The next arrival of Jorge Jesus to Benfica was not successful. Despite the fact that, under the guidance of a living classic of the Portuguese coaching workshop, the Eagles reached the playoffs of the Champions League last season, leaving behind their group not only our Dynamo, but also the famous Barcelona, it is still far from the end of the last championship (in December) Jesus was shown to the door. Not primarily because Lisbon turned out to be uncompetitive in the domestic championship: they never declared a fight for the first place, taking only the third place in the final. The gap from Porto, which finished first, is more than serious - 17 points. The ambitions of the club management extended much further.
Photo: gettyimages.comInstead of Jesus, Verissimo ended the season at the head of the Eagles. Nelson had neither the time nor the opportunity to radically change the situation. He was an ordinary temporary worker. And at the end of May, Benfica got a new mentor - Roger Schmidt.
The German coach, who signed a two-year contract with the Lisbon club, said he was "very proud to lead such a great club" and that he "will put all his energy and experience to succeed."
Frankly speaking, the appointment of Schmidt to Benfica caused, at the very least, questions to the Eagles' club management. Because at first glance (and not only at first glance) this appointment seems at least strange.
Strange because at his previous workplace, the German mentor was not remembered for something special. Schmidt was called up to the Dutch PSV in order not only to impose the fight for the championship on Ajax, but also to win the championship crown from Amsterdam. Unfortunately for Herr Roger, they only managed to impose a fight. But there are few trophies: only the Cup and the Dutch Super Cup. The coveted "gold" was never won.
The only place where Schmidt managed to become a champion was the Austrian Salzburg, which he coached in the 2013/14 season. Since then, he has had many attempts, but the result is unchanged: he did not justify, by and large, the hopes placed on him.
But in Benfica, it seems, they decided that the main thing is for the team to show a bright, attacking game, and the results will come someday. As for the game as such, Schmidt's teams almost always professed sparkling football. At the beginning of the "tenth" his "Bayer" fell in love with the whole of Germany, that team was so spectacular. Yes, and PSV under the leadership of Roger showed "delicious" football. However, I repeat, there was no smell of high results. Maybe Benfica will finally break through?
The 2022/2023 season has started well for Benfica. Lisbon in the third qualifying round of the Champions League did not notice the Danish "Midtjullan", defeating the opponent with a total score of 7:2.
Schmidt's team also started successfully in the new Portuguese championship. After two rounds, the Eagles are among the leaders: maximum points and an excellent goal difference (5:0).
Already in these three official fights, fans, and experts too, note the structural changes that have occurred with the Eagles. The team looks very aggressive in attack, which was not in such numbers last season. Schmidt as a coach has always been distinguished by the ability to build very high, aggressive pressure. Once upon a time, his Bayer was an exemplary team in this regard. It looks like he now wants to build his own Bayer in Benfica.
However, the current Benfica is not only distinguished by high pressure. Earlier, that is, back in the last season, the Lisbon team tried to play more simply, "danced" from the opponent, looking for weaknesses in him, and put pressure on them. If the opponent was approximately equal, then difficulties immediately arose. Very often in such cases, the team played on the counterattack.
Now a lot has changed. In both matches against Midtjullan, the Lisbon team played as the first number, from a position of strength. Possession of the ball in places reached 80 percent. Moreover, the team tries to control not only the ball, but also the situation. Many note the excellent play on the flanks, the ability to create an advantage through competent and timely movement of players. Such an analogue of "intelligent chaos".
You can, if you wish, argue that at the same time, Benfica creates scoring situations quite straightforwardly - after passes from the flanks and set pieces, but such standardity, excuse the tautology, brings the result: the team scores a lot. It is noteworthy that at the off-season training camp, the Eagles were pleasantly surprised by their high performance against the background of very strong opponents. They scored three and five goals against English Newcastle and Fulham respectively, Nice also three, Girona four.
In general, the current Benfica is a very formidable force. And Dynamo will definitely have a hard time with such an opponent. Even despite the fact that certain problems of the team in defense did not disappear.
During the summer off-season, Benfica changed not only stylistically, but also personnel. We are all somehow used to the fact that the Lisbon "eagles" are a kind of workshop not only for "production", but also for the sale of talents. So this summer, the club sold its next diamond for crazy money.
Darwin Nunez, the best player in Portugal last season, left Benfica for Liverpool for 75 million euros. Another 25 million Lisbon will receive from the Merseysiders for the Uruguayan scorer as bonuses.
Another forward left Da Luzh and went on a one-year loan to Galatasaray. We are talking about Seferovic. So, it would seem that the road to the main team is cleared for our Yaremchuk. But it's not so simple. About what below.
Significant losses include the departure of four more performers from the club: Everton (moved to Flamengo), Jota (Celtic), Fernandez (Besiktas) and Pizzi (Al-Wahda).
However, Benfica not only managed to sell its liquidity, but also replenished with qualified personnel. Brazilian Neres came from our Shakhtar, who managed to show himself in all his glory in the game against Midtjullan. River Plate bought Enzo Fernandez, and Corinthians bought Joao Victor.
In general, the Eagles spent almost 47 million euros on new players this off-season. Although their income is much higher - about 115 million.
Now about Yaremchuk. Neither under Jesus, nor under Verissimo, the forward of the Ukrainian national team was the main one in Benfica. Although he received his playing time regularly. After the departure of Nunez and Seferovic, it seemed that now Roman would finally become the backbone player of the Eagles. However, both in the Champions League qualification matches and in the opening matches of the Portuguese Championship, Schmidt relied on the attacking trio of Neres - Ramos - Silva. Yaremchuk also got his playing time. But not as much as he would like.
The situation may change after Benfica part ways with another of their attackers: there are a lot of contenders for Ramos. If for some reason this does not happen, Roman will have to win a serious competition for a place in the sun.
Valery Vasilenko
