Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has taken the club to three recent finals but lost them all. When he took over, he led the team to the Capital One Cup final which Manchester City won on penalties.
Pop star Madonna is off to Portugal to support her son that joined Benfica youth academy with the hope of playing professional soccer.
Reports were rife in the European city that the singer no longer just visited; she bought a house in preparation for permanent stay. She would end her stay at a Lisbon hotel and move into the house in the resort of Sintra, north-east of Lisbon. She now owns a house in the city as other celebrities like Michael Fassbender, John Malkovich and Monica Bellucci. (more…)
Lucas Leiva the quiet Samba Boywho came all the way from Brazil to England in search of the greener pastures of professional football does pass for a Wily Ol’ English man.
The 30-year old at the end of the just concluded season announced that he was ready to call it quits at Merseyside. A glance across the longevity list of the Koppiteswill reveal his name among the top 50.
Leiva’s name an obvious exception will stand tall among such row call and that was made possible because of his content nature. Making thelittle passes to keeping theshape of the team together, screening the center backs from danger to the best of his ability while reveling in the act of timely tackles was the Brazilian’s main fort throughout his stay and he kind of rolled along with it for ten years
Yeah, I know it is beginning to sound like some weird adulation of a player that got praises that maybe were just enough for him and whatever he contributed to the beautiful game. (more…)
Benfica has clinched their fourth consecutive league title by beating Vitoria Guimaraes 5-0.
The Benfica coach said that he is satisfied with the result and this is the proof that they deserved to be Champions. He said that the league has not been easy at all, but they feel that they have been consistent throughout the season.
The coach said that the players deserve the title for their good performance during the campaign and he feels that there is still more to come from the team. He said that the objective would be the same next season as they would want to retain the title.
He admitted however that things would not be easy next season. He said that the other big teams would be strengthening during the summer and they will be more difficult to beat. He said that the club has already identified some players that they might sign during the transfer window. (more…)
La Liga side Real Madrid edged out Serie A giant Napoli 3-1 in the first leg of the UEF A Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Napoli started on a good note as Lorenzo Insigne caught keeper Keylor Navas off his line. Skipper Marek Hamsik broke through the Madrid set-up before laying the pass unto Insigne. He curled the ball from 35 yards out, placing it in a tight angle. The attempt on target eventually became the only one for the visitors throughout the first half of the game.
Real responded eleven minutes later as Dani Carvajal sent a nice cross that Karim Benzema headed. Unselfish Cristiano Ronaldo did all the hard work, beating a defender before moving closer to the box. he did a pullback for Toni Kroos to whip in early in the second half. The goal rattled the guests who were hoping to force a draw. Casemiro sealed the victory for Madrid in the 54th minute with a stunning volley. (more…)
Portugal coach Fernando Santos says that the national team can be accused of making things difficult for themselves.
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 has recently claimed a 2-0 triumph over Dynamo Kyiv in their first group stages match of the Champions League and this result has positioned the Portuguese club at the 3rd spot of Group B with 4 points collected from the 3 matches that they have played so far.
There are 3 more Champions League encounters left and in order for Benfica to have any real chance of qualifying into the next rounds of the European competition and this is what they are aiming to accomplish.
The upcoming opponents that Benfica will have to face off with in the Champions League are: Dynamo Kyiv but this time on their home turf at the Estadio da Luz in Portugal, Besiktas and Napoli.
Rui Vitoria is the manager of Benfica and even though he is happy about the recent Champions League triumph over Dynamo Kyiv, the 46 year old Portuguese manager knows that there still are 3 more games left and they will need to get positive results in all of these approaching matches. (more…)