate.google.com/transl...ainda-podemos-ser-campeoes&edit-text=&act=url

He also seems very interested in beating Pulisic for the "worst Yank goal celebration" award: https://www.record.pt/multimedia/videos/detalhe/keaton-parks-arrisca-dancar-a-floss-e-foi-isto.html

The most intriguing quote to me is this one:
"It's all the more intense. In the 'b', it seems like we're each working for himself because the goal is to get to the A. The main squad is fighting to be a champion and it's only possible to think as a team."

 

Keaton will need to improve his defensive physicality to earn a role with Benfica's first team next season.

Based on how skilled he is, he was probably was always the 10 growing up, so it might be an adjustment for him at the moment.

 

This is why he gets lots of comparisons to Matic... sure, both are tall midfielders, but Matic came to and went through the Chelsea academy as a no. 10. It was Benfica that turned him into a defensive midfielder.

 

Apparently this quote has riled up MLS fans:

I'm guessing "playing in the Dallas league" means playing for one of the Dallas based NPSL sides during the college off-season, and not playing for FC Dallas, although maybe he did say that and it's a translation error?

 

As an MLS fan, I'm not riled.

 

Lol, yeah, sorry, I meant to say "some MLS fans". I am also an MLS fan, and I totally understand where he's coming from.

 

Slight distinction but it actually says he would like to end his career in MLS. I can't see how that could be an offensive sentiment to MLS fans - it is exactly what Clint, Mike, Jozy, Timmy, et al are doing.

On another note, I like his ambition:

Keaton Parks está a cumprir um sonho. Quando lhe perguntam onde se imagina daqui a uns anos, não esconde a ambição. "Gostava um dia de jogar no Barcelona ou no Liverpool mas por agora só penso no Benfica. Quero ser campeão na Luz, quero ganhar muitos títulos aqui", garantiu.

Keaton is about to realize his dream. When they ask him where he sees himself in a few years, he doesn't hide his ambition. "I would like, one day, to play with Barcelona or Liverpool, but right now I am only thinking about Benfica. I want to be a champion with the Light, I want to win many titles here,' he guaranteed.

 

Of course he will, even Green managed to play for Bayern for their USA tour. That's sort of the point.

 

https://desporto.sapo.pt/futebol/primeira-liga/artigos/jonas-continua-ausente-dos-treinos-do-benfica

Jonas is injured, which doesn't make room for Keaton, but Keaton did train with the first team ahead of this weekend's match at 2nd-to-last place Estoril (afaik, he had not been training with the first 2 for the past 3ish weeks). The bottom 2 teams get relegated, and currently 3 points separate Estoril from 13th place... but Estoril have been absolutely dreadful recently, going 2-6-2 in their last 10 and currently have the worst GD in the league.

So, what I'm trying to get at here is that Rui Vitoria might opt to rest a few key-players ahead of their match against Sporting, which could determine whether Benfica are Champions League qualifiers or Europa league bound... in particular, Pizzi has been dreadful and currently plays in Keaton's best positions. The title race isn't finished, but Benfica need to play perfectly and hope that Porto drop points in the up-coming weeks. Porto also have the easier schedule, so Benfica might consider doubling-down on 2nd instead of chasing first.

edit:
the post on Benfica's site says that Ferro and Keaton were under "close supervision" by Rui Vitoria during their training session. There's also a video of them training... look at Keaton stretch! Watch him rondo! Looks ready for Liverpool to me...

 

It would be a legend writing it self if he were to play and perform in the game that led Benfica to CL glory! We can dream, can't we!!??

 

Record's premium subscription service claims that Keaton is "close" to a national team callup. Seems mostly like speculation, but they are claiming that Sarachan has been pleased with his play and is considering him for a callup in May.

Here's another outlet's take on this news: https://translate.google.com/transl...selecao-dos-estados-unidos&edit-text=&act=url

 

Looks like it's time for a Purge. All the experienced vets need to clear out space in the lockers.

 

I'm surprised if true, he was in Europe and didn't stop by to see the kid.

 

I was thinking the same thing, although it's possible he sent one of his staff members to watch a B-team match. But, yeah, seems mostly like speculation... at the same time, my sense is that Record is very accurate when it comes to Benfica news.

 

Bummer... doesn't make the squad list. Oh well, so much for my theory:

🚨📋 CONVOCADOS #GDEPSLB! pic.twitter.com/XvtXH0KOki

— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) April 20, 2018

 

I think Benfica may decide if he gets called or not. They have a program set up for him to join the senior team for the summer tour. If that conflicts with FIFA friendly dates I'd guess he stays at club. otoh, maybe his club wouldn't mind seeing him against higher competition in different role with different teammates as a way of gauging his abilities. Sarachan would be pretty flexible at this stage, one imagines.

 

1. I think that once the players are out of a season, the club must respect national team call-ups... but it is a bit of a grey area with the pre-World Cup friendlies most countries have lined up (they're not on the FIFA calendar, but they're also not during most European club seasons).
2. the ICC tour doesn't begin until after the World Cup, so there's very little chance that Benfica would encourage Keaton to turn down a US call-up. I'd guess their pre-season camp will begin in July, not June.
3. Benfica develops players for 2 reasons: 1. to make a profit off of player sales, and 2. to use the cream of the crop to win their domestic competitions and show well in Europe. A senior team call-up just makes Keaton more valuable and doesn't risk getting in the way of no. 2, so I'd imagine they're pretty excited about him being within striking distance of USMNT.

 

One of the things that endeared me to Keaton was his ability to persevere through his legal saga with Varzim. Varzim are about to elect a new club president and during a debate between the two leading candidates, a little more light was shed onto Keaton's legal battle. Also, how great is it that a 2nd division Portuguese club holds a radio broadcasted debate for the club presidency?

Apparently, the club is fairly cash-strapped, currently holding 65k Euros of debt that they cannot afford to pay off. Keaton's transfer to Portimonense was valued at 300k, while his transfer to Benfica was only worth 200k, which explains why the club was so pissed that he refused to sign for Portimonense. But, I seem to recall something about the deal to Portimonense being a double transfer, and Portimonense refused to buy the other player from Varzim without Keaton, so it seems to me like Varzim really messed up by not just taking the 200k from Benfica...

Anyway, the most notable thing is that they claim they still have a case against Benfica over the botched transfer and plan on taking them to court again. I doubt this affects Keaton's standing in the Portuguese league, but it could being something to keep an eye on.

Keaton will almost certainly start for Benfica B tomorrow in the derby vs. Sporting. Because it's Benfica vs Sporting, it will likely be televised and streamed. Match starts at 10am EST.

 

I was under the understanding that VZ was getting more from Benfica than the other team for Parks, perhaps it was because the other deal meant two players for 300K. And VZ couldn't sell the other player alone to cover the 100K difference. Parks was the deal breaker.

 

That's what I thought as well. It doesn't look like these guys will explicitly state that... I wonder if the 2nd player was on high wages and there was some internal math about getting him off their books.

I also don't understand how Keaton wound up at Benfica... did Benfica pay them for a transfer or did the court release Keaton from his contract and Benfica picked him up for free? I wonder if Varzim's suit is more about solidarity payments, assuming Keaton is sold in the next 3 years... I mean, if he's sold for 6m, Varzim would make back the 300k they missed out on.

 

If memory serves me right, Benfica already had Parks on their radar. They told him they were going to make an offer for him.When things went bad and Parks took his case to arbitration, the favorite decision forced VZ to release him since they held his wages for months and Benfica scooped him on the free as far as I can tell.

 

Starts:

#SLBenficaB | 🗒 Onze inicial: Zlobin, S. Ramirez, Kalaica, Ferro, P. Amaral, Florentino, Keaton Parks, Gedson, Willock, Heriberto e Anthony Carter. pic.twitter.com/5lWgmHk95x

— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) April 23, 2018

Google says the match is underway, but the streams I've found say they event hasn't started so who knows