SL Benfica - Breaking the Guttmann Curse

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?

I will keep on trucking with this until FM21. FIFA 21 is out soon (took a year off that) so the XBOX will come back into the fore much more!
 
I would imagine that a better goalkeeper is all you need now to have the perfect team. Seems like an invincible team in all other positions.
 
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Rogerio Pipi
1942-54
Forward
320 apps, 212 goals

Despite his impressive scoring rate for Benfica, Pipi only scored twice in 15 games for Portugal. He had two spells with Benfica and won 3 league titles and 3 Portuguese Cups. He died last year aged 97.


--

OCTOBER

UEFA Champions League Group H
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Lineup
- Cerqueria, Ongoiba (Tavares), Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Sanches (Bernardo), Antony*, Felix, Everton, Mbappe

A great victory as Antony scored a fantastic hat-trick as he put in a performance that I expect of Mbappe who scored the opener.

--

Allianz Cup 3rd Phase Group D
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Tavares, Strijbosch, Ferro, Ramirez, Bernardo, Sanches (Salas), Tsygankov, Almada*, Lasso (Ramos), Petric (Nielsen)

The backups came out to play and they won on the day. Thiago Almada scored twice to get his first goals of the season and that was that.

--

Taca de Portugal 3rd Round
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Tavares, Strijbosch, Ferro, Ramirez, Bernardo, Sanches, Tsygankov, Almada, Lasso, Petric*

We score 10!!!!!

What a performance. Everyone was excellent which was proved by the fact that I didnt make a sub. If you had said at the start of the season after signing Mbappe that my top scorers in mid October were Petric on 15 and Lasso on 7 I would have thought that you were crazy but there you go.


--

UEFA Champions League Group H
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Luis (Salas), Camara, Mbappe*, Felix, Lasso, Petric

Very nice. Mbappe scored a hat-trick to add to the 2 scored in our last match. Petric scored yet again as we romped to victory.

--

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

WHAT THE **** IS THIS??

FLORENTINO LUIS SCORING TWICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luis hadnt scored in the last 2 seasons yet he pops up with a double here. Unbelievable.

--

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

Disappointing. We lose our 100% record and also concede our first league goals of the campaign. Despite the game finishing level and with us being behind twice we were by far the better side and should have won.

--

SUMMARY

We didnt struggle for goals this month thats for sure. 10 were put past Sintrense in the cup just for a start! We are playing well although our 2-2 draw against Porto was annoying. I am struggling to field a settle side however as with the Euros and Olympics both happening in the summer my players are constantly picking up niggling injuries and in the league I think I have fielded my first choice XI just once (against Famalicao).

My president was re-elected for another term in charge so that was nice while my B team are ripping up the 2nd tier as is their want.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
THIAGO ALMADA
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--

LIGA NOS
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--

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PORTUGAL

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup
- Wesley Fernando, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro (N.Tavares), Luis, Neves*, Neto, Felix (Camara), Guedes, F.Silva (Quintas)

A standard victory. I gave a debut to Wesley Fernando of Chelsea who was a Brazilian wonderkid but now is a Portuguese wonderkid lol.

--

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Cancelo, Dias, Ferro, N.Tavares, Luis*, Camara, B.Silva, Felix, Diogo Jota (Fernandes), F.Silva (Quintas)

Now obviously this wasnt as impressive as the 6-0 home victory but it comes close as we went to Belgium and thumped them yet again.
 
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Gaspar Pinto
1934-46
Defender
318 apps, 6 goals

In 11 seasons with Benfica, Pinto won 6 league titles and 2 Portuguese cups as well as 7 caps for Portugal.


--

NOVEMBER

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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Mbappe

What a crazy match!!!

We went into the break 2-0 down and I was livid and let my players have it and they duly responded with 3 goals in a 9 minute spell to put us in front. Tsygankov also had a goal disallowed just after our 3rd. Mbappe sealed things in stoppage time but they still had time to pull a goal back and Plata completed his hat-trick.

--

UEFA Champions League Group H
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis, Camara*, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Mbappe (Petric)

A narrow victory but a victory is a victory and I will gladly accept it.

--

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

Not good enough. We just havent clicked yet this season and although we are unbeaten I expected much more given my transfers in the summer. Especially since it came at such a cost financially!

--

Taca de Portugal 4th Round
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Tavares, Strijbosch*, Ferro, Ramirez, Bernardo, Sanches (Neto), Tsygankov (Salvador), Almada, Lasso, Petric

We scrape through here. Out came my backups although in my backup XI I had 4 Portugal internationals, 1 Dutch, 2 Argentinians, 1 Serbian, 1 Ukrainian and 1 Colombian. The only player who isnt capped is Paulo Bernardo.


--

UEFA Champions League Group H
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez (Grimaldo), Luis, Camara, Antony, Felix (Almada), Everton (Petric), Mbappe*

Kylian Mbappe's excellent hat-trick wins us this match and puts us in pole position for winning the group. He has scored 7 goals in the Champions League this season - 2 more than he has managed in the league.

--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias (Ferro), Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Mbappe

We scrambled to victory here with a quickfire double from Mbappe helping us over the line. Less than convincing though.

--

SUMMARY

We stumbled along this month and tbh things need to improve. We scraped victories and drew with Braga but my attacking players need to get going. Joao Felix has been a disgrace for both club and country and that situation needs to be sorted while Antony is a bit hit and miss. Everton I have no complaints about while Mbappe does seem to be finding his feet but I want all 4 to click.

We actually played much better earlier in the season with Mbappe on the RW and Petric up front lol.

We shall see what December brings.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KYLIAN MBAPPE
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--

LIGA NOS
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--

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PORTUGAL

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Cancelo, Vinhas, Ferro, Guerreiro (N.Tavares), Baro, Sanches, Neto*, Felix (Fernandes), Guedes, F.Silva (Leao)

This win secures our qualification to the knockout stages. We could have won it by even more as Fabio Silva had a goal disallowed and missed a penalty.

--

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, N.Tavares (Vinagre), Luis, Camara (Baro), B.Silva*, Felix (Fernandes), Diogo Jota, F.Silva

We finish off the group stage by beating Italy 2-1 and therefore ending the group with a 100% record.
 
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Carlos Manuel
1979-88
Defender
318 apps, 58 goals

Signed from Barreirense, Manuel was key member of the Benfica side of the 1980s and he won 4 league titles and 6 Portuguese Cups. He left to join FC Sion but returned to Portugal just 5 months later with Sporting Lisbon! He went on to have a long managerial career and for Portugal he won 42 caps and scored 8 goals.


--

DECEMBER

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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Ferro, Sebahattin Sahinoglu (Strijbosch), Grimaldo, Luis, Camara (Sanches), Antony, Felix, Everton (Almada), Mbappe

Where have all the goals gone????? I am getting really worried now. Surely we should be thrashing teams at home. Mbappe got the goal but Felix missed an early penalty.

--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Ferro, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix*, Everton (Ramos), Mbappe

Thats much better!!!! We thrash Setubal here and Joao Felix was unplayable - he scored 4 (2 free-kicks, a penalty and a header) and assisted 2 while Mbappe also scored twice and for good measure Goncalo Ramos came off the bench to grab a double.

The quality of our goals was amazing as we somehow managed to score 8 with just 1 clear cut chance created!!!!!


--

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

I put my faith in my backups here to win the group for us which was a big risk but they did brilliantly. We were getting battered in the first half though and should have been a couple of goals down but Petric scored and that changed everything. Ramos netted a 2nd, Petric scored again and then he got a penalty to complete his hat-trick.

--

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

FFS. Another bad day at the office. To be fair Santa Clara have been the surprise package of the season and sit in 4th place. The reason? My on loan striker Joao Resende. He scored twice against us last season so at least we kept him out here.

--

Taca de Portugal 5th Round
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Tavares, Ferro, Strijbosch, Ramirez, Salas, Sanches, Tsygankov (Nielsen), Almada (Ramos), Lasso, Petric*

A comfortable win for my backups. Petric scored twice to move up to 21 for the season - not bad for a backup striker! He also had one disallowed as did Strijbosch.

--

Allianz Cup 3rd Phase Group D
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Tavares, Ferro, Strijbosch, Ramirez, Bernardo*, Sanches, Tsygankov, Almada (Ramos), Lassa, Petric (Nielsen)

Paulo Bernardo's late goal from long range was enough for us to win the match and qualify for the semis.

--

SUMMARY

It seems that each month we have one or two standout performances, a few scraped victories and a disappointing draw lol. That was certainly the case this month as we own 8-0 against Vitoria Setubal and also thumped Atalanta 4-0 away in the Champions League with my backups yet we drew 0-0 with Santa Clara in the league.

We are still doing well though. Top of the league and still in all cup competitions everything is looking good although in the Champions League we have been given a horror draw against Liverpool - although we did beat them in last years quarter-finals.

As for the end of year awards it seems that Benfica players are finally getting recognised........

Ballon D'Or - Kylian Mbappe
World Player of the Year - Kylian Mbappe
Kepa Trophy - Zoran Petric
World Goalkeeper of the Year - Luis Cerqueira
World Team of the Year - Luis Cerqueira, Kylian Mbappe
European Golden Boy - Zoran Petric

Now obviously I can only claim a part of Kylian Mbappe's exploits however Zoran Petric and Luis Cerqueira was all me lol.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ZORAN PETRIC
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--

LIGA NOS
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Minervino PietralI
1976-86
Defender
313 apps, 24 goals

Pietra was signed from Belenenses and spent the rest of his career with Benfica, winning 4 league titles and 5 Portuguese Cups. He also earned 28 caps for Portugal, scoring once and in the game he was my assistant manager until this season when he retired.


--

JANUARY

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

We kick-off 2025 in fine style as we smash 8 past Maritimo which is the second time we have won 8-0 in our last 3 league matches. Amazingly we scored 8 goals and Mbappe didnt get a single goal! I was pleased that Antony got a brace - he needs to score more regularly this season as last year he got 18 and he has 7 so far this term.

--

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

No 8 goals here but Antony netted again.

--

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

A comfortable victory. Ronaldo Camara got a goal which he needs to do more often as he got into double figures last season. My old player, Henrique Jocu, got sent-off against us here which made things easier.

--

Taca de Portugal Quarter-Final
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Tavares (Matos), Strijbosch, Ferro, Ramirez, Bernardo (Salas), Sanches, Tsygankov, Almada*, Lasso, Petric (Ramos)

We storm into the semis with this 5 goal victory. Lasso also had a goal disallowed so it could have been 6-0.

--

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

Alex Grimaldo got his first goals of the season here as he starred in this match. We have kept 7 clean sheets in a row now in the league.

--

Allianz Cup Semi-Final
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu (Ferro), Grimaldo, Luis, Sanches*, Antony (Petric), Felix (Almada), Everton, Mbappe

We struggled here but we won thanks to Zoran Petric who came off the bench to score the winner.

--

Allianz Cup Final
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba (Tavares), Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis*, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix, Everton (Petric), Mbappe

We win the Allianz Cup in yet another tight match. The game was settled when Joao Felix converted a penalty. Thereafter we huffed and puffed but couldnt add to our tally.


--

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Lineup - Cerqueir,a, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony, (Tsygankov) Felix (Almada), Everton, Mbappe (Petric)

We put in another poor performance here and salvaged a point when Tsygankov headed in in stoppage time. It was a great moment and kept up our unbeaten start to the season.


--

SUMMARY

We started this month on fire but performances dropped towards the end of the month but we still managed to get through the month unbeaten and we picked up the Allianz Cup which was a nice boost.

There were a few transfer moves. Kaio Jorge was signed on a pre-contract deal and was immediately sold on for £20m. I really needed to raise some funds as with £283m of transfer fees being spent and with increased wages etc the clubs bank balance was deep in the red for the first time.

With that in mind I let Paulo Bernardo join Spurs for £73m. To get such a fee for my 4th choice CM is quite something and considering he only played 32 times for me I was happy to cash in. With Alfonso Salas in the squad we have adequate cover.

As for signings I brought in 4 cheap regens for my B team while the best one is this lad.
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In other news the stadiums expansion work was completed and our capacity is now up to 80,000 which will help the bank balance a bit.

At present the clubs bank balance is at £22m so unless we win the Champions League again we will probably end the season with a debt of £30-40m. However I have players to sell on such as Moussa Dembele and Lucas Robertone while decisions will have to be made on Diogo Nascimento, Jonny Budinauckas, Umaro Embalo, Hugo Lasso and Joao Resende amongst others.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RONALDO CAMARA
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--

LIGA NOS
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Fernando Chalana
1975-84 & 1987-90
Forward
310 apps, 47 goals

Twice Portuguese footballer of the year, Chalana had 2 spells with Benfica with an injury ravaged spell with Bordeaux in between. He won 6 league titles and 2 Portuguese cups while at Benfica and also earned 27 caps (2 goals)for Portugal. He was caretaker and assistant manager with Benfica when his playing career ended.


--

FEBRUARY

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

Ronaldo Camara was on fire here as he scored a hat-trick. He has been short on goals this season so this was a much needed boost for his tally.

--

Taca de Portugal Semi-Final 1st Leg
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba (Tavares), Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Sanches, Camara, Antony (Petric), Felix (Almada), Everton, Mbappe

Pathetic. This was shocking. Despite having 63% possession we were woeful and Sporting Lisbon should have won by 5 or 6. We are all but out of the Taca de Portugal now unless we get a miraculous result in the 2nd leg.


--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba (Tavares), Ferro, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Sanches (Salas), Antony*, Felix, Everton (Almada), Mbappe

We bounce back with another 4-0 win but we need another result like this in our next match. Antony and Mbappe got doubles with Antony's 2nd goal being the goal of the game as he bent the ball into the top corner from 25 yards.

--

Taca de Portugal Semi-Final 2nd Leg
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix, Lasso (Almada), Mbappe*

ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!

Somehow we are in the final as we stun Sporting Lisbon. With a 3-0 deficit from the first leg it was game over when they scored sfter just 3min but we went into half-time 2-1 up and still way off from going through.

However in the 2nd half we were magnificent. Mbappe broke free to score our 3rd and when Camara scored from distance to put us level on aggregate but behind on away goals the comeback was well and truly on but my heart was broken when they scored again meaning that we needed 2 goals in the final 13min.

And we only went and ****** got them!!! Tsygankov headed in our 5th and then Thiago Almada thundered a shot into the top corner from 30 yards to send us into the final and me screaming at my kitchen table lol.

--

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

Another superb performance from Ronaldo Camara helped us win this match which started dreadfully for us as Kylian Mbappe went off injured in just the first minute.

--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara*, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Ramos (Marques)

This was really pitiful. Sure we were without Mbappe and Petric so had to play Ramos up front but we were listless and barely threatened our opponents goal and only had 5 shots on goal all match. Diogo Marques came off the bench to make his debut - he is the top scorer for my B team and was attracting interest from Man Utd during the recent window.


--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba (Tavares), Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis, Camara*, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Ramos), Everton, Petric

Ronaldo Camara is just too much at the moment. 1 goal and 2 assists here as his recent exceptional form continues. Famalicao sacked their manager immediately after this match.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo (Tavares), Luis (Salas), Sanches*, Antony, Felix (Almada), Everton, Mbappe

WOW!!!!!!

What a result and what a performance as we go to Anfield and dish out a 4-1 thumping. Even though we were without Camara and had Grimaldo taken off injured so had to play a RB at LB it didnt negatively effect us. Sanches was MOM and scored a great goal, Tomas Tavares came off the bench to set up the first and Everton was also great.

An incredible performance.

--

SUMMARY

Well this month certainly wasnt boring!!!!!

In the league we were pretty good. We didnt concede a goal in our 5 matches and won 4 of them easily enough but a 0-0 draw against Vitoria Guimaraes may prove to be costly. Sporting Lisbon are just 4pts behind us with 2 games in hand so in reality they have it in their hands.

Sporting play some excellent football and actually beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League and they handed us a hiding in the Taca de Portugal by beating us 3-0 but amazingly we won the 2nd leg 6-2 to progress to the final and will face FC Porto when we get there.

In the Champions League we played Liverpool away and we were amazing as we thrashed Liverpool 4-1 to have 1 foot in the quarter-finals. To have 2 amazing performances in 2 huge games is quite pleasing.

Youth intake up next month but apart from Budinauckas it has been shocking so far despite us having the best youth academy in the world apparently.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RONALDO CAMARA

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--

LIGA NOS
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Diamantino Miranda
1978-80 & 1982-90
Midfielder
302 apps, 83 goals

Signed from Vitoria Setubal as an 18y/o Diamantino only made 9 appearances in his first spell before he was sold to Boavista but he returned 2 years later to become a first team regular. In all he won 4 league titles and 5 Portuguese Cups and he earned 22 caps for Portugal, scoring 5 goals.


--

MARCH

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

A wonder strike by Kylian Mbappe in stoppage time from 25 yards spared our blushes here as we struggled to beat 10 man Pacos de Ferreira. Moments like that can be the difference in the end to win championships.

That Mbappe goal is his 15th league goal of the season and just cost me £3.7m due to a bonus in his contract.


--

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

A great day at the office. We get a 3-0 win with Thiago Almada coming off the bench to score twice and that secured a Champions League spot for next season and a transfer budget of £50m. Whats more Sporting Lisbon drew 0-0 with Porto so we go 2 points futher clear!


--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis, Camara (Sanches), Antony, Almada (Ramos), Lasso (Petric), Mbappe*

This was a must win match and we did just that with Mbappe netting a brace. Sporting have the capabilities to really embarrass us and likewise ourselves to them so I am pleased with a solid 2-0 win which gives us a huge advantage for the title race.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Sanches (Salas), Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Almada (Ramos), Lasso, Mbappe*

With a nice first leg advantage we were never really in danger and despite falling behind we managed to come back and win. Last season we were the underdogs for the competition but surely now we are seen as serious contenders.

Mbappe's goal takes him up to 30 for the season.

--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Almada*, Everton, Mbappe (Ramos)

We are really beginning to hit our stride now. Another solid performance as we kept yet another clean sheet and scored 3 goals too.

--

SUMMARY

I really like where we are at at the moment. We seem to be almost at our best and with Kylian Mbappe hitting top form that can only be a good thing. We got some great results with a huge victory over Sporting Lisbon in the league and a home win over Liverpool in the Champions League being the highlights.

As for the Champions League we have been drawn against Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals which is not a bad tie at all - certainly better than being drawn against Liverpool in the last round.

The youth intake was again, surprise surprise, pretty poor but I did get a half decent winger who is valued at £1.6m after signing a youth contract.

We go into April with the league all but won as we have an 8pt lead at the top, we have the Taca de Portugal final to play and the Champions League to compete in. Exciting times.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KYLIAN MBAPPE
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LIGA NOS
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PORTUGAL

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 10
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, T.Tavares (Cancelo), Dias, Ferro, N.Tavares, Neves (Ramos), Baro, B.Silva, Camara, Diogo Jota (Embalo), Leao*

A fine way to start our qualification campaign. We rattled in 5 goals and I actually played Ronaldo Camara in his natural position for the first time as an AMC and he duly rewarded us with a goal. Goncalo Ramos came off the bench for his debut.

--

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 10
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias*, Ferro, Vinagre, Luis, Baro, Neto, Ramos, Diogo Jota, F.Silva

Sure we were helped by their early sending off but we put in an excellent performance to score 10 goals here. Goncalo Ramos got his first Portugal goals, Ruben Dias amazingly got a hat-trick while Ruben Vinagre scored 1 but had 12 shots!!!!!
 
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Joao Pinto
1992-2000
Forward
302 apps, 90 goals

Joao Pinto was a bit of a character. Signed from Belenenses he spent 8 years at the club and only won 1 league title and 2 Portuguese Cups. He left the club to join Sporting Lisbon once his contract expired and for Portugal he won 81 caps and scored 23 goals but he got banned for 6 months after hitting a referee in the 2002 World Cup.


--

APRIL

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

If we keep wining we cant lose the title!!! Another win here and obviously we are still undefeated in the league. Mbappe has now scored in his last 5 league games.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis (Salas), Sanches, Antony, Almada (Ramos), Everton (Petric), Mbappe*

Naturally I am delighted that we won but it should have been by more and the fact that we conceded a late away goal is a huge worry. Mbappe kept up his great form in the Champions League and now has 11 for the campaign.

--

leixoes.png


Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Strijbosch, Ferro, Ramirez (Grimaldo), Luis, Camara, Tsygankov*, Almada, Everton (Lasso), Mbappe (Ramos)

CHAMPIONS!!!!!

Amazingly I didnt actually know that we could become champions if we won here as I was busy watching real life football but we win the league here nonetheless. Mbappe scored again but only after he missed a penalty.


--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez (Grimaldo), Sanches, Salas, Antony (Tsygankov), Ramos (Felix), Everton, Mbappe

This was an even match but we did enough to get through to the semis. They missed a sitter in stoppage time that would have sent them through so we were quite fortunate on that front.

--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Strjbosch, Ferro, Ramirez, Sanches, Salas (Hegedus), Tsygankov (Salvador), Almada*, Lasso (Ramos), Mbappe

With the league already won I fielded mainly a backup side and will do so for our last 2 league games. We just need to remain unbeaten however I am not happy that we drew 1-1 here considering we beat them 8-0 earlier this season.


--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu*, Grimaldo, Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix, Everton (Petric), Mbappe

We take a narrow advantage back for the 2nd leg as we sneak a 1-0 win. We scored totally against the run of play as Sporting battered us in the first half but Mbappe finished well after Everton played him in with a great pass. The 2nd half was much more even and we got the win and more pleasingly, a clean sheet with an away goal.

--

SUMMARY

As ever we go into the final month of the season with trophies to go for. We won the title this month so that is all taken care of and I just hope that we can end the season unbeaten and if we can score 8 goals in our last 2 games to reach 100 that would be a nice boost.

The main focus of our month was naturally on the Champions League and we are doing superbly. We faced Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals and after getting a narrow 2-1 win at home in the first leg we got the job over the line in the 2nd with a 0-0 draw and that set up a tie with our bitter rivals Sporting Lisbon.

We won the first leg 1-0 despite Sporting dominating the first half and I fancy our chances and if we get through we will face one of either Real Madrid or Manchester United.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KYLIAN MBAPPE
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--

LIGA NOS
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Arsenio Duarte
1943-55
Forward
299 apps, 220 goals

Despite having such a fantastic scoring record for Benfica and having won 3 league titles and 6 Portuguese Cups, Duarte only won 2 caps for Portugal!!!!! He was signed from Barreirense whom he made his debut for aged just 15.


--

MAY

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

Thats 4 league games in a row now that Almada has scored and his goal here came late on to win us the match. We did nothing until they had a man sent-off and Hegedus had a screamer of a goal disallowed after Ramos was ruled to have been blocking the keeper (I think - Hegedus struck a volley from 25 yards lol).

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba (Tavares), Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix, Everton (Petric), Mbappe*

THANK GOD (& £185M+ LOL) FOR KYLIAN MBAPPE!!!!!!!

Going into the match with a 1-0 lead I thought we were on easy street when Mbappe scored early on but they quickly levelled and then went ahead with only 7min to go and we were heading out but Mbappe struck in stoppage time for his 14th goal of the competition to send us through to the final.


--

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

THE INVINCIBLES!!!!!

For the 3rd time we go a league season undefeated as Hugo Lasso struck to win us the match. My backups have seen the draw through quite well and now the big boys come back for the 2 cup finals.


--

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

WE WIN THE DOMESTIC QUADRUPLE FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!

Finally we claim all 4 domestic trophies in the same season as we come from behind to beat FC Porto. We went a goal down when Diego Leite and despite dominating we struggled to get a goal but Ronaldo Camara - my personal favourite - scored an equaliser for his 10th of the season and a few minutes later Ruben Dias headed home the winner.


--

UEFA Champions League Final
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba (Tavares), Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis (Sanches), Camara*, Antony, Felix (Ramirez), Everton, Mbappe

WE RETAIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!!!!!!

We win European footballs top trophy once again as we beat Man Utd. We traded early goals with them after Camara put us in front and Rashford levelled immediately but we went into half-time ahead after Mbappe struck for the 15th time in this seasons competition. We were fully deserved of our lead but Alex Grimaldo got sent-off just before the hour mark and we had to defend for our lives and we did just that!

--

SUMMARY

The season is over (well kinda as we have the Club World Cup in a few weeks) and we ended it with 2 more trophies and an undefeated league season. In the Taca de Portugal we came from behind to defeat FC Porto with Ronaldo Camara starring as he scored the equaliser and he was the MOM in the Champions League final as he scored the opener.

The final was a nervy tie as we had Grimaldo sent-off with over 30min to play but I sacrificed Joao Felix at AMC and we managed to get over the line!!!!

Cost me a shitload in bonuses though!!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RONALDO CAMARA

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END OF SEASON REVIEW

My 6th season in charge of Benfica is over and it was super successful. We won for the first time, all 4 cup competitions plus my B side won the Liga PRO for good measure. Quite an achievement! Oh and we also collected the Champions League too.

In the league we ended up winning it by 13pts, were undefeated and racked up some big wins but it wasnt all easy as Sporting Lisbon really troubled us and were right in it until about February. The highlight of the campaign was not any of our 8-0 wins but our comeback from 2-0 down against Sporting Lisbon to win 4-3. That was just a taster for what was to come.

We beat FC Porto in the Supertaca while the Allianz Cup was won but it was boring. In our 5 matches we scored only 8 goals without conceding and only won the final against Sporting Lisbon thanks to a Joao Felix penalty.

The Taca de Portugal however was different. We kicked off with a 10-1 win and made it to the semis where we lost to Sporting Lisbon 3-0 in the first leg. Then in the 2nd leg the incredible happened! Despite going a goal down and 4-0 in aggregate we won the match 6-2 to go through in aggregate and it was a fantastic comeback with some super long range goals to win it for us. In the final we fell behind to Porto but Camara and Dias struck to win it.

In the Champions League it was all about Kylian Mbappe as he struck 15 goals (only 6 less than his league tally) as we won the trophy to win it for the 2nd time in a row. We navigated our group stages easily enough although we lost to Man Utd and then in the knockout stages we firstly played Liverpool and thumped them 4-1 at Anfield and won 6-2 on aggregate. We then progressed against Atletico Madrid and Sporting Lisbon before coming up against Man Utd and despite going down to 10 men we won 2-1.

We did lose the European Super Cup final to Man City though.

--

LIGA NOS

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--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

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Goalkeepers - Luis Cerqueira played in all 61 matches that we had this season and he has really progressed and is one of the best young keepers in the world - maybe alongside the Brazilian that I just capped with Portugal lol. Cerqueira set a new club record for clean sheets as he kept 43 shut outs.

Defenders - Moumouni Ongoiba had a solid debut season at RB although he does need to get a better average rating and also improve going forward. On the left it was shared between Grimaldo and Ramirez and they were both excellent. Grimaldo offers far more going forward but Ramirez is a world class full back.

In the middle I am blessed with 4 world class CBs. Dias just kept on being excellent while Sebahattin Sahinoglu barged his way into the first XI and was just as good. Ferro and Strijbosch excelled when they were given game time too.

Midfielders - Florentino Luis was consistent as ever and even managed to score twice in a match!!! His partner, Ronaldo Camara was simply inspirational. He scored 11 goals including a hat-trick in the league and goals in the Taca de Portugal and Champions League finals. He is undoubtedly my favourite player. Renato Sanches was a great backup while Alfonso Salas got some appearances surprisingly as I sold Paulo Bernardo for £73m.

At AMC my first choice, Joao Felix, was ****. He only scored 12 goals overall and while that was because we didnt get the same amount of penalties, his performances overall were extremely poor. Thiago Almada, his backup, however had an astounding season and netted 16 times although he did play against a load of **** sides.

On the RW Antony was ok but his goals dropped off and the same goes for Everton on the LW. They played well enough but also within themselves and Tsygankov and Lasso didnt set the world on fire either.

Forwards - Kylian Mbappe had a great first season but he is capable of much more. I expected more than 21 league goals but having said that I didnt expect 15 Champions League goals and he ended up with 39. Zoran Petric exploded onto the scene this term however and scored 25 goals which is brilliant for a backup player and he is firmly set in my squad now.

My Player of the Year - Ronaldo Camara
My Young Player of the Year - Zoran Petric
Must Do Better - Moumouni Ongoiba
Donkey of the Year - Joao Felix

--

SUMMER PLANS

I will have a hectic summer as we will have the Club World Cup to play and also the UEFA Nations League with Portugal (see below). Currently the club is £40m in the red so I dont envisage us signing anyone for the first team and will concentrate on looking for youngsters. I will be looking to sell a load of players though as ever and hopefully can start the season with a balance of £100m or more.

--

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PORTUGAL

UEFA Nations League Semi-Final
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro, Luis, Camara, B.Silva (Neto), Felix (Fernandes), Guedes, F.Silva (Leao)

****** Kylian Mbappe!!!! My own player at club level was the difference here as he scored a double to knock us out. We were the better team throughout but he managed to take a couple of his chances and we were miserable in front of goal.


--

UEFA Nations League 3rd/4th Place Play-Off
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro, Luis (Neves), Camara, B.Silva*, Felix, Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva (Leao)

A stunning victory this as we easily beat Germany. Bernardo Silva scored a screamer to put us in front and Guedes netted the 2nd moments before being subbed. His replacement, Diogo Jota, nodded in the 3rd.
 
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2025 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP

Group G

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

My backups came out to play and they easily disposed of the Egyptian side. Hugo Lasso scored a double and he was great and I just received a bid of £45m for him from Man Utd but I cant sell anyone until this tournament is over due to registration limitations!

--

Group G
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara* (Ramos), Antony, Felix, Everton, Mbappe

We meet Man Utd again and we end up drawing but naturally I am ****** off that we conceded a last minute equaliser. We now have to hope that they dont beat our 5-0 win over Pyramids to qualify...................

And we are through!!!!!

Man Utd won 6-2 so we go through on goal difference by 1 goal!


--

Quarter-Final
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis, Sanches (Salas), Antony (Petric), Almada (Ramos), Everton, Mbappe*

This was a battle of 2 teams who were clearly unfit but we just nicked it as Mbappe squared it to Everton to finish form a tight angle late on. We seem to keep being drawn against Liverpool and Man Utd in continental competitions!

--

Semi-Final
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Strijbosch, Ferro, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Sanches, Camara, Tsygankov (Ramos), Felix, Lasso (Petric), Mbappe*

Into the final we go as yet again we win a narrow match with a late goal that was almost identical to our previous match. This time it was Zoran Petric squaring the ball across the goal for Kylian Mbappe to tap in.

--

Final
madrid.png


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

CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!

We win the FIFA Club World Cup by defeating Real Madrid thanks to the magic of Kylian Mbappe as he scored a hat-trick. Their goalscorer is a regen who I had my eyes on but I let him pass.

I have just realised that the whole tournament was played in Scotland and not only that - every match was played in the same stadium - Ibrox!!!
 
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PRE-SEASON POST

This was a strange pre-season. What with the Club World Cup, international games and the fact that I didnt sign hardly anyone but raised a bit of cash selling players made it both a hectic but a quiet pre-season.

No new signings were made for the first team so there wont be a players in section. I spent £9.75m on on 8 players including a Portuguese regen striker from PSG who is valued at £10m on a free but even he will play for my B team. The plan was always to promote from within this year and help the clubs finances so 3 players have stepped up and I will be working with a 25 man first team squad for the first time.

Let me tell you who the players leaving are..........

--

PLAYERS OUT


Free signings for profit, Dwight McNeill and Lucas Robertone were sold for £55m in total which is more than half of the money that we took in. It may be financial doping of sorts but when you have Kylian Mbappe you need it!!!

I had to make a decision between Hugo Lasso and Umaro Embalo and I have decided to keep Lasso so Embalo left to join Ajax for an initial £32.5m - rising to £40m. He is a fantastic player and came up through the ranks and played 71 times and scored 13 goals for me and I wish him well.

The rest of the finances coming in are all loan fees and I loaned out 12 players for £1m each including wonderkids, Reyes, Salas, Quintas, Josema and Roige with Quintas going to Bayern Munich. I tried to offload Diogo Nascimento but there were no takers and so he was loaned out too.

Then there is the case of Moussa Dembele who once upon a time I rejected a bid of £66m for. I just cant seem to give him away!!!! He rejected a £40m move to Man Utd the ***** and in the end he joined Juventus for a £1.5m loan fee plus 60% of his wages. I was banking on getting £30-40m for Dembele to give us a starting bank balance for the season of around £100m but thats gone out the window.

I also loaned out several players for no loan fee.

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

So with Alfonso Salas going out on loan that opened up 1 space in my squad but as I said above - I have decided to go with a 25 man first team squad for this season. The 3 new players are Jonny Budinauckas, Joao Resende and Arpad Hegedus.

Budinauckas came through my youth ranks in 2020-21 and I must admit I wasnt blown away by him. He was loaned out to Academico Viseu the next season and then he spent a year with my B team while playing 1 match for the senior team. He has since been loaned out to Famalicao and Borussia Dortmund and is now more than ready for a first team chance. He has 12 caps for Scotland too and will be my 4th choice CM.
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Joao Resende has always been a personal favourite of mine. He has been with me from day one and made 7 appearances for me. He played 3 seasons for my B team, top scoring twice and the last 2 seasons have been loaned out to Pacos de Ferreira and Santa Clara in the top division where he has scored 31 goals in total. Of course his loan spell at PDF hurt us as he scored a winner against us and an equaliser! Tbh I was going to sell him but only received an offer of £300,000 for him when considering I loaned him out for £1m in each of the last 2 seasons was a bit of a joke so up he comes to the first team.
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Arpad Hegedus was bought in January for £1.2m and after 7 goals in 14 apps for my B team and 2 substitute appearances for the senior team he has been called up as my 5th CM. The Hungarian international is 22y/o and looks like a great little player but I have quite a few good looking prospects in his position coming through so he better take his chance!
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Other than that it is as you were.

--

SEASON AIMS

Win everything!!!!! Oh and go undefeated for the league which is now a minimum requirement.​
 
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Jose Henrique
1966-79
Goalkeeper
299 apps, 0 goals

Henrique spent 13 years with Benfica and was first choice keeper at the start of his spell and then had to battle with Manuel Bento later in his spell. He was the keeper in the 1968 European Cup final when they lost to Man Utd and in total he won 8 league titles and 3 Portuguese cups as well as playing for Portugal 15 times.


--

AUGUST

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

What a start to our domestic season!!!! We win the season opener 5-0 and humiliate FC Porto into the bargain. Everyone put in a great performance, especially Everton who won the MOM award and Grimaldo who scored once and got 2 assists.

We face Porto quite soon in the league so they will be up for revenge.

--

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

Our league campaign is underway and we get a comfortable win. Grimaldo scored in the 2nd game running but it was Joao Felix who really impressed as he converted a penalty before firing in a free-kick minutes later.

--

UEFA European Super Cup
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Ramirez, Luis, Camara*, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton (Petric), Mbappe

We win the European Super Cup for the first time ever as we come from behind to beat Dortmund. Camara equalised and substitute, Victor Tsygankov rifled in the winner for his 2nd of the season.

It also gives us our 3rd trophy of the season already!!!

--

porto.png


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

What a comeback this was as we stuck late on to come back and win this. We were 2-1 down with 5min to play when Mbappe levelled. We then thought that we had won it when he struck again but it was disallowed. They then missed a sitter but it was Zoran Petric who scored the winner in stoppage time to give us all 3pts.


--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Lasso, Mbappe*

This match exploded into life in the 2nd half for us as we scored 4 goals and they had a man sent-off. Kylian Mbappe was superb and grabbed a hat-trick while Hugo Lasso scored with a terrific free-kick.

--

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

We were struggling here until I made a triple substitution and that and specifically Victor Tsygankov, changed the game. Tsygankov set up the first for Mbappe who had a 1st half goal disallowed and then he sealed things late on.


--

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu (Ferro), Grimaldo, Luis (Sanches), Camara*, Antony, Felix, Everton (Tsygankov), Mbappe

Once again we werent at our best but we did just enough to win when Camara powered a shot in from the edge of the area.

--

SUMMARY

The first month of the season is done with and we won all of our matches and picked up 2 trophies so I am pretty happy. We kicked off our campaign by beating FC Porto 5-0 in the Supertaca and later on in the month we scored twice late on to beat them 3-2. Dortmund were beaten 2-1 in the European Super Cup and in all everything is dandy.

I brought in another couple of regens on the cheap but that was that as far as transfer business goes. I will show you my regens when they reach first team level.

In the Champions League we have been drawn alongside Juventus, Hertha Berlin and Monaco so although its a tricky group I fancy our chances.
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--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RONALDO CAMARA
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--

LIGA NOS
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Oscar Cardozo
2007-14
Forward
293 apps, 172 goals

Signed from Newell's Old Boys for £10m Cardozo is the 9th highest scorer in the clubs history. The tall front man won 2 league titles, 1 Taca de Portugal and 5 League cups while at Benfica and was top scorer in Portugal twice. He was sold on to Trabzonspor for £5m and for Paraguay he has 54 caps but surprisingly has only scored 12 times.


--

SEPTEMBER

leixoes.png


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

Another sloppy performance. Arguably for the 3rd game in a row we struggled to win which considering our first few games of the season is a surprise. Hopefully we can step up a gear or two soon.

--

UEFA Champions League Group E
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebehattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony, Felix, Everton, Mbappe*

This was a game where I made no substitutions so that means that I was very happy with our performance. Having said that Monaco really troubled us in the first half and we scored against the run of play and then got a penalty but we went up a few gears in the 2nd half and won at a canter. Alex Grimaldo scored one of the best goals that I have seen as he arrowed a shot into the top right hand corner from 35 yards.


--

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

For the 2nd game in a row I was so happy with our performance that no subs were required but that goes down to every one of my players as I couldnt take any off even if I had wnated to!!!

With an Allianz Cup match coming up I will give my first choice players a wee rest then.


--

Allianz Cup 3rd Phase Group B
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba (Matos), Strijbosch, Ferro, Ramirez, Sanches (Hegedus), Budinauckas*, Tsygankov, Almada, Lasso, Petric (Resende)

FFS. We were poor here and although we deserved to win we didnt create enough and to make matters worse their goalscorer is a regen who I signed in the summer and loaned out to them. With Leixoes and Braga being the other teams in the group we are now in a sticky position.

--

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

We were very poor in this match and we only got the win thanks to a great free-kick from Almada and a powerful effort from Camara.

--

UEFA Champions League Group E
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony*, Felix, Everton (Petric), Mbappe

I am absolutely delighted with this result. To go away to Juventus and spank them 4-0 is a great job and tbh we werent great but we were ruthless as we had 7 shots on goal, all on target and 4 went in. Ongoiba scored his first goal for the club and Felix curled in a beautiful shot from the edge of the area.

--

SUMMARY

September was a good month although it had its downsides. The high points was our Champions League performances as we thrashed Monaco 5-0 before humping Juventus 4-0. That means that we have taken charge of the group but the main thing for me is getting the prize money as £2.3m per win means just 1 win covers Kylian Mbappe's basic wage for 1 month not including the bonuses so we need as much wins as possible............
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Anywho in the league we still have a 100% record but in the Allianz Cup my backups could only draw with Santa Clara with my own player scoring the goal against us which is very annoying and the downside of the month.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANTONY
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--

LIGA NOS
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--

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PORTUGAL

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 10
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, T.Tavares (Cancelo), Dias, Ferro (Vinhas), Guerreiro, Luis, Camara, B.Silva, Felix, Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva*

Sure we won but this was very poor. To only beat North Macedonia by one goal and with that goal being a penalty is very poor.

--

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 10
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, T.Tavares (Cancelo), Dias, Ferro, N.Tavares, Luis, Baro (Dantas), B.Silva*, Fernandes, Guedes (Diogo Jota), Leao

We go top of the group with victory here on 12pts alongside Austria but we have a game in hand. Bernardo Silva scored a hat-trick on the day in which he won his 100th cap while Bruno Fernandes won his 50th.
 
Kylian's contract is just mental. His contract goes for five years and if he makes fifty appearances for you a season, scores thirty goals, hits his goal bonuses and division bonuses and slap in fifty international appearances, then that amounts to…

130M (basic wage) + 62.5M (appearance fees) + 37.5M (goal bonus) + 40.25M (seasonal goal bonus) + 37.5M (TOTY + Top Goalscorer) + 6.25M (internationals)

You are giving this man 314M!!!

Tell us whether or not if he's worth it every million lmao
 
Kylian's contract is just mental. His contract goes for five years and if he makes fifty appearances for you a season, scores thirty goals, hits his goal bonuses and division bonuses and slap in fifty international appearances, then that amounts to…

130M (basic wage) + 62.5M (appearance fees) + 37.5M (goal bonus) + 40.25M (seasonal goal bonus) + 37.5M (TOTY + Top Goalscorer) + 6.25M (internationals)

You are giving this man 314M!!!

Tell us whether or not if he's worth it every million lmao

I can afford it so **** yeah lol. £62.5m a year for 5 years - that is basically 2 player sales per season or a seasons worth of Champions League money and obviously if I hadnt signed him and Felix for such huge amounts we would be sitting on nearly £1bn maybe lol.

To have such a contract in the Portuguese league is ******* stupid - granted - but hey ho
 
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Vitor Paneira
1988-95
Midfielder
288 apps, 44 goals

Signed from Vizela as a 22y/o, Paneira was a mainstay in the side for 7 years and was part of the side that finished runners-up in the European Cup in 1990. He didnt win that many trophies while at Benfica (3 leagues and 1 cup) but he played 44 times for Portugal, scoring 4 goals and left to join Vitoria Guimaraes.


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OCTOBER

Allianz Cup 3rd Phase Group B
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Strijbosch, Ferro, Ramirez, Hegedus, Budinauckas, Tsygankov*, Almada (Ramos), Lasso, Petric (Resende)

A great result. Having stumbled to a draw in our 1st match it was imperative that we won this and I took a huge risk by going for my backups and they did me roud as we went away to Braga and won comfortably. Tsygankov got a brace and Lasso lashed in a free-kick to seal things.

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Taca de Portugal 3rd Round
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba (Matos), Strjbosch, Ferro, Ramirez, Thomassen, Budinauckas*, Tsygankov, Almada, Lasso (Ramos), Petric (Resende)

Jonny Budinauckas got his first goals for the club here and Asger Thomassen made his debut. Although Budinauckas got the MOM award a special shout out goes to Almada who assisted 3 of the goals.

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UEFA Champions League Group E
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu (Ferro), Grimaldo, Luis*, Camara (Sanches), Antony, Felix, Everton, Mbappe

Our 100% record in the group continues as we brush Hertha aside. Mbappe getting 2 goals isnt anything new but Luis grabbing a goal is almost unheard of!!!!! In 292 apps he has now scored just 7 goals for me.

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis (Sanches), Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton*, Mbappe

We werent at our best here but we still managed to walk away with a 3 goal win. Everton got us off to a fine start and then we got an own goal in our favour and we then took our foot off the gas before Mbappe scored late on.

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

I am raging that we didnt win this match. We started off well and scored early on but then we missed a hatful of chances and they duly levelled in the 2nd half. Petric came off the bench to score almost immediately and we just needed to see the game out but inexplicably we allowed them to level late on and our perfect start to the league campaign is over.

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SUMMARY

This month was going great until our last match when we let our lead slip against Sporting Lisbon to draw. October is actually my favourite month of the season usually as its largely full of cup games and I get to play my backups a bit and so was the case here. Jonny Budinauckas really impressed but my backups is hardly a weak side as they would win the league no problem!!!!

The way I see my backups.....

Tavares - First choice for Portugal
Strijbosch - Just as good as Dias and Sebahattin Sahinoglu and Dutch international
Ferro - First choice for Portugal
Ramirez - First choice for Argentina and would walk into any other side
Sanches - Great player but arguably the weakest link. Portugal international
Budinauckas - Scotland international and a wonderkid
Tsygankov - World class winger
Almada - Arguably better than Felix. One of the best AMCs out there
Lasso - Colombian wonderkid who is technically brilliant
Petric - The best young striker in the game and already world class.

No problems lol.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KYLIAN MBAPPE
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LIGA NOS

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PORTUGAL

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 10
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Lineup - Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro (Vinhas), Luis, Camara, B.Silva*, Felix, Guedes (Diogo Jota), F.Silva (Leao)

Felix last scored for Portugal 23 games ago so it was about time that he popped up with a goal here. Bernardo Silva continued his excellent record for me with a double to seal the win.

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Cancelo, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro, Luis (Dantas), Neves, Neto, Fernandes, Guedes*, Leao

Easy. That makes the aggregate score over the two games against Azerbaijan 17-0!!!!!!
 
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Angelo Martins
1952-65
Defender
285 apps, 4 goals

Although born in Porto as a kid he rejected the chance to sign for FC Porto as he was a Benfica supporter and he went on to spend his whole career with the club. He was part of the side that won back to back European Cups and also collected 7 league titles and 5 Portuguese Cups. He won 20 caps for Portugal.


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NOVEMBER

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

At half-time we were a goal up but I wasnt happy and gave my team a rollocking. 13min later we were 4-0 up and it was much better!

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UEFA Champions League Group E
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton (Petric), Mbappe

Humiliating. We were awful here and were lucky to escape with just a 3 goal defeat. If we had won we would have won the group but not so now. I expect much better and there better be a response to this shambolic result.

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Sanches, Budinauckas, Antony (Petric), Felix (Almada), Everton, Mbappe

WHAT THE **** IS GOING ON!!!!!

So much for having a reaction to our defeat in Berlin - we just went out and lost our 1st game of the season (remember we were unbeaten last season and undefeated in 60 league games) and we fail to score for the 2nd game in a row which I dont think has happened before. Absolutely raging.


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Taca de Portugal 4th Round
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Sebahattin Sahinoglu*, Grimaldo, Luis, Sanches, Antony (Tsygankov), Felix (Almada), Everton, Petric (Ramos)

After our last 2 matches it was imperative that we bounced back and we didnt. Sure we won to go through but we laboured to victory here and only won it thanks to a penalty. My attacking players are in awful form just now and that isnt helped that Mbappe got injured during international duty and is out for 2 months.

Time for Petric to step up!


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UEFA Champions League Group E
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Tavares, Strijbosch, Ferro, Grimaldo (Ramirez), Budinauckas*, Sanches, Antony, Felix (Almada), Everton, Petric (Ramos)

Our poor run of form continues here. We deserved to win but lacked the quality going forward. Jonny Budinauckas was amazing though. This point was enough for us to secure qualification and if we avoid defeat against Juventus in our final match we will go through as group winners.

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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis (Sanches), Budinauckas, Antony, Felix, Everton*, Petric (Ramos)

Thats a bit better!!!! We easily win here and I am pleased that my decision to reward Budinauckas with a start to continue his great form reaped rewards. Petric was ***** again though.

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SUMMARY

While this wasnt quite the month from **** it wasnt far off it as two 4-0 wins bookended a group of really poor performances. We lost 3-0 to Hertha Berlin in the Champions League and then 1-0 to Braga to end our 60 game unbeaten run and then only just scraped past Famalicao in the cup thanks to a 2nd half penalty. Things need to improve.

We arent helped by the fact that Kylian Mbappe is out for a couple of months although he was **** in his few performances. Antony and Felix need a kick up the backside too as does Petric who has a great chance to impress with Mbappe out. Jonny Budinauckas however took his chance and excelled in central midfield and outshone everybody else.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JONNY BUDINAUCKAS
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LIGA NOS
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PORTUGAL

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 10
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Guerreiro (Vinagre), Luis, Camara, B.Silva, Felix (Fernandes) Guedes, F.Silva*

We only beat Macedonia 1-0 earlier in the campaign but we put that right here. We surged into a 3 goal lead in the first 10min and even managed to miss a penalty during that spell. This win secures our qualification for the World Cup.

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FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 10
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, T.Tavares, Dias, Ferro, Vinagre (Mendes), Luis, Camara (Neves), Neto, Felix, Diogo Jota (Fernandes), F.Silva

We end the group stage by dropping our first points of the group which is annoying. Nuno Mendes of Sporting Lisbon made his debut here.

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Pizzi
2014-present
Midfielder
285 apps, 76 goals

Signed from Atletico Madrid for £5m, Pizzi is one of Benfica's key players today. He is a creative attacking midfielder and last season scored 30 goals in all competitions which is quite incredible. He has won 4 league titles, 1 Portuguese Cup and 2 League Cups as well as playing for the national side 17 times, scoring 3 goals.

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DECEMBER

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Lineup
- Cerqueiro, Ongoiba, Dias, Ferro (Strijbosch), Grimaldo, Luis (Budinauckas), Camara*, Antony, Felix, Everton, Petric

A decent win. Petric got a goal which will hopefully kick him onto a decent run of form and Joao Felix scored twice yet it was Ronaldo Camara who got the MOM award as he ran the game from midfield.

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UEFA Champions League Group E
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Ferro (Strijbosch), Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony*, Felix, Everton (Almada), Petric (Ramos)

We win the group thanks to a terrific performance and another 4-0 victory over Juventus which begs the question why we struggled in our last 2 group matches. Everton got injured here and is out for 3 weeks which is a bit of a blow and he joins Mbappe and Sebattin Sahinoglu on the injury list.


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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Almada*, Felix (Lasso), Petric (Ramos)

A game of two halves. Going into the match I had to decide between playing an unfit Lasso on the LW or moving Felix there and putting Almada in at AMC - thank god I did the latter!!!! We were on easy street in the first half as Almada and Felix scored plus Petric had one disallowed but in the 2nd half they came roaring back and levelled things at 2-2. Almada struck late on from outside the area (his first was a free-kick from range also) to win it for us but they still had time to have a goal disallowed themselves!


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Taca de Portugal 5th Round
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Lineup
- Cerqueira, Ongoiba (Tavares), Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Almada (Lasso), Felix*, Petric

What a performance - what a result. We thump FC Porto here to progress into the next round. Camara struck early on and then Joao Felix, who is loving life on the left wing, scored 2 more and it was game over. They pulled a goal back but Tsygankov struck in stoppage time to put a little bit of extra gloss on the scoreline.

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Allianz Cup 3rd Phase Group B
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Lineup - Cerqueira, Ongoiba, Dias, Ferro*, Grimaldo, Luis, Camara, Antony (Tsygankov), Almada (Ramos), Felix (Lasso), Petric

Normally I would have fielded my backups here but I had to ensure that we would win so I went with as strong a side that I could field. The first half was nervy but we found our feet in the 2nd half and goals from Petric, Tsygankov and Ferro won us the match and the group.


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SUMMARY

We won every match this month so I am a happy manager unlike last month. Despite that we have slipped down to 2nd in the table as Sporting Lisbon played all their games in hand and actually one more so now we have the game in hand. The highlight of our month was the 4-0 win over Juventus in the Champions League to ensure that we topped the group and we were rewarded with a very favourable draw in the next round as we will face Celtic.

The draws in the domestic cup competitions werent so kind. We thumped FC Porto in the Taca de Portugal but will face Sporting Lisbon in the quarter-finals while Porto will meet us in the Allianz Cup semis.

The end of year awards involved a few of our players.....

Ballon D'Or Winner - Kylian Mbappe
Best FIFA Mens Player Award - Ronaldo Camara
World Player of the Year - Kylian Mbappe
World Team of the Year - Ruben Dias, Ronaldo Camara, Kylian Mbappe
African Young Player of the Year - Steven Sekotlong

Delighted for Mbappe but Ronaldo Camara had the best average rating by a country mile for the Ballon D'or and wasnt even in the top 3!!!! Salah and Haaland filled those spaces.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JOAO FELIX
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LIGA NOS
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