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| Wednesday, 08 September 2010 14:50 |
We have to make up lost points - LuisaoCentral defender committed to Benfica's cause With the international break having come and gone, it is now time to place the focus on the domestic championship and Benfica are certainly doing that with a tricky tie away to Vitoria Guimaraes.
The Lisbon club got back on track in their last match before the stoppage against Vitoria de Setubal. Having won with 10 men against the Sadinos, Benfica captain Luisao feels that the victory will do the team good after having dropped their two opening matches. "It moralises us," said the team captain on Benfica TV. "We don't like to lose and against Setubal we were closer to to doing what we are capable of before we face Vitoria Guimaraes. The confidence returned and it is always good to go into the next match after winning your last one." As for their upcoming opponents, Benfica and Guimaraes have had real battles between them since the minho side returned to the Portuguese top flight three years ago and Luisao does not expect this weekend's encounter to be any different. "(Estadio D.Afonso Henriques) is a ground that is always difficult. We have read news that the Guimaraes players are trying to create a certain atmosphere through the newspapers, but the newspapers print a lot, the talking has to be done on the pitch." "We know that they are a difficult adversary and we will be playing in a complicated atmosphere because the Guimaraes supporters always support their team. But we also have our supporters and it is always a match of the highest level." "Benfica are always motivated for all of their adversaries. We have been used to this for many years and because of this, we stay close amongst ourselves. We receive support from our fans every day during our training sessions, which is incredible, but we still manage to keep the group as a tight unit." "We know that all the teams who play against us give their all. We open the newspapers and feel that the atmosphere is different when they play against other teams." As for the team getting eager for their Champions League debut next week, Luisao was quick to quash the notion that Benfica are looking past Guimaraes and focusing on the continent's elite club championship. "We do not have the luxury of thinking about the Champions League," affirmed the Brazilian. "If we didn't fail the first two matches, maybe we could have thought about it, but becasue of the points we have, all of our concentration must be given to Guimaraes." "We want to be champions and because of this, this week all of our thoughts will be squarely placed on the match on Friday." Benfica greatsFinally, Luisao wanted to clear the air for the last time as regards him begrudgingly remaining with the Portuguese giants instead of moving abroad. The 29-year-old states that he is happy to still be playing at Benfica and wants to be remembered as one of the club's greats."I have already spoken about this and heard that some things I said were misinterpreted by the media. But above everything else, I respect this institution, namely the club president, and it is true that seven years is a long time, especially in today's football, where the norm is to stay less time." "These seven years have been very happy, but some moments were disappointing because we want to win every year. But clearly I want to be a part of Benfica's history, like some of the players have who played in my position." by Marco Pereira |
As for Luisao, he's a true club player. There aren't many players that commit true careers for any clubs. This is something at soccer is losing with all of these crazy contracts and transfers. Hopefully with some of the new rules we'll see more players staying longer at clubs.
It was nice to see Gaitan contribute to Cardozo;s goal, and he just learn to stay wide and work with Coentrao.
I also liked how Cardozo had the presence of mind to go and point and celebrate his goal with Gaitan. It's little things liek that, that solidify a squad.
I would still like to see Jara start up top with Saviola and Cardozo. They worked well together in the pre-season.
The Champions League does scare me a bit, since it will make league play harder.
It's nice to see the Captain step up.