Goal.com Summer Shopping: Who Should Benfica Buy? - Goal.com

Goal.com Summer Shopping: Who Should Benfica Buy? - Goal.com

Goalkeepers:
Jose Moreira, Roberto Jimenez, Julio Cesar.

With the arrival of Roberto Jimenez from Atletico Madrid to replace Quim our #1 who has returned to Braga, Benfica should be all set at the goal keeping position.
Having said that, Braga has Eduardo, the starter for the Portuguese National Team on sale for 4 million $, that is a bargain; bad news is, it might be too late as Bayern Munich, Lyon, and Arsenal have been asking Braga about him after his impressive World Cup.

Defense:
Maxi Pereira-rb, Luisao-cb, David Luiz-cb, Sidney-cb, Miguel Victor-cb/rb, Fabio Faria-cb/lb, Cesar Peixoto-lb/lm, Jorge Ribeiro-lb/lm, Fabio Coentrao-lb/lm/lw, Luis Filipe-rb/rm.

Benfica dont really need much on defense, however Maxi needs a backup,as Luis Filipe is just not good enough, Ruben Amorim has pitched in and done well when Maxi was injured last season, maybe Mano from Belenenses or even Paulo Ferreira who is leaving Chelsea on a free transfer. Fabio Coentrao is the starter on the left side, but Benfica may have a hard time keeping him as his stock has risen due to his performance in the World Cup as the starter for the NT, Juventus, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are interested. Cesar Peixoto is a decent backup, but if Coentrao leaves, we will need someone else. Evaldo from Braga would be a good choice. Spanish newspapers say we want 19 year old lb, Marcos Alonso from Real Madrid. Good choice.
On the central defense we are deep. The starters Luisao/David Luiz are one of the best duos in European football. If David Luiz leaves as expected, Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid are interested, any one of the backups will be able to step up. Luis Filipe and Jorge Ribeiro are good guys, but they will most likely be told to find new teams.
Haliche the Benfica player who was on a two year loan at Nacional da Madeira is for sale. He had a good World Cup with Algeria, and Arsenal is rumored to be interested.

Midfield:
Javi Garcia-dm, Airton-dm, Ramires-cm, Ruben Amorim-cm, Carlos Martins-cm, Nico Gaitan-am, Pablo Aimar-am, Filipe Menezes-am.

The midfield could use a couple new faces. The defensive midfield is all set with Javi and Airton, Ramires and Ruben can pitch in as well. In the right side, Ramires will be the starter and Ruben will be his backup. On the left side, we have the biggest unkown, Angel Di Maria has left for Real Madrid for 30 million euros and Nico was brought in as a replacement, but this will be Nico's first year in Portugal, he may need some time to settle down. One option could be to use Fabio here but this is unlikely as he is too good as a left back. Benfica could have brought in Ricardo Quaresma or Helder Barbosa (yes, the FC Porto product), but they signed with new teams. The Greeks say we are interested in Leto, if true, not a bad choice. Pablo Aimar will be the starter in the attacking midfield, right behind the two forwards, Carlos Martins will be his backup, but with the injury concerns on both of them, Benfica may look somewhere else, Anderson from Man U has been rumored and the player has shown interest in coming here, but then again, any player would welcome a transfer to the mighty Portuguese giants SL Benfica. Dont laugh, but Hugo Viana would be a good choice, Valencia wants to let him go, and he is Portuguese.
Hassan Yebda, who just like his compatriot Haliche had a good World Cup is rumored to have several teams asking about him in England and France. He would be a good choice to stay but Jorge Jesus is not too keen on him.

Forwards:
Javier Saviola, Oscar Cardoso, Alan Kardec, Weldon, Nuno Gomes, Eder Luis, Franco Jara, Mantorras.

Saviola and Oscar Cardoso are the starters, but with Cardoso complaining about wanting a new contract, he will most likely be sold, Everton and Man City are interested. Jara is a great Argentine striker, he will replace Cardoso just fine, Eder Luis is leaving on a one year loan deal to Vasco Da Gama in Brazil. Mantorras has asked to be released so he can get playing time on another team, which I am not sure he is going to get with his injury problems, but Setubal is interested.
Maybe Benfica could do with one more striker, but only if Cardoso leaves as Jara, Nuno Gomes and Kardec will do just fine. In Spain the newspapers say that Rodrigo, the under 21 Spanish international from Real Madrid is on his way here.

The battle of Iberia

Carlos Queiroz, you need to go right now. Do the decent thing, and step down!

You proved to the entire world, that you had no confidence in our national team.

I have to admit, this loss was tough, but I did not have any realistic ideas that Portugal was going to win the World Cup.

As soon as Carlos Queiroz was named the head coach of the NT, I had a feeling that he was going to cost our country a chance to win the Cup.

Right from the beginning, he was using negative tactics against our direct opponents in World Cup Qualifiers. He was using the now famous "park the bus" tactic, which basically means that you defend with 11 players, with everyone behind the ball.

Draws with Albania, and a loss to Denmark at home, only seemed to prove me right!

We struggled the entire qualification process, and even at friendly games against lesser opponents we looked awful. Did I mention the 6-2 loss to Brasil in a friendly?

The only reason we were able to get in the World Cup was thanks to some of our heroes, guys like Raul Meireles, Bruno Alves and a few others who came together and worked very hard to get us to South Africa.

Once we got to South Africa, things did not get any better, starting with a questionable roster. Ricardo Costa was somehow called up, yet Tonel was left out.

Consider this, while it is true that we only allowed one goal in four games, we could not score against Ivory Coast, Brasil, and Spain. This is due to Queiroz and his negative style of play.

He somehow managed to make a Portuguese team loaded with stars, look like a Slovakia, or a New Zealand.

In the game vs Spain, the Spanish had 64% ball possesion!! He also replaced Hugo Almeida with Danny, and started Ricardo Costa as a RIGHT BACK!! Only the mister knows.

That is not good, and I am hoping that the Federation make changes, but one look at google news, and I can tell that it is not going to happen, as Queiroz blames everyone and everything but himself.

One good thing did happen! Portugal now has their left back for the future: Fabio Coentrao. The best Portuguese player in the World Cup, he has solved the crisis at the position for years to come. We have not had a real left back since Alvaro Magalhaes.

Now, if we could get a real coach! I hear Scolari is looking for a job....

European dudes who love Puerto Rican girls!!

One of my good friends who is Puerto Rican once asked me, why do European dudes love Puerto Rican women?

I could not come up with an answer, so I will post a random picture instead!

«Se pagarem 30 milhões, será bom para mim e para o Benfica» – Fábio Coentrão

«Se pagarem 30 milhões, será bom para mim e para o Benfica» – Fábio Coentrão

Now here is a great player, humble and loyal to both Benfica and Portugal. He was one of our best players along with Eduardo in the World Cup.

Portugal vs. Spain Clash: Bordering Nations Meet for the First Time in World Cup, Spain Wins 1-0

Portugal vs. Spain Clash: Bordering Nations Meet for the First Time in World Cup, Spain Wins 1-0

Portugal paid the price for their cowardice. What a shame, a team loaded with so much talent should have done much better against the Spanish. Maybe next time. Adeus, Carlos Queiroz.

I have decided to start a blog as a way to stay in touch with friends and family.

I never blogged before, and I was going to write a blog about how much I hate blogging.
Instead I am going to write about the 2010 FIFA World Cup.



I am going to start with Portugal vs Ivory Coast.
I thought it was a rather poor performance by the Portuguese. Portugal's only real chance to score was on Ronaldo's first half shot from distance that beat the keeper but came back off the post.

Cristiano Ronaldo has now gone 15 months without a goal for Portugal. He went on to criticize the African side by saying that they were too defensive.
"We knew the Ivory Coast would not attack much and would stay at the back more," he explained.
"They were afraid of us in the first half, but in the second half their game got a bit looser; we only did not win because we were unlucky."

Didier Drogba was however quite pleased with the African teams performance, calling a draw against Portugal, "amazing". The draw will boost the confidence of the African giants, who defended well, played with energy and looked dangerous going forward.

Deco was also unhappy, he criticized the national team coach Carlos Queiroz for using him as a right winger. This might be a situation to keep an eye on.

On another note, Portuguese player Ricardo Quaresma has agreed to join Turkish team Besiktas . He turned down offers to return to Portugal, as Sporting, Porto and Benfica were all interested in the creative winger.