Benfica Campeão 2010

Benfica has finally accomplished the inevitable with a 2-1 win over Rio Ave at the Estadio da Luz.  Recently, a friend has sent me some pictures taken last week at the stadium.  Congratulations to SLB for their 2nd title in six years.  This is their 32nd title in the Portuguese League.  Certainly they will have to deal with the loss of some key players like Angel Di Maria and David Luiz.  The pics are after the jump.

"O Glorioso" Falls at Anfield

Dirk Kuyt 27'


Lucas 34'


The rest of the goals after the jump

Gerrard, Kuyt Jumped in Lisbon!!

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will miss the Europa League match against Benfica today, along with Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt.  Apparently the two were walking to their hotel room late yesterday afternoon when they were attacked by two die-hard Benfica supporters.  Lisbon newspapers report that the duo were taken to the hospital with a few minor injuries.  A Bola says that Gerrard is definitely ruled out for the showdown, while Kuyt is doubtful.

Glorioso SLB!!

Benfica spanks Porto in the Carlsberg Cup 3-0...


Highlights

Freekicker | MySpace Video

Liga Sagres Highlights

Porto and Braga picked up wins on Saturday while Benfica came up with a close win against Nacional in Madeira on Sunday. The encarnados still remain 3 points ahead of Braga and 11 points ahead of Porto. Sporting also continue their good form winning their 3rd straight league fixture 3-1 against Vitoria Guimaraes.

Nacional 0 SL Benfica 1

Academica 1 FC Porto 2

More Liga Sagres Highlights

Seam's Selections: Europa League Round of 16

Atletico Madrid vs. Sporting

Sporting put an emphatic end to their winless streak against Everton in their last Europa League match, beating the Liverpool side and advancing to the round of 16. Atletico defeated Galatasaray in the last round and are hoping that they can forget their poor form in La Liga with a positive result in Europe. Sporting will take their momentum towards a good result at the Vicente Calderon getting a much needed away goal in a 1-1 draw.

Lille vs. Liverpool

After a disastrous loss to Wigan on Monday Liverpool are surely out of the race for the last Champions League spot in England. Since the Europa League is the only competition Liverpool have a chance of success in expect the Reds to go into France and get the win. Torres and Gerrard will play a major part in a 2-0 win.

Juventus vs. Fulham

Key injuries have dampered Fulham's performances lately in the Premier League and Juventus has too much quality to let the Cottagers score on the road. The Bianconeri should score easily and wrap up their spot in the quarter finals in the 1st leg. My prediction is a 3-0 win for Juventus.

Benfica vs. Marseille

The eagles have put themselves in a comfortable position to win the Liga Sagres after a win against Pacos this weekend and both Porto and Braga dropping points. Marseille are currently 5th place in Ligue 1 but only 3 points behind leaders Bordeaux. Both teams are evenly matched so expect this to be a close game. Marseille will pick up the away goal from captain Niang but goals from David Luiz and Saviola will give Benfica a much needed result heading into the 2nd leg in France. Benfica wins 2-1.

Valencia vs. Werder Bremen (Seam's Dream Matchup)

Valencia have been great in La Liga this season with David Villa leading the way as usual. Look for number 7 to have a big game and score twice at home. Werder still has enough offensive talent with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Claudio Pizzaro, and Marko Marin, to pull off an away goal. But having said that Valencia will be up comfortably 3-1 going into the 2nd leg. Goals from Villa and Hernandez.

Remaining Round of 16 Selections

Hamburg 2 Anderlecht 0

Rubin 0 Wolfsburg 1

Pananthiaikos 0 Standard Liege 0

Benfica 3 Points Clear

Goals from Ruben Amorim, Javier "Savi"-ola and Oscar Cardozo gives Benfica a comfortable 3-1 win at the Cathedral. They currently sit 3 points clear of Braga and 11 clear of Porto. Both northern clubs suffered draws over the weekend.

Portuguese League Highlights

The top of the table have transferred the pressure to Porto ahead of their clash with Sporting tomorrow.

Braga 3 Olhanense 1


Benfica 4 Leixoes 0


DI MARIAAA

The Dream's Europa League Predictions

With plenty of interesting match ups in the round of 32 the Europa League should prove to have some excitement along with some upsets. Here are some of Seam the Dream's predictions for the most intriguing fixtures this Thursday.

Ajax vs. Juventus

Ajax will face off against a very disappointing Juve (currently in 7th in Serie A). The bianconeri have struggled in all aspects of their campaign this year and hopefully their new coach Alberto Zaccheroni will push for some away goals in Amsterdam. Having said that, Ajax will use their European experience against the Turin side hold them to a 1-1 draw. More.

Villareal vs. Wolfsburg

The defending Bundesliga champions will visit the yellow submarine Thursday night looking for an away goal. Both teams have disappointed in their leagues so far this season and since both teams have problems conceding goals, look for the team with the better attack to take this first leg. In my opinion that will be Wolfsburg and their Bosnian attack of Misimovic and Dzeko to contribute to a 2-1 victory. (Sorry Giuseppe)

Panathinaikos vs. Roma

Roma has been in great form of late and currently stand in 2nd place in Serie A. I expect their current form to carry them into Athens and get a strong result. 2-0 Roma with solid performances from the "Beast" and Jeremy Menez. More.

Atletico vs. Galatasaray

Expect a confident Atletico side after ending Barcelona's undefeated league run this weekend. Look for Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan to get on the scoresheet and give Atletico a solid result, but an away goal from Frank Rijkaard's side will keep the next leg interesting. 2-1 Atletico Madrid. More.

Hamburg vs. PSV

The first place Dutch side from Eindhoven will face some tough opposition against Hamburger SV. Hamburg are coming off a 3-1 victory against Stuttgart over the weekend and if healthy Dutch winger Eljero Elia can play a major role in this first leg. Also look for Hamburg's two strikers with Eredivisie experience, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Marcus Berg, to get some goals. Hamburg wins 3-1.

Hertha vs. SL Benfica (Seam's Dream Matchup)

Here's my personal favorite from all of Thursday night's fixtures. Look for a focused Benfica squad with no league match this weekend to get the win in Berlin (yes it rhymes). Hertha are bound for relegation in the Bundesliga with only 2 wins all season. With really nothing else to play for expect Hertha to put forth a strong effort against the much more talented Lisbon side. Goals from Cardozo and/or Saviola will give the Eagles a big advantage heading back home for the return leg. A sometimes shaky defense will most likely give up a goal to the home side so a 2-1 win will be enough for the Encarnados to be satisfied with the result.

Here are my predictions for the other Europa League matches Thursday night.

Rubin Kazan 2-0 H. Tel-Aviv

Clubb Brugge 0-3 Valencia

Standard Liege 1-1 Red Bull Salzburg

FC Twente 0-0 Werder Bremen

Lille 1-0 Fenerbache

Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Anderlecht

Kobenhavn 0-2 Olympique Marseille

Fulham 1-1 Shaktar Donetsk

Liverpool 2-1 Unirea Urziceni

Benfica in 1st

Benfica beat Uniao Leiria today at home 3-0. The score could have been a lot worse if not for one linesman (played today by Stevie Wonder) having his head up his ass. Goals by Oscar Cardozo, Javier "El Conejo" Saviola and Ruben Amorim. Amorim needs more playing time. Benfica play Setubal on Saturday while Lieria visit Madeira to play Maritimo on Sunday

News from Portugal

Boy, Sporting C.P. needs help real badly.  They should probably focus on trying to bring Guus Hiddink in next year.  This team needs a revamping more than Pedro Mendes and Sinama-Pongolle can help them out with.  After losing to Sp. Braga 1-0 Friday, Sporting took a 5-2 shellacking from under form Porto to get knocked out of the Portuguese Cup.  Highlights below..



Meanwhile, looks like the Manuel Fernandes deal did not go through.  Apparently, the two clubs were unable to settle the loan deal before the transfer window closed. [link]

Porto sign 19 year-old Ghanian David Addy from Randers FC (Denmark) for €800,000 [link]

Benfica host Uniao Leiria today at 4:00PM ET in an effort to slip away from Sp. Braga. [ATDHE]