SL Benfica - Breaking the Guttmann Curse

[Klippybo]

EUSEBIO
1960-75
Forward
440 apps, 473 goals

The most famous Benfica player ever and one of the best players of all time. Nicknamed the "Black Panther" Eusebio won 11 league titles, 5 Portuguese Cups and 1 European Cup while at Benfica but individually he won the Ballon D'or in 1965 and was the first winner of the European Golden Boot in 1968 but that is just 2 of dozens of individual awards. Look him up on wikipedia lol. Although born in Mozambique he played 64 times for Portugal, scoring 41 goals. Naturally he is Benfica's record goalscorer.

--

Supertaca

Lineup - Cerqueira, Dias (Morato), Ferro, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Luis, Camara*, Sanches, Antony, Felix (Almada), Everton, Dembele (Petric)

I had no left backs of any sort going into this match so did a makeshift 3-1-2-3-1 formation which was a bit harsh on Nelson Semedo who just didnt fit into the formation. Despite playing such a foreign tactic we dominated throughout yet only won by the 1 goal as Everton tapped in on the goal line after the ball came off the bar. Sanches got sent-off late on but that didnt have any effect.

Porto in the summer appointed Neil Lennon as their new manager - I aint quaking in my boots lol.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Bernardo), Camara*, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Embalo, Dembele

An easy win in the first league game of the season. Ronaldo Camara got things underway and Embalo along with Dembele got the other two.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro (Sebahattin Sahinoglu), Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony, Felix, Embalo (Almada), Dembele (Petric)

Well now. No 100% record for us here and with 3 goals conceded that is a 3rd of the league goals that we conceded last term. The fact that my own player, Joao Resende, scored against us is a sore point but if I look at the plus points both Antony and Petric got their first goals for the club.

Nelson Semedo got injured before the match so Tomas Tavares will get an extended run in the side.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo*, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Embalo, Dembele (Petric)

We bounce back with a victory. We could have scored far more and Dias had a goal disallowed but I am quite happy with 3 goals and a clean sheet.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Sanches), Camara*, Antony, Felix, Embalo, Dembele (Petric)

4-0 is always a nice result. Ronaldo Camara yet again ran the show and popped up with a goal while Embalo impressed too as he has got a little run in the side after Everton got injured.

--

SUMMARY

Such is the standards that we have set that this month is seen as a disappointing month as we drew 3-3 with Pacos de Ferreira. The fact that one of my own starlets, Joao Resende, scored against me didnt go unnoticed in the media either. However other than that we are looking good. We beat Porto in the Supertaca and won our other 3 league games so everything is good.

I didnt make any other transfers despite having £215m of a transfer budget but I did pre-arrange 2 deals to come in in January and they will be duly sold on.

In the Champions League we have been given a tricky group draw but one in which we should progres.....

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RONALDO CAMARA

--

LIGA NOS

​

 

[Klippybo]

Good luck with this season, hope you get favourable draws in the UCL this year!

Who's been your favourite player this save?

Ooh thats a tough one - One of Semedo, T.Tavares, Camara or Felix lol - probably Semedo

 

[Klippybo]

Domiciano Cavem
1954-70
Defender
416 apps, 106 goals

Although mainly played as a right back, Cavem also played in midfield and up front. He won loads of trophies while at Benfica - 9 league titles, 5 Portuguese Cups and crucially 2 European Cups. In the 1958-59 season he scored 21 goals including the only goal in the Portuguese cup final which at 15secs is the fastest ever goal in the competition. He won 18 caps for Portugal, scoring 5 goals.

--

SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Ferro*, Dias, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix, Embalo, Dembele

A stunning performance as we smash 5 goals past Vitoria Setubal. Ronaldo Camara scored yet again as did Felix but it was Ferro who was the surprise as he netted twice. Very impressive.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro (Sebahattin Sahinoglu), Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony (Embalo), Felix, Everton*, Dembele

Despite having Joao Felix sent-off early doors we still managed to get a comfortable win. Everton returned from injury and put on a show as he grabbed a goal and claimed the MOM award.

--

UEFA Champions League Group G

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara (Almada), Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Sanches), Everton, Dembele

We had a man sent-off here also but Lyon are a tougher test and while I am naturally pleased that we didnt lose I am seriously ****** off that even before we went down to 10 men we had thrown away a 2 goal lead.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias*, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara (Bernardo), Antony (Tsygankov), Almada, Everton, Dembele (Petric)

No sending offs here - just a bog standard win lol.

--

Allianz Cup 3rd Phase Group C

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Matos), Morato, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Bernardo*, Sanches, Tsygankov (Salvador), Almada, Embalo, Petric (Quintas)

As ever with the Allianz Cup my backups came out to play. We were struggling in truth but then I made a triple substitution and Jose Salvador, who popped up in a training email a few weeks back and got promoted to the B team - came on and fired in almost immediately from outside the area. Not a bad debut!

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara (Sanches), Antony, Felix, Everton, Dembele*

9-0!!!!!!

We tore Vilafranquense apart and could have scored 3 or 4 more as we hit the woodwork a few times and missed a few chances. Dembele scored 4, Antony and Everton grabbed braces while Grimaldo popped up with a goal too. A truly incredible performance.

--

SUMMARY

The highlight of this month was our 9-0 victory over Vilafranquense which was quite something - especially when you consider that that outshines a 7-1 victory over Vitoria Setubal. It does seem that my side has gone up a gear. Whether that is down to Ronaldo Camara playing every week in a more attacking role or the signing of Antony I dont know but I like where we are at!!!

That being said we did draw 2-2 with Lyon having been 2-0 up!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MOUSSA DEMBELE

--

LIGA NOS

--

PORTUGAL

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C

Lineup - Lopes, T.Tavares (Cancelo), Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro, Luis (Sanches), Camara, B.Silva, Felix, Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva*

WOW!!!!

I didnt expect such a big win here as I thought the Czechs would put up a much stronger fight but we raced into a 5 goal lead in the first half and it was done. I gave debuts to Tomas Tavares and Ronaldo Camara here and both impressed. Diogo Jota came off the bench to score for the 4th match in a row.

--

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C

Lineup - Lopes, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, N.Tavares, Luis, Neves, Rafa, Fernandes, Guedes*, Leao (Diogo Jota)

Goncalo Guedes smashed in 4 goals here as we swot aside Malta. I was disappointed that we didnt score more goals although Rafa did have an effort disallowed.
​

 

[Klippybo]

Francisco Ferreira
1938-52
Midfielder
398 apps, 34 goals

Signed from FC Porto after only 13 appearances Ferreira spent the rest of his career with Benfica. He won 4 league titles and 6 Portuguese Cups and also appeared for Portugal 25 times.

--

OCTOBER

UEFA Champions League Group G

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias (Sebahattin Sahinoglu), Ferro*, Grimaldo, Bernardo, Sanches, Antony, Felix, Everton (Almada), Petric (Quintas)

Ferro was our saviour here as he headed in in stoppage time to give us the win. If we had drawn we would have been in big trouble regarding qualification but fortunately we nicked it.

--

Allianz Cup 3rd Phase Group C

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Morato, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Bernardo (Camara), Sanches, Tsygankov, Almada (Ramos), Embalo*, Petric (Nielsen)

Out came the backups again with Nielsen getting a debut. Embalo gave us the lead before Almada converted a penalty and Camara came off the bench to fire in a free-kick.

--

Taca de Portugal 3rd Round

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Matos), Sabol, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Jocu (Ramos), Sanches*, Salvador, Almada, Embalo, Petric (Quintas)

As expected my backups did the job. Salvador impressed and he has really caught my attention out of nowhere this season while Pavel Sabol scored on his debut. My wonderkid Serbian striker needs to start scoring though.

--

UEFA Champions League Group G

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Semedo), Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara*, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Dembele

A great result. We kicked off and I looked away and when I returned to the screen a minute later we were 2-0 up!!!! Liverpool piled on the pressure but we kept them out and held on for a big win to take us top of the group.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Semedo), Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony, Felix (Almada), Everton*, Dembele

We return to league action after about a month away and we follow up our 9-0 win over Vilafranquense with a stunning 6-0 win over Braga. We are averaging over 4 goals a game in the league at the moment.

--

SUMMARY

This month saw us play a few cup games and have just one league match so it was kinda different. We did well though. In the Champions League we edged out PSV with a last minute winner from Ferro and then we defeated Liverpool 2-0 in a great match. We won both of our domestic cup games and then in the league we thumped Braga 6-0!!!!

We didnt concede a single goal so credit to my young keeper, Cerqueira, who made his international debut during the month but my defence all do their bit.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
LUIS CERQUEIRA

--

LIGA NOS

--

PORTUGAL

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C

Lineup - Cerqueira, T.Tavares (Cancelo), Dias, Ferro (Vinhas), Guerreiro*, Luis, Neves, B.Silva, Felix (Sanches), Guedes, Leao

A tough match but we got the desired result. I gave my Benfica keeper, Luis Cerqueira, his debut in goal here as my other keepers are getting on a bit and Cerqueira is going to be around for a long, long time so thought I might as well have him as my no1 for Portugal too! David Vinhas of AC Milan also made his international bow here.

--

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C

Lineup - Cerqueira, Cancelo, Dias, Ferro, N.Tavares, Luis (Dantas), Camara, Rafa, Felix*, Diogo Jota, Leao (Quintas)

This win secures our qualification for Euro 2024. Tiago Dantas and my B team striker Goncalo Quintas came on for their debuts. I had a shortage of strikers so called up Quintas but in hindsight maybe I should have called up Joao Resende who has been banging in the goals for Pacos de Ferreira.
​

 

[Klippybo]

Nuno Gomes
1997-2000 & 2002-11
Forward
398 apps, 166 goals

Signed from Boavista, Nuno Gomes was one of Europes top young strikers at the turn of the century and he scored 76 goals in just 124 apps in his first spell with the club before joining Fiorentina for £15m. He returned to Benfica after Fiorentina had their financial collapse. In all he won 2 league titles, 1 Portuguese cup and 3 league cups while at Benfica while for Portugal he scored 29 goals in 79 apps.

--

NOVEMBER

Lineup - Svilar, Semedo (Tavares), Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony, Felix (Almada), Everton, Dembele (Petric)

WHAT THE ACTUAL ****!!!!!!

After 82 league games unbeaten we are humiliated by our bitter rivals Sporting Lisbon and they fully deserved their win as Plata, their striker, scored twice but missed 4 one on ones alone in the 2nd half. We were truly terrible and I place no blame on Svilar who came into goal as Cerqueira picked up a minor injury.

--

UEFA Champions League Group G

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo (Tavares), Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony, Felix, Everton (Almada), Dembele (Petric)

Two defeats in a row coupled with two absolutely horrific performances. Porto are up next - better not make it a hat-trick!!!!!

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Matos), Dias, Ferro, Ramirez, Luis, Camara*, Antony, Felix (Almada), Everton, Dembele (Ramos)

We bounce back in terrific style with a stunning 4-0 win over Porto. I had a few injury problems with Grimaldo, Semedo and Petric all out but despite that we put in a terrific performance. Goal of the game was Almada's free kick for our 4th goal.

--

Taca de Portugal 4th Round

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Semedo), Dias, Ferro, Ramirez, Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony, Felix (Ramos), Everton, Dembele

A narrow victory but only because their keeper had a stormer and deservedly got the MOM award.

--

UEFA Champions League Group G

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Semedo), Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony*, Felix, Everton, Dembele (Ramos)

A disappointing result which means we have qualified from the group but cannot win the group. We fell behind when Luis got caught in possession but we levelled through a fine solo goal from Antony.

--

SUMMARY

This was one of our worst months since I came here. We inexplicably lost our long, long unbeaten run in the league as we lost 3-1 to Sporting Lisbon so after 82 league matches we suffered defeat. We then followed that up by getting thumped by Liverpool in the Champions League. Thankfully we tried to right the wrongs by smashing Porto 4-0 to inflict their first league defeat of the season but a narrow victory over Maritimo in the cup and a poor draw at home against Lyon in Europe all means that it wasnt the greatest of spells.

My B team is also struggling. I think I let too many of my best youngsters go and they are languishing in mid table. Nascimento, Resende, Budinauckas, Silva, Strijbosch and Lasso are all big players plying their trade elsewhere to the B teams cost.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANTONY

--

LIGA NOS

--

PORTUGAL

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C

Lineup - Cerqueira, Cancelo, Dias, Ferro, N.Tavares, Luis, Neves (Camara), B.Silva, Felix, Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva (Leao)

Meh

--

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C

Lineup - Cerqueira, N.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro, Luis (Camara), Neves, Rafa (Fernandes), Felix, Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva*

A nice way to wrap up the qualifying campaign.

 

[Klippybo]

Toni
1968-81
Midfielder
392 apps, 23 goals

Signed from Academica, Toni had 13 years with Benfica and picked up 8 league titles, 4 Portuguese Cups and in 1972 the award as Portuguese Footballer of the Year. He went on to manage the club in 3 different spells and for Portugal he won 32 caps.

--

DECEMBER

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Semedo), Dias, Ferro (Sebahattin Sahinoglu), Ramirez, Luis, Camara*, Antony, Felix, Everton, Dembele (Ramos)

I was about to take Camara off as he was playing really poorly and then he rifled home a shot from 30 yards and ended up with a MOM award.

--

UEFA Champions League Group G

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Brito), Morato, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Bernardo, Sanches, Tsygankov (Salvador), Almada*, Embalo, Ramos (Quintas)

This was a nothing match for us as we couldnt top the group and had already qualified so my backups got a European match to play. We got the win after falling behind when Salvador struck at the back post - he has now made 3apps and scored 3 goals for me!

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Luis, Camara*, Antony, Felix, Everton, Dembele (Petric)

Ronaldo Camara scored another stunning long range finish here to settle things - I am beginning to regret not throwing him in from the start when I arrived at the club now! lol.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo*, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix, Everton, Dembele (Petric)

Nelson Semedo scored a goal of the season contender here as he volleyed in first time from a tight angle to grab our 3rd goal. Moussa Dembele has now failed to score in his last 5 league matches......

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony, Felix (Almada), Everton*, Dembele (Petric)

A narrow victory and another match where Dembele doesnt score - he better start finding the net soon or else I may have to look elsewhere! Probably not lol. As ever I am pretty ****** off at a league goal being conceded.

--

Taca de Portugal 5th Round

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara (Sanches), Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Dembele*

Yes Dembele scored a hat-trick but his previous goal was a month ago in this competition - it is the league that he needs to find his scoring touch although I aint complaining about his efforts here lol. Camara had a goal disallowed.

--

Allianz Cup 3rd Phase Group C

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Morato (Sabol), Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Bernardo, Sanches, Tsygankov (Salvador), Ramos, Almada, Petric (Quintas)

This was a narrow victory with just a penalty separating the two sides but we had 40 shots on goal and their keeper had the game of his life!!!!

--

SUMMARY

This was a better month although we arent firing on full cylinders and that goes down to most of my forward line misfiring and Dembele has been the main culprit although he did score a hat-trick in the Taca de Portugal.

As we go into 2024 we are 2pts clear at the top of the league and are still in all cup competitions while in the Champions League we have been given a decent draw against Borussia Dortmund. By no means it is a banker but I would like to think that we can knock them out.

A special shout out goes to Ronaldo Camara who won the award for being the best young player in Europe.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
EVERTON

--

LIGA NOS

​

 

[Klippybo]

Bastos Lopes
1972-87
391 apps, 4 goals
Defender

Bastos Lopes spent his entire career with Benfica so was a one club man and he played 10 times for Portugal. He won 7 league titles and 6 cups and his brother also played for Benfica.

--

JANUARY

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo*, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara (Sanches), Antony (Tsygankov), Felix, Everton, Dembele (Petric)

CALLING MOUSSA DEMBELE - PLEASE SCORE A LEAGUE GOAL!!!!!

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro (Sebahattin Sahinoglu), Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony, Felix, Everton (Almada), Dembele*

Dembele finally breaks his league scoring duck by getting a brace here - about ******* time!!!!!

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Tsygankov (Embalo), Felix*, Everton (Almada), Dembele (Petric)

--

Taca de Portugal Quarter-Final

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara*, Antony (Embalo), Felix (Almada), Everton, Dembele (Petric)

A game of two halves and extra-time this was lol. We went 2-0 up and were cruising but we then contrived to allow them to level things up and take the game into extra-time. We had the better of it in the added period but we couldnt take advantage and then it went onto penalties and we converted all of ours and Cerqueira saved their 1st 2 pens so through we go.

--

Allianz Cup Semi-Final

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Sanches*, Camara (Bernardo), Antony, Felix, Everton (Ramos), Dembele (Petric)

We reach the final and I suppose having knocked out Sporting out of the 2 domestic cups in a matter of a week we have gained revenge for our league defeat earlier in the season.

--

Allianz Cup Final

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Bernardo), Camara (Sanches), Antony, Felix, Embalo, Dembele (Petric)

How my laptop is still in one piece is beyond me. I cant believe we have lost this. They had 1 shot all game and it went in and it was a 25 yard free-kick. We had over 30 efforts on goal and although we levelled through Embalo we couldnt find the winner. FFS we beat this team 9-0 earlier this season. Undoubtedly my worst result in FM20.

Methinks heads might roll over this.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Bernardo), Embalo, Dembele (Petric)

WE ARE IN A WORLD OF TROUBLE!!!!!!

Pathetic. Embarrassing. Horrifying.

Words cant do justice to how ****** off I am at my side as we lose 1-0 to Pacos de Ferreira and the fact that my own player, Joao Resende, scored the winner just makes things worse. Dembele can get to ****, So can Petric. Felix is a ghost of his former self. I could go on.

--

SUMMARY

My confidence is lower than a snakes belly just now after the end of this month. Despite winning our first 3 matches during the month and then knocking out Sporting Lisbon out of both cups we should have been on a high but we proceeded to somehow lose the Allianz Cup to Vilafranquense on penalties - a side that we beat 9-0 earlier this season - and then lose to Pacos de Ferreira at home with my own player scoring against us.

Deadline day came to soon in truth and I made no changes however the plan I was working on in reshaping my squad better come to fruition in the summer as I vow to make several changes with some big players likely to move on.

Of course we could go on and win the Champions League and everything will be fine but I am not prepared to put up with this any longer!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RONALDO CAMARA

--

LIGA NOS

​

 

[Klippybo]

Jose Aguas
1950-63
Forward
383 apps, 379 goals

Nicknamed "Golden Head" because of his heading ability Aguas was a superstar for Benfica and only once failed to score at least 18 goals in a campaign. He won 5 league titles and 7 Portuguese Cups but most importantly he was the main man in the 2 European Cup wins. Despite his astonishing scoring record for Benfica he only scored 11 goals in 25 apps for Portugal.

--

FEBRUARY

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Sebahattin Sahinoglu (Sabol), Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony*, Felix, Everton (Bernardo), Dembele (Petric)

A win with another goalless show from Dembele.

--

Taca de Portugal Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Bernardo), Camara, Antony, Felix (Ramos), Everton, Petric*

I didnt drop Dembele as he was ill but Zoran Petric came in and took his chance with 2 goals. With a 5 goal lead I will give my backups a runout in the 2nd leg.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo (Tavares), Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Bernardo), Camara, Antony, Felix*, Embalo (Almada), Petric

A great win and result. Dembele was back fit but I stuck with Petric and he opened the scoring. Antony and Ferro scored again but it was Joao Felix who starred as he fired in a hat-trick with the help of 2 penalties.

--

Taca de Portugal Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Matos), Morato, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Bernardo, Sanches*, Tsygankov, Almada (Ramos), Embalo, Petric (Quintas)

My backups complete the job as we march into the final. Tsygankov got his first goal of the season - he is another player who has flattered to deceive this season.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony*, Felix, Embalo (Almada), Petric

We raced into a 4 goal lead here but we couldnt add to the tally unfortunately. Petric, Felix and Antony seem to be working well up front at the moment.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo*, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Embalo, Petric (Dembele)

This match exploded into life in the 2nd half where 6 goals were scored and fortunately we got 4 of them. The key moment of the match however was when Cerqueira saved a penalty when the score was 2-1. Antony got injured here and will be out for a month.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara*, Tsygankov, Felix (Almada), Everton (Embalo), Petric (Dembele)

VILAFRANQUENSE CAN GO ******* DO ONE!!!!!!

Who would have thought that after demolishing them 9-0 earlier this season they would come back and haunt me twice. This wasnt as bad as the cup final but it is still ****** annoying.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Bernardo), Sanches, Tsygankov, Felix, Everton (Embalo), Dembele*

Fantastic. We have one foot in the quarter-finals with this win. Dembele returned to the side and grabbed 2 goals and hopefully this will kick start a scoring run for him.

--

SUMMARY

We got back on track this month as we began to start thrashing teams again. Santa Clara were hit for 6, Vitoria Guimaraes were hit for 5 in the cup while we put 4 past Famalicao and CS Maritimo although it was our 3-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund that was the highlight of the month.

All that good however was tainted by Vilafranquense again as they held us to a 0-0 draw. I dont need to go on about the fixtures against those lot this season. Fortunately though it didnt cost us too much as we are 1pt clear with a game in hand in the league.

Youth intake next month!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JOAO FELIX

--

LIGA NOS

​

 

[Klippybo]

Jose Augusto
1959-70
Forward
369 apps, 175 goals

Signed from Barreirense, Augusto was part of the Benfica side that won back to back European Cups. He also collected 8 league titles and 3 Portuguese Cups and when he retired he was named as the manager of Benfica althouh he only lasted 1 season before he left to manage Portugal whom he represented 45 times - scoring 9 goals.

--

MARCH

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Luis, Camara, Tsygankov, Felix*, Embalo (Salvador), Dembele (Petric)

Easy. Dembele finally got back on the scoresheet in the league but it was Joao Felix who was the best player and he scored with a terrific free-kick.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara*, Tsygankov, Felix (Almada), Everton, Dembele (Petric)

Our 3rd 3-0 win in a row. Dembele was back to his misfiring best but I will stick with him for the next match.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Luis, Sanches (Bernardo), Tsygankov, Felix, Everton (Embalo*), Dembele

I am overjoyed with this result as we had to do it the hard way with Felix getting sent-off after only 20min. We took the lead after Dembele rounded their keeper to finish but they levelled and a draw looked to be on the cards until Embalo popped up to fire in the winner.

This win secures Champions League qualification and my initial transfer budget for next season is £252m!!!!!!

--

Lineup - Cabral, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis*, Camara, Tsygankov, Almada (Ramos), Everton (Embalo), Dembele (Petric)

During the week both of my first team keepers picked up injuries so in came my B team keeper - 18y/o Francisco Cabral. In the end he did well as he kept a clean sheet in one of our biggest games of the season - just a pity that we couldnt find a goal!

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Semedo), Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Tsygankov (Embalo), Felix, Everton*, Dembele (Petric)

We reach the quarter-finals for the 2nd season running. This was a decent performance and I am delighted to have won away from home against Dortmund while keeping a clean sheet.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Dembele*

WOW!!!!

A stunning away victory against Porto as Moussa Dembele put them to the sword and he scored a fantastic hat-trick. We were excellent from start to finish and this win means we are now 12pts clear of Porto.

--

SUMMARY

We took our good form from last month into this one and we put in some fine performances. In the league we did draw 0-0 with Sporting Lisbon but that was a match where we were without my main 2 goalkeepers. We won our other matches with the highlight being the 4-0 away win over FC Porto and that leaves us 7pts clear with 5 games remaining.

In the Champions League we beat Dortmund 1-0 in the 2nd leg that sees us into the quarter-finals where we will face Liverpool. We beat them 2-0 and then lost 3-0 to them in the group stage so while I wouldnt see us as favourites we certainly have a chance.

As per usual the youth intake was ****.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MOUSSA DEMBELE

--

LIGA NOS

--

PORTUGAL

Friendly

Lineup - Cerqueira, T.Tavares (Cancelo), Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo (N.Tavares), Luis, Neves (Sanches), Rony Lopes*, Fernandes (Neto), Rafa, Felix

Rony Lopes got called up for the first time by me here and he excelled as he scored the opener for his first Portugal goal on his 3rd cap. Pedro Neto of Wolves made his international debut here.​

 

[Klippybo]

Alberto Costa Pereira
1954-67
Goalkeeper
359 apps, 0 goals

Born in Mozambique (like Eusebio), Pereira spent his whole career with Benfica and was the goalkeeper as they won the 2 European Cups. He also collected 8 league titles, 5 Portuguese Cups and 22 caps for Portugal.

--

APRIL

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro (Sebahattin Sahinoglu), Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony, Felix*, Everton (Almada), Dembele (Petric)

Farense are doomed and we piled on the misery here. Joao Felix scored twice and Antony smashed one in injury time.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Semedo), Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara (Sanches), Antony (Tsygankov), Felix, Everton*, Dembele

GET IN!!!

Everton's wonderful solo goal was enough for us to get an advantage going into the 2nd leg. Liverpool deserved a draw but we managed to hold on for the win. Its going to be a huge 2nd leg!!!!!!!

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares (Semedo), Dias, Ferro, Ramirez, Luis (Bernardo), Sanches, Antony, Felix (Almada), Everton*, Dembele

Job done and we are a step closer to another league title. I rested Grimaldo and Camara with the Champions League match coming up however Tavares picked up a knock and he may miss out the Liverpool game.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Cerqueira, Semedo, Dias, Ferro (Sebahattin Sahinoglu), Grimaldo, Luis*, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Dembele

WE REACH THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS!!!!!!

What an away victory this is. Dembele struck early on and we more than matched Liverpool after that and we managed to keep a clean sheet to give us an amazing away victory. Manchester United are up next.

Is the curse finally going to be lifted?

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro (Sebahattin Sahinoglu), Ramirez, Luis, Camara, Antony, Felix*, Everton (Almada), Dembele (Petric)

CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!

My 5th title in a row is won as we beat Tondela. Joao Felix struck twice to reach 20 for the season and all 20 have come in the league amazingly. I will play my backups mainly in our last 2 league games to rest my first picks for the huge cup games.

--

SUMMARY

We go into the final month of the season with the league title all wrapped up but with a Taca de Portugal final to play and also a two legged semi-final tie against Manchester United in the Champions League. Massive!!!!

We reached the semis of the Champions League by beating Liverpool home and away and with us keeping a clean sheet in both ties which is a huge achievement. Man Utd will be a tough not to crack however they are 11pts behind Liverpool so we have a chance.

The league was wrapped up as we won all 3 games 3-0 and that is the end of that. In my final 2 games I will play my backups to rest my first choice players for the cup games.

Finally - I said I had a plan at the start of the season..................

It has been accomplished - all to be revealed.

000000

As for Portugal we have been given our draw for the European Championships and we will play France, Republic of Ireland and Slovenia which is a tricky group.

Not as tricky as our Nations League group though - Slovenia again but also Belgium and Italy!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JOAO FELIX

--

LIGA NOS

​

 

[Klippybo]

Fernando Cruz
1959-70
Defender
344 apps, 1 goal

Cruz is another member of the great Benfica sides to win back to back European Cups. He also won 8 league titles and 4 Portuguese cups and ended his career with a season for the newly formed Paris Saint-Germain. He only won 11 caps for Portugal.

--

MAY

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara (Sanches), Tsygankov*, Felix, Everton (Embalo) (Almada), Dembele

I am naturally delighted that we won but I am seriously ****** off that we conceded a late away goal. We then missed a few chances afterwards. Overall we fully deserved the win and while we have a narrow advantage there is still a lot of work to do.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Morato, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez*, Luis, Sanches (Bernardo), Tsygankov (Salvador), Ramos, Almada, Petric (Quintas)

We got off to a perfect start here with Ramirez netting after just 34secs and Almada converted a penalty to make things comfortable. Moussa Sissoko is plying his trade with Belenenses and he pulled a goal back but we were never really in trouble.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo*, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Embalo, Dembele (Petric)

WE REACH THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL!!!!!!!!!!

We put in a great performance here and totally outplayed Man Utd. They couldnt cope with us and we fully deserved the victory. We scored a stunning first goal after we played the ball out from the back and kept possession before playing a long ball over the top and Embalo ran onto it and half volleyed it into the far top corner. Grimaldo scrambled a 2nd goal just afterwards.

Can the curse be lifted????

This win actually gives us a place in the Club World Cup which is nice.

--

Lineup - Svilar, Tavares, Morato, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis (Bernardo), Sanches, Tsygankov, Almada, Embalo, Petric (Ramos)

We were rocked before this match as my keeper, Luis Cerqueria, broke a finger in training and will therefore miss the 2 cup finals although he will be back fit for Portugal in Euro 2024. This match was a nothing match although I am disappointed not to win.

--

Taca de Portugal Final

Lineup - Svilar, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Sanches (Bernardo), Antony*, Felix, Everton (Almada), Dembele (Petric)

We win the Taca de Portugal thanks to a double from Antony. He struck twice in the first half and it was game over and I would like to think that my players knew that and took their foot off the gas.

Now for the big one.............

--

UEFA Champions League Final

Lineup - Svilar, Tavares (Semedo), Dias (Sebahattin Sahinoglu), Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Almada), Camara, Antony, Felix, Everton, Dembele

THE CURSE IS BROKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT A FINAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT A COMEBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unbelievable. I dont think I have ever seen a final like it. Going into the game I looked at their lineup and fancied our chances as apart from Donnarumma, Fabio Silva and maybe Lucas Paqueta I would say that my players were at least as the same level as their opponent.

We fell behind early doors when Luiz Felipe headed home from a set piece but we quickly levelled through the same fashion with Dembele heading in. Then although we were matching Milan they went 4-1 up with Fabio Silva constantly getting in behind our defence as he scored twice and missed a couple of opportunities and when Lucas Paqueta netted a 4th in the 2nd half it was game over.

Or was it??????

Everton scored a stunning goal and then Alex Grimaldo fired in a couple of minutes later and it was game on. I made a triple substitution replacing 2 defenders who were woeful and also taking off the defensive minded Florentino Luis for the more attack minded Thiago Almada and it worked wonders.

Dembele scored an equaliser for his 30th of the season and then in the final minute Ferro nodded home to give us a momentous victory and to lift the curse!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--

SUMMARY

I cant believe that we have broken the curse. As I type this I am overjoyed and smiling like a Cheshire cat!!!! We won the Champions League by beating AC Milan having been 4-1 down with under half an hour to go but we fought back and amazingly won it.

To win it this season is definitely a huge surprise as with my "plan" I had earmarked next year to be seriously challenging for it but we have done it and beaten the boards expectations by 6 years!!!!!!

Oh and we also won the Taca de Portugal lol.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ALEX GRIMALDO

​

 

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

What a season this was!!!! I had my lowest points as a manager and also my highest point and while domestically we did worse but better (doesnt make sense but does make sense lol) than last season but in Europe we were unbelievable and came out as European Champions!!!!!!

Firstly the league - While we won it by a comfortable 5pts (although that is compared to 12pts from last season) I was always confident that the league would be won. We dominated most teams as usual and racked up a 9-0 win over Vilafranquense (more about them later), Setubal 7-1, Braga 6-0 and Porto 4-0 away however after going 82 league games unbeaten we lost 3-1 to Sporting Lisbon and also lost 1-0 to Pacos de Ferreira with my own player, Joao Resende scoring the only goal.

As for the domestic cups we claimed the Supertaca and also won the Taca de Portugal by beating FC Porto in both finals. The Taca de Portugal was won with us defeating Sporting Lisbon on penalties before thrashing Vitoria Guimaraes in the semis and then we won 2-0 in the final thanks to an Antony double. Now the Allianz Cup. We got into the final to play against soon to be relegated Vilafranquense and we lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw with us having about 30 shots and them having 1 which was a 25 yard free-kick which found the top corner. I was ******* livid.

And then there was Europe........

AND WE BROKE THE GUTTMANN CURSE AND WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!!!!!!

What a success. I thought that we would get to the latter stages but the draw was partly kind and my players pulled out all the stops before winning a crazy final. In the group stages we were poor as we drew with Lyon twice, got humped by Liverpool although we did beat them 2-0 too and scraped 2 wins against PSV to finish 2nd in the group.

Then Christmas came and confidence was low but we clicked into gear in February and we thumped Dortmund 3-0 in the first leg to sail through to the quarter-finals where we faced Liverpool. We then won 1-0 in both legs and we were in the semis and we came up against a Man Utd side who I fancied our chances against. We won 2-1 at home with them getting a late away goal which was murder but we were magnificent in the 2nd leg and won 2-0 with Embalo scoring a cracker and into the final we went.....................

We faced AC Milan and came out on top in a 9 goal thriller as we came from 4-1 down with under half an hour to play to win 5-4. It was an incredible match and one that I will never forget. When Ferro nodded home the 94th minute winner to win the cup I roared and jumped out of my seat which scared both my cat and girlfriend lol.

As for the B team they also had a crazy season. In the first 11 matches they only won 2 yet despite that they won the league and only lost 2 matches as they came on strong towards the end and won the league on the last day of the season. They drew far to many games but Quintas, Marques, Matos, Salvador and Brito impressed.

In off the field news our stadium is getting renovated again and we will soon have a stadium that holds 80,000 spectators. It cost a bomb but I made nearly £250m in the transfer market this season so it is more than covered.

--

LIGA NOS

--

SQUAD

Goalkeepers - I used 3 this season!!!! Luis Cerqueira had his first season and I feel sorry for him as despite doing well he got injured at the end of the season and missed the 2 cup finals so Mile Svilar came in and has his place in history despite playing in only 4 games this season.

Defenders - Nelson Semedo started the season as my right back but he got injured and Tomas Tavares took over and is now my first choice RB. Alex Grimaldo was his usual superb self at LB and scored in the Champions League final while in the middle DIas and Ferro were superb as usual. Gonzalo Ramirez really came on while I would have liked to have played Sebahattin Sahinoglu more.

Midfielders - My first choice CM pairing were chalk and cheese. Luis stayed back, didnt score any goals and was a solid 7.0 every match it seemed but young Ronaldo Camara was immense as he scored 12 goals and was our player of the season. Renato Sanches regressed a bit and Paulo Bernardo was mainly used as a sub.

On the left wing Everton was decent while Embalo really kicked on as he got a few goals including a stunning goal in the Champions League semis. On the other side Antony came in for £83m and impressed as he scored plenty of goals and I think he can still improve. At AMC Joao Felix was my top scorer in the league albeit he was helped by the fact he scored 11 penalties on his way to 20 goals. Almada and Tsygankov were used regularly but mainly as subs.

Forwards - Moussa Dembele, despite scoring 30 goals this season, had a poor season and over the Christmas period he was a waste of time but he bounced back and scored some crucial goals in the Champions League including 2 in the final. Zoran Petric was his backup and the Serbian wonderkid, despite having amazing stats, was poor and I expect a much better performance next term.

My Player of the Year - Ronaldo Camara
My Young Player of the Year - Ronaldo Camara
Must Improve - Renato Sanches
Donkey of the Year - Zoran Petric

--

SUMMER PLANS

I started the season with a plan and I have followed through with that plan which will be revealed very shortly. I would say though that from the despair in January when we were rock bottom to the joy of winning the Champions League there will be several changes in the squad. In fact I can picture at least 1 new player in the first XI and maybe we can get a 2nd

Exciting times are ahead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

0000000

Regarding the Portuguese national team we will be playing in Euro 2024 but I have also decided to take control of the U23 side in the Olympics so a big Portugal post will be upcoming in the next day or so!!!!!​

 

[anej]

The team seems very weak in the goalkeeper and striker positions. No wonder the team keeps getting FM'ed.

Exciting save and story to read, brilliant work.

 

[Klippybo]

PORTUGAL

Friendly

Lineup - Lopes, T.Tavares (Cancelo), Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro (N.Tavares), Luis (Baro), Camara, B.Silva*, Felix, Guedes, Leao (Diogo Jota)

--

PORTUGAL SQUAD FOR EURO 2024

Goalkeepers​

NAME	AGE	CLUB	POS	VALUE	CAPS	GOALS
Luis CERQUEIRA	20	SL Benfica	GK	£15.75M	5	0
Diogo COSTA	24	FC Porto	GK	£2.4M	17	0
Anthony LOPES	33	Lyon	GK	£3.8M	28	0

Defenders​

NAME	AGE	CLUB	POS	VALUE	CAPS	GOALS
Joao CANCELO	30	Manchester City	DR	£70M	57	5
Ruben DIAS	27	SL Benfica	DC	£41.5M	70	6
FERRO	27	SL Benfica	DC	£38.5M	42	3
Raphael GUERREIRO	30	Borussia Dortmund	DL	£43M	76	2
Diogo LEITE	25	FC Porto	DC	£15M	2	0
Nuno TAVARES	24	Barcelona	DL	£22M	8	0
Tomas TAVARES	23	SL Benfica	DR	£36M	5	0
David VINHAS	21	AC Milan	DC	£21M	1	0

Midfielders​

NAME	AGE	CLUB	POS	VALUE	CAPS	GOALS
Romario BARO	24	Manchester City	MC	£59M	3	0
Ronaldo CAMARA	21	SL Benfica	M/AMC	£44.5M	5	1
Joao FELIX	24	SL Benfica	AMLC/ST	£45.5M	44	14
Bruno FERNANDES	29	Manchester United	M/AMC	£70M	39	4
Goncalo GUEDES	27	AC Milan	AMRL/ST	£61M	63	22
Florentino LUIS	24	SL Benfica	MC	£43.5M	45	2
RAFA	31	Arsenal	AMRLC	£44M	56	8
Renato SANCHES	26	SL Benfica	MC	£43M	40	7
Bernardo SILVA	29	Paris Saint-Germain	AMRC	£88M	88	16

Forwards​

NAME	AGE	CLUB	POS	VALUE	CAPS	GOALS
DIOGO JOTA	27	Wolverhampton Wanderers	AML/ST	£38.5M	30	8
Rafael LEAO	24	Real Madrid	ST	£62M	36	7
Fabio SILVA	21	AC Milan	ST	£61M	26	11

--

2024 UEFA European Championships

Group F

Lineup - Lopes, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro (N.Tavares), Luis, Camara, B.Silva, Felix (Fernandes), Guedes*, F.Silva (Leao)

A good start to our competition although we took a while to get going and I suppose with a penalty and an own goal we were also a tad fortunate.

--

Lineup - Lopes, T.Tavares (Cancelo), Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro, Luis, Camara, B.Silva*, Felix (Fernandes), Guedes, F.Silva

We secure our progress into the next round with this win as we raced into a 4 goal lead and it was game over. We then missed a penalty from Fabio Silva and that changed the momentum and Ireland pulled 2 goals back but they were never going to level things up.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, N.Tavares, Luis*, Camara, Rafa, Felix (Fernandes), Diogo Jota, Leao (F.Silva)

I rested a couple of players here as we were already through and although we lost we performed quite well but just couldnt convert our chances.

--

2nd Round

Lineup - Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro (N.Tavares), Luis, Camara, B.Silva (Rafa), Felix, Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva (Leao)

Through we go as we gain a great win over Spain. We fell behind against the run of play when Ansu Fati (a trnasfer target of mine) converted a penalty. We kept on going at them and levelled when Diogo Jota came off the bench to score with a looping header. The game went into extra-time and I was about to sub Bernardo Silva when we were given a penalty. Silva converted and I immediately took him off and we held on to win.

--

Quarter-Finals

Lineup - Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro, Baro, Sanches, Rafa, Felix (Fernandes), Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva (Leao)

Into the semis we go with a narrow victory over Denmark. We both traded disallowed goals before we got the lead late on through Leao. Diogo Jota sealed things and although they pulled a goal back and there was 6min of injury time we managed to cling on.

--

Semi-Finals

Lineup - Cerqueira, Cancelo, Leite, Vinhas, N.Tavares, Baro (Sanches), Camara, B.Silva, Fernandes (Rafa), Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva (Leao)

What a boring semi-final this was!!!!

This was a thriller and we came out on top in a 9 goal game and knock out the holders. We were exceptional going forward and had nearly 40 attempts on goal but the decision to rest my entire back 4 nearly backfired as Ukraine scored 4 goals and always looked dangerous. When we fell behind in extra-time I thought we were doomed but Bernardo Silva levelled, then missed a penalty, before Leao headed in the winner.

--

Final

Lineup - Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro, Luis, Sanches* (Camara), Rafa, Felix, Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva (Leao)

WE ARE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!

We controlled this match right from the start and scored an early opener through Guedes. He soon went off injured but our dominance remained however we missed a penalty when Joao Felix put it straight at the keeper - he has had an awful tournament. They had a man sent-off and that made things easier for us.


​

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON POST

With the European Championships and the Olympics going on Benfica took a little bit of a back seat but that was ok as I had completed my plan that was set out at the beginning of last season but was not revealed - until now.................

In the summer I obliterated our transfer record and that was the completion of my plan which was pre-arranged in March I think and I also brought in a top notch regen. I spent a total of £263m this season which is unheard of in the Portugese league but I recouped £220m so with plenty in the bank already I could easily afford that. Even having spent all that I still have nearly £100m to spend but with £65m in the bank balance I dont want to go into the red.

I dont know if I have mentioned this already but my stadium is being upgraded again and we will have a 80,000 capacity stadium when the work is done.

Now for the transfers.........

--

PLAYERS OUT

Firstly I have to mention 2 crazy bids. PSG bid an astonishing £197m for my backup CB, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, and Man City offered £181m for Ruben Dias!!!!!!! I admit that I was tempted but I didnt overly need the money and I wanted to keep them so thats what I did.

My biggest transfer fee received was the initial £47m - rising to £60m for Hugo Silva. He was a signing from my director of football and that came at a big cost as Braga got over £20m when I sold him on!!!!! He looked like a terrific CM but he never played a game for me and I thought I should cash in.

Morato left to join Schalke 04 for £32.5m (£40m) which is a great price for someone who hardly played for me. The same goes for Mile Svilar who left to join Schalke for £30m. Nelson Semedo also left for £30m to join Real Madrid as he had reached 30 years of age and lost his place in the first team. He was magnificent for me though as he scored 19 goals in 180 games.

A huge surprising move is the loan move of Moussa Dembele. Nobody wanted to buy him permanently and despite the fact he scored 30 goals plus in the last 2 seasons there was no takers so I loaned him to Spurs for £1.5m and they are covering 50% of his wages.

Jonny Budinauckas, Umaro Embalo, Joao Resende, Diogo Nascimento and Goncalo Quintas are amongst the other players who were loaned out for a decent fee.

--

PLAYERS IN

So now to reveal the plan. There was one player that I would always move heaven and earth to sign and after raising the cash and a few failed attempts I finally got my man. He comes with a huge financial cost - so much so that I need to sell about £60m per season from now on just to cover it but he will be worth it..........................

KYLIAN MBAPPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a signing!!!!! I had him in my Newcastle save where he played RW and scored 40 goals a season but he will play up front here so I am expecting big things. At £185m and £500k a week and with weekly bonuses and a huge amount of bonuses we will need to cover that with transfer fees but the fact I have brought him in is super exciting. I agreed to sign him before we won the Champions League thinking that he would win it for us so he is now here to retain it!!!!

Next up is a RB as with Semedo leaving and with there not being a standout prospect in that position in my minor squads I went out searching for a reasonably priced promising young full back to be back up to Tomas Tavares. I couldnt find one. I did however find a 20y/o wonderkid full back who cost a bomb that is better than Tavares!!!!

I paid Rennes £60m for Moumouni Ongoiba. It was about £20m more than I was willing to pay tbh but then Barcelona matched my bid and I knew I had to go through with it. Ongoiba is super quick, technically good, excellent defensively and looks like a world beater. He does need to improve with regards to going forward but that will surely happen.

My only other signing for the first team was Danilo Rita who came in from Vitoria Setubal for £11.5m. He is a Portuguese wonderkid keeper and will be my backup to Luis Cerqueira. I didnt care much for the transfer fee but needs must.

Other than that it was a case of signing a few players on pre-contract deals to be sold on for huge profit (Rhian Brewster £20m, Ferran Torres £13m, Lucas Robertone is out on loan before being sold) and I also brought in 8 young kids from around the world for under £10m in total to hopefully develop and to make a profit on.

--

SEASON AIMS & FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Regarding the season aims I want to get back to us having an undefeated league campaign and thats about it. Everything else can take care of itself alhough as the Champions League holders there is a target on our back now and the board want me to reach the semis at a minimum.

As for the first team squad there are several changes and a few promotions. Rita comes in as my backup keeper and Ongoiba is my new RB while in central defence I think I might have to break up the Dias/Ferro partnership and give Sebahattin Sahinoglu a regular run in the side. His national team counterpart, Nick Strijbosch, has been promoted to the first team after a good loan spell with PSV and he looks the business too.....

The only other promotion is that of Hugo Lasso, a young Colombian left winger who was on loan at Juventus last season. I had planned to sell him and received bids of £35m but upon scrutinising his stats I felt that it was only fair that I should give him a season with us hence why I loaned out Embalo who had really done nothing wrong.

And of course there is a small matter of my new striker - Kylian Mbappe..............


​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

That will sort out the weak front line haha!

 

[Froug]

Okay wow - what a transfer window lol. Somehow it really does overshadow the achievement of a European Championship and a Champions League win. You have broken the curse though, so what's up next?

 

[Klippybo]

Francisco Albino
1932-45
Midfielder
343 apps, 21 goals

Albino spent his entire career with Benfica and amassed a fair collection of trophies with 6 league titles and 3 Portuguese Cups amonsgst others. He played 10 times for Portugal too.

--

AUGUST

Supertaca

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara*, Tsygankov, Felix (Almada), Everton (Lasso), Petric (Nielsen)

No debuts for Ongoiba or Mbappe today as mainly due to the Olympics I was without them as well as Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Strijbosch, Rita, Antony, Bernardo and Ramos.In the end we got a narrow one nil victory thanks to a goal from Everton and its another trophy to my name.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Luis, Camara, Tsygankov (Lasso), Felix (Ramos), Everton, Petric*

I still had a load of players missing here but we won comfortably with Zoran Petric netting a double - I think he will be one of the best strikers in the world if he develops. They had a goal disallowed.

--

UEFA European Super Cup

Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Tsygankov (Petric), Felix (Ramos), Everton (Lasso), Mbappe

Hey - I thought the curse was broken!!!!

This was an even match and an entertaining one but we threw it away in the final few minutes. We took the lead in extra-time when Ongoiba passed it into Mbappe (who had been shifted out to the RW) and he cut inside and arrowed a shot into the far top corner for a debut goal. Unfortunately though we conceded 2 set piece goals which is criminal.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro (Strijbosch), Ramirez, Bernardo, Sanches, Tsygankov (Ramos), Felix, Everton (Lasso), Petric

The European Super Cup took it out of so many of my players so another weakened side went out here and the unveiling of Mbappe to Portugal will have to wait. We didnt struggle it is fair to say as we scored 5 and had a goal disallowed to boot! Petric scored another double, and Lasso scored his first goals for the club with a curled free-kick and a fine finish - both from outside of the area.

Felix is still selected as my main penalty taker despite Mbappe being quite a bit better but Felix hasnt let me down so far and I will do it as a sudden death scenario - if he misses, Mbappe takes over and vice versa.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo*, Luis, Camara (Sanches), Mbappe, Felix, Everton (Lasso), Petric

Mbappe made his domestic debut here and played on the RW as I couldnt drop Petric in his current form and he scored his 5th goal of the season - the same as he got last season in about 40 appearances!!!! Mbappe was very disappointing but Petric scored a goal. Grimaldo set up both goals.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis (Salas), Bernardo, Mbappe*, Felix (Almada), Everton (Lasso), Petric

A comfortable victory as we put 5 past Belenenses and Kylian Mbappe got his first domestic goals for the club. Petric scored again while Bernardo got his first Benfica goal. Alfonso Salas came off the bench to make his debut.

--

SUMMARY

The opening month of the season has been pretty good. We won the Supertaca but lost out to Man City in the European Super Cup, quite harshly, but in the league we have started off brilliantly as we have won all of our matches and have been rattling in the goals.

Zoran Petric has taken his chance. So much so that when Mbappe was available I had to play him on the right wing with Antony being out injured facilitating that and my Serbian striker scored 6 goals - 1 more than last season!!! Mbappe naturally started well and got a debut goal and things are looking good.

I made another signing too as I paid £10.75m to bring in 18y/o Mexican central midfielder, Alfonso Salas, to the club. I didnt want to pay the release fee but Liverpool made their move and I jumped onboard and managed to get the deal done. He is on a fairly big wage and I had planned to loan him out but that was rejected as he had already played for 2 clubs so he will be part of my first team squad for the season.

In the Champions League we go into it as the reigning Champions and we have been given a tricky draw alongside Manchester United, Atalanta and Hertha Berlin.

Finally I signed a new contract but my assistant manager retired so I promoted my B team manager, Rui Faria, to become my new assistant manager.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ZORAN PETRIC

--

LIGA NOS

​

 

[FreddieInsane]

Great save! Not easy to play in Portugal

 

[Klippybo]

Maxi Pereira
2007-15
Defender
333 apps, 21 goals

Signed from Defensor Sporting for £2.5m, Uruguayan right back Pereira spent 8 years with Benfica. With the club he won 3 league titles, 1 Portuguese Cup and 6 League Cups. He represented Uruguay 125 times, scoring 3 goals and upon the expiry of his contract he signed for FC Porto!!

--

SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Mbappe, Felix (Almada), Everton (Antony), Petric*

Zoran Petric is on fire!!!!! His hat-trick here means it is 9 goals in 5 league games and I just cant drop him at the moment! Antony, who is a definite first team pick, is back from injury but is on the bench as Mbappe is on the RW and Petric is up front banging in the goals.

--

UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Bernardo, Sanches, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Petric (Ramos)

I am naturally disappointed with this result as we concede an injury time goal to lose. We performed quite well considering we were without my first choice central midfield pairing and Kylian Mbappe.

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Ferro, Strijbosch, Ramirez, Sanches (Bernardo), Camara, Mbappe, Felix, Everton*, Petric (Antony)

A nice win but Petric failed to score for the first time in the league - it may be harsh but he will be dropped for the next league match lol. My first choice back 4 were all unfit for this game.

--

Allianz Cup 3rd Phase Group D

Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Ferro, Strijbosch, Ramirez, Sanches, Bernardo (Salas), Tsygankov (Salvador), Almada (Ramos), Lasso*, Petric

This was sweet revenge after they defeated us in last years final although that was sweet revenge from when we beat them 9-0!

--

Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara*, Antony, Felix, Everton (Almada), Mbappe (Petric)

What a waste of money Mbappe is!!!! lol. He flattered to deceive here and was replaced by Petric who immediately headed home for out 3rd goal.

--

SUMMARY

We had another strong month. Domestically we won every match without conceding a goal but in the Champions League we lost 2-1 to Man Utd which was both harsh and disappointing.

My record signing, Kylian Mbappe, really needs to pull his finger out of his **** though. He hasnt been bad but I expect more from a world class player against the domestic sides. Zoran Petric has certainly outshone him so far but I have faith in him. 30 goals minimum is the aim for him.

I may have a new president next month as the elections are underway - lets see what that brings!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ZORAN PETRIC

--

LIGA NOS

--

PORTUGAL

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2

Lineup - Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro (N.Tavares) (Cancelo), Luis, Neves, B.Silva, Felix (Embalo), Diogo Jota, F.Silva*

WOW!!!!!!!!

This was our first game since being crowned European Champions and we put on a show. Fabio Silva tore the Belgians apart and helped himself to 4 goals as we romped to victory. Umaro Embalo came off the bench to make his international debut here.

--

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2

Lineup - Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Vinagre*, Baro, Camara, Neto, Felix (Fernandes), Diogo Jota (Embalo), F.Silva

We take charge of the group with a great away win over Italy. The teams were evenly matched and Italy had a goal disallowed but it was us who came out on top with Pedro Neto's first goal for his country being the winner.​