FMH 2014: Benfica's Rise to Glory

[Dylan Campbell]

Hello, this is Dylan Campbell and this is a unique story because this story was done on Football Manager Handheld, which is on sale in the Apple Store and the Google Play store. I decided to manage Benfica in the Portuguese leagues and used a tactic that is currently on the FMH 2014 Tactical Discussion if you would like to check it out from a guy called ricfernandes. I picked Benfica so I could try out this tactic but also aim to turn Benfica into the best team in Portugal and one of the top powerhouses in Europe.

Pre-season friendlies were against Leixos, Bayer Leverkusen and Celtic. We comprehensively defeated Leixoes 3-0 but surprisingly lost to Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 but managed to come from behind to beat Celtic 3-1. I made a few changes to the starting 11, I decided to strengthen by midfield and buy a good box-to-box midfielder, one name that came into mind was Kevin Strootman, a man that I had a good profile for the past two to three years.

Rodrigo was the main striker for Benfica when the default team first came to me, but I decided to pick the Paraguyuan veteran striker Oscar Cardozo which turned out to be the greatest decision that I had possibly ever made on Football Manager 2014. My past glories with AS Monaco, my home country Northern Ireland and Rangers were all things that reminded me that I could complete the challenge of turning Benfica into the no. 1 team in Europe. Follow me as I begin my journey to managerial stardom!

 

[Dylan Campbell]

I begin my post by reviewing the months of August and September, the new season kicked off with a 3-0 win over Vitoria Setubal as Cardozo bagged a brace and Ola John scored another. Then we took two edgy 1-0 victories over Rio Ave and Sporting Lisbon, Cardozo scored the only goal in both matches. We then were drawn with Bayern Munich, Ajax and Serbian minnows Partizan in the Champions League, but our first match was a 2-1 loss at the Allianz Arena as Manzudkic bagged a brace with the only consolation from this match was a good Eduardo Salvio goal that momentarily equalized the match for us. We then bounced back with a 3-0 win over Vitora Guimaraes as Cardozo bagged another brace and Ola John once again scored another. Our final match was a humiliating 2-2 draw with minnows Beleneses, we took a 2-0 lead at half-time with Cardozo bagging a brace but poor set piece defending gave Beleneses two goals as Tiago Caeiro and his team rescued a point. We are still top and unbeaten but we have a mountain to climb in the Champions League.

 

[Dylan Campbell]

Reviewing the months of October and November now, as we kick off with a 4-0 win over minnows Partizan in the Champions League as Cardozo bagged a deserved hat-trick as Ola John scored another goal to keep up his steady form. We then recovered from our humiliating display against Beleneses with a 3-0 win against Estoril with Matic, Luisao and John picking up the goals.

We then kicked off our campaign in the Taca de Portugal by hammering minnows Salgueiros 08 6-0 with Cardozo bagging four, Guilherme Siqueria, a loanee from Granada bagging another and the veteran Luisao bagging a late sixth. Our Champions League aspirations were hit again as we lost away at Ajax 1-0 to a solitary Bojan goal two minutes in.

We recovered from another setback to win 3-1 against Olhanese with Cardozo bagging another two and Matic another one but we had conceded only our third goal of the season, about two months into the campaign. A sloppy 1-1 draw against Gil Vicente was a poor match, we conceded a penalty just before half-time which was converted by Simmy. They then had a disallowed goal with Bruno Moraes on 56 minutes but we only rescued a point with a Oscar Cardozo header late in stoppage time.

We then took our most impressive victory of the season so far, as we managed to dominate an off-par Bayern team to win 1-0 with Cardozo converting a penalty. We took another 1-0 victory over Braga as Enzo Perez struck home after 26 minutes. We took a 2-0 victory over Pacos Ferriera as Cardozo bagged a brace despite having Strootman sent off.

We then cruised into the fifth round of the Taca de Portugal, as Benfica won 7-0 against minnows Alverca, John, Matic and Cardozo all scored two goals apiece as Garay also added another. Our final match of the recap was a 2-0 win over Partizan in the Champions League, securing our place into the knockout stages as Garay and Cardozo scored. Bayern had drawn 2-2 with Ajax, had drawn with Partizan, lost both to Ajax and Benfica in the group stages to be knocked out into the Europa League stages. It was a pleasing moment

Join me next time as we review December and January!

 

[Dylan Campbell]

Welcome back as we review December and January! We kick off proceedings as we routed Nacional de Madeira 5-0 with all five goals scored by the main man Oscar Cardozo. We then had a big match against Porto at the Estadio de Dragao which Porto seemed to dominate in the early stages but we took a deserved 1-0 victory as Cardozo curled home a wonderful free-kick.

We then drew 1-1 with Ajax at home, once again we rescued a point with a Garay header after Bojan broke the deadlock 15 minutes in. We then entered the quarter-final stages of the Taca de Portugal with a 2-0 win over Oliveirense as Cardozo once again scored another brace, continuing his stunning form!

We took a 2-0 victory over Academia with Cardozo and Nicolas Gaitan netting before the winter break occurred. We began our League Cup campaign with a 0-0 draw with Sporting Lisbon. We recovered back by hammering Arouca 4-0 with Cardozo scoring twice and Salvio and John scoring one apiece.

We narrowly defeated Braga in the quarter-finals of the Taca de Portugal to book a semi-final spot against Sporting Lisbon with Cardozo and John both scoring to secure a 2-1 victory. Another 0-0 draw with minnows Penafiel was a poor point for us as we looked set to have an early exit from the League Cup. We then had a double dip against Vitoria Setubal, winning 3-0 in the league with John, Lopez and Cardozo scoring but in the second game in the League Cup, we were humiliated 1-0 with Moises scoring after 11 minutes.

Coming up we will be reviewing February and March!

 

[Dylan Campbell]

We start off our February/March review with a 1-0 win over Rio Ave with Cardozo scoring the only goal of the game. We then started off our Taca de Portugal semi-final first leg with a 1-1 draw with Sporting Lisbon with John scoring immediately after Seattle loanee Fredy Montero gave Sporting the lead. We then later won 1-0 against Sporting in the league with Strootman striking home.

We returned to peak form with a 4-2 win over Vitoria Guimaraes with Lopez scoring one and then Cardozo scoring another hat-trick. Niger international Moussa Maazou scored two goals to halve the deficit for Guimaraes but it was not enough. We then once again took another solitary European victory by beating nine-time European champions Real Madrid 1-0 with Cardozo scoring the only goal of the game.

We then defeated Beleneses 2-0 with Garay and Cardozo netting both goals, we then rescued three points in a 1-0 win over Estoril, with veteran defender Luisao scoring the winner in the last minute. We then hammered Olhanese 6-0 in the league with Cardozo netting a hat-trick.

We then completed another shock by drawing with Madrid at the Bernabeu. When Khedira scored after four minutes, we thought our premature European hopes were oer but Ola John scored after half-an-hour and we held on to our lead to knock out the favourites.

We then came back by defeating Gil Vicente 2-0 with Strootman and John bagging both goals to end the month of March. Follow us as we complete our review with the April and May reviews!

 

[Dylan Campbell]

Welcome to the final review of the season as we review April and May! We kick off proceedings by beating Braga 1-0 with Salvio bagging the only goal of the game. We then defeated Atletico Madrid in the first leg of our quarter-final tie in the Champions League by securing a 2-0 victory as Cardozo and Silvio both bagged crucial goals.

We then took a 1-1 draw against Pacos de Ferriera with Strootman bagging the equalizer. We then took a 1-0 victory to defeat Atletico in the second leg as Cardozo bagged home another goal. A 0-0 draw against Nacional and a 2-0 victory in our second leg tie in the Taca de Portugal semi-final against Sporting Lisbon with Rodrigo netting both goals. In our derby against Porto, Cardozo suffered an injury which sidelined him for two weeks missing the first leg of our tie against AC Milan.

In our semi-final first leg against AC Milan, we struggled without the talismatic Cardozo and fell to a 1-0 loss at the San Siro with Pazzini scoring six minutes from time. We then defeated Academia 2-0 as Cardozo made his return back from injury then we scored a 2-0 win over Milan in the second leg to book a final spot against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League as Cardozo scored a late winner.

A 1-0 win over Arouca with Cardozo's solitary goal and a 0-0 draw against Martimo proved that Benfica could relax, having taken a 20-point cushion at the top of the Portuguese league. We hammered Estoril 4-0 in the Taca de Portugal final with Cardozo netting all four goals and then we became European champions by beating Dortmund 3-2 after extra-time, with Cardozo becoming the hero once again bagging two goals, including the winner.

We had won the Portuguese League, the Taca de Portugal and the UEFA Champions League, joining an elite group containing Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan and many other teams that have completed the treble.

 

[Dylan Campbell]

TRANSFER UPDATES FOR SUMMER 2014

Benfica have already made three signings in the transfer window so far. Here are the profiles of all three signings.

View attachment 400296

The first signing is the young Ajax winger Viktor Fischer, who had agreed terms with Benfica at the end of last season. For the majority of the season, Fischer had complained about his contract obligations to Ajax. Fischer seems to be a perfect signing for Dylan Campbell and his team as he watched the winger twice run rings around the Benfica side during the group stages of the Champions League. The signing cost about ?31.5 million and it seems that the young Danish international could be worth every single penny.

View attachment 400291

Next up is the left-back Guillerme Siqueira who cost a cool ?15 million from Granada. The star impressed last season on loan at Benfica and was one of the key stars in their title campaign in Portugal and the European campaign. He seems to be a very good signing and could propel himself into the Brazillian first team for his good form.

The next signing is 19-year old poacher Ibrahim who cost ?1.2 million from Martimo. This guy is a cool finisher and has impressed lately for the U19 and the U21 Nigerian squads and could get a place in the first team under Stephen Keshi. He has a lot to go yet before going to the Benfica first team but will be given an opportunity in the Benfica B team.

View attachment 400287

Reports are speculating in Holland that Benfica are shortlisting new players to replace Oscar Cardozo and one of those men is PSV striker Tim Matavz. The Slovenian impressed last campaign, bagging home 28 goals in 42 appearances and is a cool finisher when he gets the chance up front. The Benfica manager Dylan Campbell likes this man, but says he does have other options that he could pick.

View attachment 400286

It looks like the future of Paraguyuan striker Oscar Cardozo looks quite bleak at Benfica. Reports suggest that many top European clubs are looking at Cardozo after the striker netted 60 goals in 51 appearances for Benfica. Campbell admitted that because he is past his peak, not many top clubs would want to risk having him. The 31-year old stated on social media that he is probably going to leave the Estadio de Luz next season.

 

[Dylan Campbell]

CARDOZO JOINS AS MONACO AS BENFICA SPLASH CASH ON MATAVZ

View attachment 400161

Oscar Cardozo, the talismatic Paraguyuan striker has joined AS Monaco in a ?14.75 million deal from new European champions AS Benfica. The 31-year old had bagged 60 goals in 51 appearances last year and had spent six years at the club after joining from Newell's Old Boys back in 2007.

A Monaco spokesperson said: "The signing of undoubtedly the top striker in Europe today, Oscar Cardozo, indicates the long-term strategy for AS Monaco as we wish to become a global powerhouse. We are incredibly pleased to sign a player of Oscar's calibre for such a considerably small amount of money to what we thought we would have to spend in order to get his services."

Benfica manager Dylan Campbell stated that Cardozo was leaving at the end of the season because he was no longer in his first-team plans. Earlier this week, Campbell said, "Oscar is a great prospect and I hope that AS Monaco can utilize him well in his position but I thought that he could not perform in the same way as he did last year and I thought about getting a younger striker that could also fit well into our position."

View attachment 400159

That person in mind was Tim Matavz, who has signed a five-year deal with Benfica hours before after putting pen to paper to a deal worth a staggering ?28.5 million. The Slovenian talisman played for Groningen and PSV prior to his signing, and last year he netted 28 goals in 42 appearances. He was a known name to several big clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Matavz said on social media: "I am proud to join such an historic club such as SL Benfica, who I can hopefully bring great success to and for me also to develop as a player. An opportunity to play for the European champions doesn't come too often so I decided to take it."

Campbell stated: "I am pleased to bring Tim to the club as he has been a target for me ever since I joined the club. He's considerably younger than Oscar and has many more years to offer for Benfica, so we hope that he can perform to the best of his abilities."

 

[Dylan Campbell]

MARTINS INDI SIGNS FOR BENFICA

Benfica have signed the Feyernoord centre-back Bruno Martins Indi for an undisclosed fee, however reports suggested that it was up to ?23.5 million. Martins Indi has been a known prospect to several big clubs and he jumped to the opportunity to sign for Benfica. He seems to be a long-term replacement for the veteran defender Luisao, who has stated he wants to run out his contract.

 

[Dylan Campbell]

FISCHER ENJOYING LIFE IN PORTUGAL

View attachment 399792

Benfica winger Viktor Fischer has stated that he enjoys life in Portugal and has relished the opportunity to play for the club ever since joining from Ajax for a staggering ?31.5 million fee. The 20-year old Danish international said that working with Dylan Campbell was a pleasure and that he hoped to bring success to Benfica and hopefully break records for the illustrious club too.

"I've enjoyed playing for Benfica, I've enjoyed working with the manager who has been helpful and has been kind to me ever since I joined from Ajax. It was a big move for me because I was leaving my relatives in Denmark further behind and I had a lot of friends in Amsterdam but the manager helped me to adjust in a way that I could perform well for this team and for Denmark as well. I wish to win trophies with Benfica and break records, I mean this year is a monumental year for Benfica as they can have four to five titles in the bag by May so I think I'm going to enjoy it here.

 

[Dylan Campbell]

BENFICA HOPING FOR CLEAN SWEEP

Benfica are hoping to take their second Portuguese crown and also maintain their unbeaten league record which has stood for 18 months. Benfica are 10 points clear of Porto in the Portuguese race, are currently having to fight a deficit in the Champions League against Real Madrid in the round 16.

They are in the semi-finals of both domestic cups, the Taca de Portugal and the Portuguese League Cup and have already won three trophies: Supertaca, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Club Cup. Tim Matavz and Viktor Fischer, both new summer signings from the Dutch Eredivise are hoping to fire Benfica into another successful season.

Matavz has immediately stepped into the spotlight netting goals in exactly the same rate in which his precedessor, AS Monaco striker Oscar Cardozo did when playing for Benfica last year. Fischer has been a key part of Benfica's season and has proved to be a critical signing.

Bruno Martins Indi from Feyernoord and Guillerme Sequilla from Granada have helped to create a solid backbone, as Benfica have found a new no. 1 keeper in Slovenian international Jan Oblak, who has replaced the aging Artur in goal. The right-midfield position has been fought for by Eduardo Salvio and Ola John, both members of the Benfica side that last year took Portugal and Europe by storm.

Benfica looks at a successful season with Dylan Campbell once again and also to create a domestic league record for the longest unbeaten run in the world.

 

[Dylan Campbell]

BENFICA: 18 MONTHS

May 2013

As Chelsea lift the Europa League trophy aloft in the Amsterdam Arena in the Netherlands, Benfica and their manager Jorge Jesus sat in disbelief as their season crumbled in front of them. They lost the Taca de Portugal final, they lost their crucial showdown in the league against rivals Porto which cost them the title and had just completed a clean sweep by losing 2-1 to Chelsea. Eighteen months later, nothing would ever be the same.

July 2013

SL Benfica appoint Northern Irish manager Dylan Campbell as their new head-coach on a four year contract. The most loyal of Benfica fans are angered and 24 hours after his appointment, large crowds are packed outside the Estadio de Luz, asking for Campbell's resignation.

A promising pre-season for Campbell had resulted in two victories and one loss against a tough German team such as Bayer Leverkusen showed many fans some optimism. By mid-season, Benfica are comfortably at the top of the table ahead of their rivals Porto and have qualified from a tough group including the reigning champions Bayern Munich and Ajax.

The key to Benfica's success is Campbell's attacking style of play, allowing his players to pressurise the opposing defence into making errors but would use counter-attacking football and fluid movements to dissolve defences and exploit gaps in teams. "Portuguese football is a mix of Spanish and Brazillian football. In Spain, teams would more likely focus on the midfield and to train players to have good passing and crossing skills and to have good reactions and to have some skills in their arsenal. In Brazil, there is a much more attacking emphasis that teams have adopted in Europe and have used to great success and have won league titles in their countries. Portugal, I believe, is one of the best leagues in Europe."

May 2014

Benfica completes the treble: the Portuguese league, the Taca de Portugal and the Champions League all captured within a few months. Benfica had taken a 25-point gap over their closest rivals Braga, had hammered Estoril 4-0 in the Taca de Portugal final and have defeated Dortmund in extra-time to win their third Champions League and end a 60-year "curse" that has sent chills up the spines of every Benfica fan worldwide.

The team was carried in these final months by one man, Oscar Cardozo. When Jorge Jesus was fired, his first-choice striker was supposed to now be Rodrigo, because he lost faith in Cardozo because of some poor results that he had made over the year. Campbell instead used his attacking style of play and utilized Cardozo as the perfect poacher and the decision was incredible. 60 goals in 51 appearances and great goalscoring displays throughout the year turned Cardozo into a European powerhouse and had radically changed him into a global powerhouse.

However, Campbell knew that Cardozo's time at Benfica was up, and in the summer was sold to AS Monaco for a fee of almost ?15 million. Campbell then pinned his hopes on the PSV and Slovenian international striker Tim Matavz, who has continued the success of his predecessor, netting up to 50 goals already in the year.

Viktor Fischer has been a key and influental part of the team, he has sometimes lifted the team up when Matavz isn't at his form, and this partnership between Fischer and Matavz has been crucial to help Benfica attain its success at the top. As Benfica hold aloft the FIFA Club World Cup to confirm their status as the world's best club team, we must wonder how did Dylan Campbell change this team in 18 months into the world's best club. Only the man himself could tell us.