Fernando Santos Says Portugal Often Make Things Difficult

Portugal coach Fernando Santos says that the national team can be accused of making things difficult for themselves.


His comments came after the 4-1 win over Latvia – a score that could have been completely different had it not been for the goals from substitute Ricardo Quaresma. Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo came up with a penalty after just 28 minutes. It provided the opening goal which was expected to open the floodgates. However, Portugal relaxed quite drastically after this goal and the Latvia were able to take advantage in the second half throughZjuzins.

The goal in the 67th minute put the cat among the pigeons and provided a major scare for Portugal. Since it was not a friendly match and Portugal needed to win this World Cup qualifying game in order to stay in touch with Switzerland. After opening the campaign with a loss against the Swiss, Portugal have managed to win the last two games. (more…)

BENFICA TO GET NEW STRIKER THIS SUMMER

Benfica is set to get a new striker after Dutch international Bas Dost revealed his intention to leave VfL Wolfsburg to join Portuguese giant Benfica.


He make his intentions known as his spot in the squad is under threat with the move of German Mario Gomez.

The transfer window is poised to close on Wednesday, yet Dost insists he can force his move away from the club. He is keen on playing in Portugal, with the deal set to take at least €10 million.

“I am assuming that it will come off,” Dost said after his assists in the 2-0 win at Augsburg. Gomez is set to return to training soon as he picked up a hamstring injury whilst in action for Germany at the Euro 2016 tournament. Gomez decided to quit Turkey after his stellar record last term due to the political unrest in Turkey. He is the top scorer with 132 goals in 197 games for Bayern Munich and Stuttgart since 2006. His arrival forced Dost to look for alternatives.
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Benfica’s players have caught the eye of the Premier League

The Portuguese side Benfica has a few players that have attracted the eyes of some big Premier League clubs including Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.

Manchester United specifically has displayed interest in more than just 1 player from Benfica. Nicolas Gaitan is a 27 year old Argentine midfielder who has been in the radar of Manchester United for some time and the Premier League club was on the verge of launching an offer for him but the player does not seem to be interested in making a move away from Benfica as he penned a new 4 year-long contract which will be keeping him in the club at least until 2019.

In this new contract that Nicolas Gaitan signed with Benfica, he has also increased his release clause to €45 million and by doing this, the Portuguese club will keep hold of Gaitain for a significantly long period of time and if any club is truly interested in signing him, they will have to offload a hefty amount of money in order to even try to sign him.

“This renewal is fantastic. It’s a vote of confidence from the club and I’m delighted. It was a quick and easy decision. Both parties are happy. I’m very happy at Benfica, they’re one of Europe’s top clubs.” This is the statement that was released by Nicolas Gaitan after he signed his contract extension as the Argentine midfielder revealed his joy in staying with the club on a long term deal.

Even though Nicolas Gaitan has no interest in making a move to the Premier League, this has not discouraged Manchester United from attempting to sign a player of Benfica as the English club is now interested in signing Goncalo Guedes. Guedes is a highly rated 19 year old forward who has also been receiving offers from Arsenal and Chelsea. (more…)