for for him to stay, he had to go to the final of Liga Europa, and/or win the league, If none of this happens, he should leave, but never when there are only few games missing to the end of the league and we can still win it...
Arthur Cabral was on the starting eleven on the first half of the season without playing that good or scoring. He finally found his form, started scoring, and RS removed him from the team. Why?
So nice to see you cover your favorite team Adrian. I love your channel because you consistently cover across all the leagues in Europe, instead of just the prem like most channels do. I’ll keep watching keep up the good content please.
Man, I was waiting for this video. I thought you would be too heartbroken to talk about Benfica😅 (esp. after Porto match) P.S Love your content, have been subscriber for a long time
You are too kind, thank you! It definitely was a terrible feeling after that match, but matches have been "uncomfortable" for a while now. I hope Schmidt makes some changes to how he is doing things so that we finish strong. The squad is good enough, but not optimized.
This was a banger of a video, Adrian! You addressing the problems at Benfica helped me understand a bit better what's going on with them. Me as a Portuguese Sporting fan can tell you that has been difficult to understand because here in Portugal, everyone that talks about Benfica being in crisis is like Portugal is dying (yes, seriously). Even though is just about a manager that has a top talent at a top club, and he is being terrible at man management at the moment. About Sporting, we've been so good this season because of one man and he is Viktor Gyokeres. Doing a video on him and how he changed how Sporting play in the present compared to past season would be interesting. Also, more coverage of Portuguese football coming from you is a blessing. Keep up the good work, Adrian! 🙏
You missed talking about Florentino not playing. He is not the perfect at passing the ball but he was the best at recovering the ball and he gives a lot to benfica's pressing system. Total mystery on why he doesn't play
Very true But even then Florentino, who is the best pressing and ball winning midfielder, rides the bench almost every game this season Meanwhile 36 year old Di Maria and many other poor defensive players often log 80+ minutes every game Hard to explain and even harder to understand...
@@marmanjoteta2100 I have a really unpopular opinion: Di Maria is killing the team. Does't fit at all with the profile of a winning-gegenpressing team. Also very selfish. Technical wise is still the best in the league in some aspects, but overall he is a massive handicap. I mean, again: no winning team in the world plays a 36 winger that does not press. Much less with two 36 year old players, the other being Otamendi. I was never in favor of Ti Maria joining Benfica, and I am tired of pretending it was a good decision.
@@marmanjoteta2100 P.S: I just checked the statistics. Ti Maria is the second player with more lost balls in the League, only behind a guy calles Costinha from Rio Ave. Enough said for me.
I think it all started with poor scouting. We lost 3 important players (Ramos, Grimaldo and Enzo) and all we had to do was to find good replacers. Instead of it, we got a random Jurasek, injured Bernat, Kokçu (a 10 to play as a 8), injured Guedes, old Di Maria and Cabral who didn't know how to play in our system. Lost Gilberto and got stuck with just 1 rightback. And why the hell we got rid of Ristic?? Besides all this, we lost Aursnes as a left mid and Florentino never plays. Too many changes! We shoud've just went for good replacers for Grimaldo, Ramos and Enzo and stick with the same lineup and ideas as last year. The only upgrade we had from last year was the GK.
@@goncalor.8192 por mim o Rafa rende mais no meio do que nas alas. Na esquerda não vai baixar pra defender, e mesmo que baixe, vai-se cansar e perdemos as suas arrancadas. Aursnes na esquerda ajuda a defender e vem pra dentro ajudar os 2 médios centro.
Last year i found he moved no one. Same starting line up all year. How did Ristic never get a chance and he seemed to play well. Before Morato got hurt against boavista he was the best defender in our league. Was barely given a chance last year when he could have rotated some games. Aursnes who i love like you said has played every position. So many great points here in the video and comments Schmidt is like Fernando Santos...a stubborn stubborn man
There’s one more turning point, last year. Along with Enzo’s departure to Chelsea FC, Rui Costa rushed to renew RS contract and now, in my opinion, Benfica is his hostage. Need to reminder that Benfica is a seller and not much of a buyer and, with that being said, paying 20 M to end RS contract mid season, is close to impossible. As a Benfica fan, I appreciate RS’s early work but I came to the conclusion that will be a near future with out trophy’s. Cheers for the video.
RIght, because Porto didn't lose Luis Diaz, Otávio, Uribe, Vitinha or Fábio Vieira just in last 2 years. Apparently only Benfica sells their star players now 😂
Except that they made hundreds of millions in those sales (biggest flop factory in the world, but that discussion can stay for another time) and used that money to heavilly invest in the squad. Benfica is BY FAR the biggest spender in the league, spending more than Porto and Sporting combined, and still fail to succeed. And like the other guy pointed out, the other clubs also lose their stars each year, it isnt a Benfica thing. What is a Benfica thing is how much money they make on selling flops (thanks to Jorge Mendes), so they have a ton more money to spend every season. Lets get to numbers: Money spent this season alone: Porto: 45M Sporting: 60M Benfica: 97M Money spent in the last 5 seasons combined (from 2019/2020 to today): Porto: 217M Sporting: 214M Benfica: 414M (Also, they spent 211M the last 2 years alone, thats about as much as Porto and Sporting have spent in the last 5 seasons) Unlike this biased youtube channel that refuses to call Benfica a "Failure", i would argue that "Failure" is an understatement... they suck. Money wise, its like having PSG struggling to win Ligue 1.
@@greentuga691 Yeah i'm a fan of Liverpool but I watch a lot of Portuguese League, I've noticed there is a lot of favoritism towards Sporting in this title race this season, If they don't win the league, I think that would be a huge failure considering the calls they've been getting like the Casa Pia game. I've also been loving Darwin Nunez, amazing footballer, don't know where you are getting flop factory from considering Sporting have sold flops like Nuno Mendes, Carvalho, Adrien Silva, etc.
I'm with you. I hate the narrative of "hero to zero" in football. I believe his style of play (that we saw largely last season) is the best approach for Benfica. Last season, Benfica was a joy to watch almost every week. This season, the team has a lot of problems. The pressing is usually innefective, Di Maria doesn't track back and leaves the full back exposed, the midfield can be paper thin (the lack of Florentino is questionable), the striker situation is unbelievable, the full back situation is even more questionable. Another relevant situation is the feud going on between the portuguese press and Roger. A lot of weird nationalistic sentiment from the media around him not learning portuguese, some unfortunate comments by the manager towards the journalists... I believe a lot of journalists have been praying on his downfall and are ready to speculate and make his life harder, so to speak. We shall wait and see
I think the problem isnt the pressing but the defensive construction after an attack, the left wing is very weak and the right weak sometimes feels useless when bah isn't playing (although Aursnes is playing marvelously in the position). The thing is even though João Neves is with no doubt, one of the best players, the team needs more of a duo between kokcu (builds the attack) and Florentino and rafa to distribute the balls between the wingers, and maybe give more of a variation and play guys like rollheiser, tiago gouveia, prestianni and NERES. I mean if there's a position benfica is always stacked up its the wings and we haven't been using them or rightfully most of the games hoped Di Maria would be a messiah and do most of the job there with luck.
@@eskipoI I hear you. I definitely feel like the left wing is weak especially when Morato and João Mário play there. But I think the biggest issue is with equilibrium and stability. The teams sets up in a high press that is very easily countered. After the first line of press is broken, there's acres of space the opponent can run into,seing Di Maria doesn't do too much defensive work, and Neves and Kokcu are left incredibly exposed. There have been a lot of teams that exploited that: Salzburg, Sociedad, Toulouse, Inter and the last week were particularly bad examples of this. The team needs to find stability in defensive transition and there are two options to solve it: either improve the pressing game (some solutions could be bring Aursnes up, sub out Di Maria or at the very least make Rafa and the ST double the work, bring on Tino) or compromise that idea and defend in a compact low block 442, for example. The wichy washy approach will cost Benfica over the next few games as it is very easy to understand the fragilities atm
@@Jose_C695 you are right but besides trying to find that equilibrium and stability, which sometimes seems like obtained for a series of two or three games and then gets broken, is preparing every game individually, because Schmidt can't keep relying on individual talent and not prepare every game individually.
I dont remember Schmidt making any "unfortunate" comments towards the journalists. The press keeps misinterpreting him (as its their job i guess) and comes from a different culture proven by how he isnt used to so many questions per journalist, it would eventually reach a breaking point. Other than a situation as a consequence of journalistic BS I dont think I've ever heard Schmidt throwing slights at the journalists unprompted at all
@@feetusgaming779 A RTP journalist asked him if the result was better than the performance after the Sporting game (which is an irrelevant question anyways) and the answered by saying that the journalist must be a Sporting (or Porto) fan. That wasn't very classy. Also, he answers a lot of questions by stating that the he already answered that question before (which is true) but I know that journalists hate that response. They perceive it as arrogant and demining. But I think football journalists don't want to discuss the game, they want a headline to print in the newspapers the day after
Rui Costa knew exactly what he was getting in: at PSV, Roger had a fabulous first year and the second year was a disaster. Story is repeating at Benfica right now in front of us. If Rui does not step in, we sink further...
Parabéns.uma excelente análise da situação do nosso SLBenfica. Mas Eu acredito que vamos ter mais do que um motivo para festejar em Maio. Força rabonatv e Força Benfica.🙏🏽❤️
You really do make the most articulate, intelligent, interesting football videos online. Better than anything made by English “journalists” or “experts” in the media here, and I’ve paid for some of that rubbish in the past. (I’m looking at you, The Athletic). Just fantastic mate. Keep doing what you’re doing, and thank you for the content.
I 100% agree with your opinion. I´m a benfica fan too. Everytime we start a match is like we already losing it. Either because of the manager choices or because the fans have lost the faith on the team and dont support the players when things dont turn out right. I really dont think that sack Roger mid season is a good solution. But he needs to change is approach and the fans need to support the team on difficult times. I know its hard to understand why joao mario, morato and even rafa play all time but we need to support the team even though we dont agreed with the starting eleven.
It's so contradicting to switch the starting 11 every other week and to just refuse to substitute during the game. He did the same thing at PSV. Let's just say the fans don't look back at that period in a very positive way. Our way of playing has improved so much in quality, performance and entertainment under v. Nistelrooij and especially under Bosz. Edit: Just read that under Bosz we have the most goals scored by subs in the Eredivisie (16) 😂
For me you were spot on, I still Schmidt has it and if he is willing to make changes to the team we could create momentum and with some luck we can still be champions. Fingers crossed for that 🤞
the problem is Schmidt. really that simple. the entire season has been a disaster since the beginning. only reason we are in 2nd in the league is individual quality, not tactics.
By a huge mile, the best analysis. By a fucking huge mile. Congrats bro. P.S: bad decisions aside, I still think Di Maria is more of an handicap rather than a solution. He is the best player in the league still technical wise, but no winning team in the world plays a 36 year old winger that doesn't press. It's bittersweet to say this, but the fact that he apparently needs to play everygame pisses me off.
Very important video, one I was expecting for quite some time now. And yeah, I knew it was a bit of superstition from you waiting first. Apart from everything else, it is a bummer Rafa and Di Maria would probably leave with that being their last season. Grimaldo leaving last year felt more "right", because of that super season. Champions league campaign really isn't up to comment this year.. But thanks for making that video ❤
15:58 There are so many big clubs in Europe who somehow had the biggest bottlejobs at the end of the season by going trophyless, despite having a big expectations to win all of the competitions. Benfica had even suffered this back in 2012/13 season. They failed to win Primeira Liga after losing their crucial Clasico to, you guessed it, Porto, despite being unbeaten in the league before that game, then lost the Europa League Final to Chelsea by last minute goal from Branislav Ivanovic, and surprisingly got beaten by minnows Vitoria Guimaraes in the Portuguese Cup Final.
When he came in to SLB he looked like a savior that was going to end our trophies drought, but yea this season has gone incredibly bad. I'm not one to crucify a championship coach, but maybe we're already due for a change 🤔
Há inúmeras razões para estarmos insatisfeitos, mas a mais flagrante é a tremenda falta de preparação que a equipa evidenciou frente ao Sporting e ao Porto. Parecia que estavam a ser arrastados por um furacão que se materializou instantaneamente e que para o qual nunca se poderiam ter precavido. Atenção que até contra o Rio Ave vimos esse filme. Ganharam 4-1, mas quem viu o jogo, sabe que o resultado deveria ter sido o inverso...
I 100% Agree with your take on Gilberto's exit, it's just nonsense. Awesome Squad Player, always giving full effort, scored some important goals and everyone seemed to like him in the dressing room too!
I know its easy to say now that Leverkusen is doing so good but even before the season started as neutral i was very "unsure" of how Benfica would do without Grimaldo. Dont get me wrong its not one player running the game 24/7 but anyone who paid attention to Benfica's great year before would have seen how much they relied on Grimaldo's output and movements on the pitch and the fact he left on a free is even more sad. (edit - its not just that Grimaldo is an above average defender its that the guy performs like a midfielder as a defender both supplying a generous amount of G/A while also being extremely dangerous in link up play , am not saying he had the G/A of an elite striker but to have a defender that can fill in goals and assists when you need them thats a huge luxury)
Griimaldo was Benfica's exit channel. Getting the ball out of the back always - always - went through Grimaldo. Since he left, Benfica have struggled to get the ball out from the back. Not having another exit outlet or strategy has been a large part of Benfica's problems this season. We can't get out through our useless wings, and our center is always outnumbered. Front line waits haplessly while the backline struggles endlessly getting the ball out.
It was rumoured he wanted a 10M€ signing bonus and I can't believe we didn't take it if it's true. If you see it as a "transfer fee" for a signing, it's an absolute steal. How much would he have had to pay to get someone of his quality? 6x, 10x?
@@teh_bruno150 Grimaldo's problem for benfica was his market , he had an amazing season and had a good market overall , he knew that either Benfica would pay and renew and he would be satisfied or he would take the chance while he had market. And for Benfica it was the same , if they did renew his market in 2 to 4 years would drop considerably, thus making us lose more money down the road. Besides he knew that to be able to be called to the National team he would need to be trained by a spanish coach, so he already wanted out anyway. also dont forget that his salary was one of the highest on the squad , and that leeway is always needed for new signs
The problem is that Roger has a core of players he never bench even if they play in unfamiliar positions. João Mario, Frederic, Rafa, DiMaria, Otamendi and Morato always play even exhausted .
In my opinion Benfica has the best squad in the recent history with overflowing talent players. It’s mind blowing to see RS making subs at 85min mark every single game. We have been playing with the same strategy since day one, it was new and it worked but if things are not going as planned the strategy/formation needs to change ( why not try a classic 4x4x2 we have the players for it). RS needs to address this and have a plan B.
Sorry to say that I do not share your enthusiasm :( He seems to be way too stubborn. Why is Florentino out of the team after such a good last season partnering with Enzo? They were the reason we could keep up that high pressing and got the ball back so quickly. We were not caught with our pants around our ankles on quick transitions, like we do now. João Neves is different from Enzo, but not so much that he could not reenact a similar partnership with Florentino. Having an intense double pivot in the midfield frees up the creatives further upfront. 4-2-3-1 with real fullbacks on both sides would do wonders for us. Up front, Rafa coming in from the left, Kokcu in the midle near the penalty area for that last pass/outside shooting, Di Maria coming in from the right and a real nr. 9 (maybe Cabral), pinning down the opposition centerbacks. Then J. Mário could come in later as a sub if we need to keep the ball, or Neres/second striker to turn up the heat on the opposition if needed.
Marcos Leonardo, Prestianni, Rollheiser, David Neres should be the starting team, the two middlefielders should be Neves and Florentino Luiz, the centerback pairing needs to change as well Otamendi is getting constantly outplayed by faster and more physical strikers, Gyokeres ate him alive, the entire backline needs to change
You are a nice guy, Adrian, you did not deserve a 5-0 thrashing by a little more tjhan mediocre Porto side. As a Porto fan I admire your courage and your humbleness and as a football lover I know when you make a deep dive video of any time - Benfica this time, obviously - you show you really know what you're talking about and we always learn something. Greetings from Porto(gal).
This Benfica loss is more embarrassing than the one in the 2010-11 season. At least that 2011 Porto squad was elite. This Porto squad is too inconsistent. Schmidt really screwed the dog this season. I don't know if winning the Taça de Portugal will save his job.
Definetly. Bad decisions aside (like Morato or Rafa as 9) the problems start with the need to play Di Maria unconditionaly. No winning team in the world play a 36 year old winger that does not press. Period. Nowadays he plays like a quarterback: slowly and throwing long passes. He still is the best in the league technical wise, and he can be decisive in big time games, but overall the team suffers a lot and is exposed by having such a fragile player on the pitch. Both the right bak and right center midfielders suffer a lot in defensive transitions because Di Maria simply does not run. To prove my point, the closest we had this season from the Benfica of last year was against Vizela, in which Di Maria did not play from the stat and whe were winning 4-0 at halftime, with a very intense gegenrpressing all the time. Rafa almost scored a goal just by the super intense pressing, next to the goalkeeper. Period. With Di Maria we lost our best N10 and best creator of dangerous and unpredictable chances: the gegenpressing.
Thank you for putting many of my thoughts into video! I would just add one detail: why doesn't he play Florentino? He still tries to press high, but without him is waaay harder. Everytime he strarts we can see a better and more cohese team, but Roger prefers to move J. Mário to the middle instead...
For gegenpressing Florentino played a vital role last season being the player with most ball recoveries in the 22/23 UCL. This season, Schmidt ghosted Florentino. Also Cabral has been improving and scoring. After 4 consecutive goals he was benched. You can also notice Rafa's peak performance was due to Cabral holding back the defense. To finish, whenever we think we have a vreat formula, Schmidt shakes everything again.
Great analysis Adrien! Really enjoy watching your videos. As a fellow benfiquista would like to now your opinion on a couple of questions; What do you think about Gonçalo Guedes barely being used by schimdt and quickly sent on loan to spain? And why can Benfica have two good seasons in a row, no matter who's coaching? Club structural problems maybe?
Guedes had two long injuries (one last season, another this season) and it seems like he lost a lot of the pace he had before. Last season before the injury Schmidt got some good performances from him. We also have Tiago Gouveia this season who provides some competition in his spot. I'd like to still have Guedes here, but it's probably better for Guedes that he gets more guaranteed playing time at Villarreal. Club structure yes. Transfer planning can be really hot and cold. Bruno Lage second season is a good example, Felix was sold and Jonas retired and we didn't sign any players with a similar profile. Once in a while we get a good transfer window, like last season with Enzo, Neres, Bah. But this seasons, the planning to replace Grimaldo and Goncalo Ramos was terrible.
Very nice video. I almost agree with everything you said there. The part where i disagree is the last one. I'm not sure if we must sack him right away, but a decision needs to be made by the president right now for the end of the season because even if we win trophies, what RS as shown in this year and a half is that he's not going to change. So that means that the problems will still bé there next season (whithout Rafa or Di Maria to bail us out). Ps. I agree 100% about the point you made about Jurasek, and i would like to say another 2 names that, in my opinion have been mistreated by RS: Florentino Luís and Petar Musa (and David Neres is also in this category), don't you agree? To finish, from a portuguese and a SL Benfica fan (maybe you are both too, i don't know) thanks for the video 🙂✌️
I don't agree nor understand some of the choices as well, and, the stuberness of making substitutions sooner.. But, we need to be with the team and the club now. Now that we are not that well, is the time to support them. Support when the team is doing fine is easy. Thats why we are call fans and supporters, is to support. Not to put them down, for that we have the fans of the other teams. The season is not over, and Roger was champion on his first season, lets support them until the end.
The main problems are Grimaldo who left, and Schmidt doesn't trust the left back we have, so he decides to play Morato as a left back, while he is not even able to play as a solid central defender. Why Carreras is not playing? Schmidt doesn't trust him. So why did he come in January? Why Aursnes is still playing as a right back, when Bah is fit already? Aursnes is very good in the midfield. With Neves, they can dominate the opponent midfield. Why Tengstedt is considered to be the main striker while he nearly have experience? Cabral and Eduardo are considered by Schmidt as not good enough (he said that scoring wasn't enough to be strikers at Benfica). What is Tengstedt doing more compared to Cabral and Eduardo? What does Kokcu bring to the team? I don't see what he adds. Especially when he plays with Joao Mario. They should be playing not together. They have exactly the same characteristics.
I don't know if it's stupidity, arrogance, self doubt or a mix of them, but the man seems to prepare the 11's with no thought of the opponent. Against Toulouse Sporting and Porto away, where he needed to keep the ball as long as possible and be solid defensively, he leaves Florentino on the bench. Joao Mario doesn't know how to defend, on the rare occasions he feels like it, leaving Neves to do a double shift.
As a Benfica fan myself, there is nothing worse than seeing talent being recruited and then we just don’t use it. Di Maria has had moments of brilliance yes but there have been so many games where he has been poor. Give rolhaiser game time. Carreras possibly may not be playing due to the buy clause, okay so play a youth player instead of Morato who has shown time fm time again he cannot play there, I’m sure a proper left back from the B team will at least do a bit better. We need a backup right back so that aursnes is not forced to be playing as a full back and can play in midfield where he has performed the best helping us press properly. Joao Mario cannot play on the wing, yes he has been better in midfield but still short for me I would much rather stick a Florentino in there at least we know we are safe defensively and Joao neves can roam a bit more. Tiago Gouveia deserves more game time 100% Cabral for me not good enough and Leonardo should be our starting ST allowing him to develop and create the chemistry on the pitch with the team. He can score goals so why bench him? Lastly might be controversial but I would like to see Otamendi benched for Tomas Araújo who I think would actually develop very quickly to be the best pairing to Antonio, just because of the many mistakes from otamendi recently. Long comment don’t know if you will read it but hey at least this is how I feel about Benfica right now. Do I believe in Roger? Yes but it’s fading away quickly honestly
Yes, my point being that complaining about the general play while we were topping the league earlier in the season wouldn't make sense. But now that our luck has run out, it's worth pointing out our flaws. Make sense?
I’ve been waiting for a video like this all year. I am Luso Canadian and speak it but all the channels are in Portuguese and I may miss a word here or there. How long before Benfica sells Neves? I wish they would keep him forever but we both know they sell players as a Sport 😂
Fully agree with you. My biggest surprise has been, sure use morato as left back, but if you do make everyone else mote attacking, the inverted full back role is a tactical innovation which works well, but if hes bombing up thats useless, it makes us more defensively vulnerable, not less
Gilberto and Ristic were more than good enough for Benfica. In fact, Ristic is better than any of the options we've had this season (excluding Bernat, if he wasn't injured all the time). I really don't understand what goes on in the football department at Benfica and what's going through Schmidt's mind!
For when a video about the TRUE club of Portugal, FC Porto? xD To be fair, I wasn't expecting this result against SLB. I know Porto are always good at home against Benfica, but the way they were playing, 5-nil never occured to me and I can see Porto drop some points this friday in Portimão. Good video and good analysis as always..
@@RabonaTVcould you do a video on any of the big portuguese derbies? (Sporting vs Benfica, Porto vs Benfica, Sporting vs Porto, Porto vs Boavista, Braga vs Guimarães,...)
Jurasek was hightly rated were ?? bro the moment i saw that guy videos with the best moments i said it was the biggest robbery in modern football , 14M for that literal piece of s**
A fun video idea: I would love to see a yearly review of Benfica, how they did that season, and all the drama surrounding it from an acual Benfica fan.
Schimidt had enought time to recover already and just like you said, he keeps doing the same and the same again, thats something that shows he doesnt want change, so he can get the fack out
I don't think he should be fired now. I have mixed feelings on Schmidt - loved what he did last season, hate what he's doing right now. If the Porto game acts as a wake-up call, maybe Schmidt's stubbornness will end and he'll finally realize these lineups aren't working. I thought things weren't going too bad in January, and it was the 2-2 game against Guimaraes where Roger started trying the strange strikerless lineup where I felt things started to go really wrong. If he goes back to what he was doing before that game, plus giving some other players a chance, we still have a squad that can challenge for a trophy. You covered most of the issues (left back, striker). Another one I'd add is the center midfield, specifically Florentino. I don't understand why Roger stopped playing Florentino, when Florentino was part of the team that gave us last year's Champions League success, in fact he had some of the best defensive stats in the CL. Florentino was also very important in Roger's pressing system being able to win the ball high up the pitch. His partnership with Enzo was perfect, one midfielder staying back and the other able to move up the pitch. I imagine Neves and Kokcu could play even better with Florentino covering for them defensively. This is one of the worse errors by Schmidt imo, since this isn't a transfer window problem and he just isn't using a player that already did well for him. Arthur Cabral was done dirty. Finally when he got confidence and got 3 goals in 3 games, he didn't get another start after that. How can someone be benched when scoring every game? Maybe there's a theme here? Possibly Roger doesn't think the less flashy players like Cabral and Florentino are good for his tactic, forgetting that having some players with different traits like Cabral's strength and Florentino's defense can make life easier for the Di Marias and Rafas to use their skills. Again, the Porto game could be Roger's wake-up call since he did sub on Florentino, Carreras, and Cabral in the 2nd half (of course it was already too late to make a difference, but consistently starting these players could help the team be more balanced).
We can all agree the reason we lost to Porto was Morato. Francisco Conceição dominated his flank and could initiate any counter attack from there. We couldn't attack also because of him, the lack of play with the wings which Benfica throughout history usually does is the biggest reason we aren't as dangerous as we should be. Schmidt should wake up and realize Benfica needs to approach every game individually and not hope for individual talent to sort things out (on a note we have to appreciate him for investing in scouting and our talent and foreign talent, we dont even need to compare the team he got and the one he built up without counting Di Maria of course)
Even last year after january me and my brother already saw a lot of problems that were just hidden like the lack of pure wingers that are capable of taking on a player like good fulbacks that can actually cross the ball(bah can but he rarely has the oportunity to do so) and the lack of dynamics if anyone ser the games in the portuguese league u would want to fall asleep its just possession no dynamics no chances created every chance we create is from di maria crossing or david neres taking on a player
It's not the end yet for Benfica. If if beats Sporting & Porto beat Sporting, it can have an opportunity to seize the league. But it will need outside help. Benfica have to be perfect in the remainder of their matches. Forza Di Maria!
I mean, I was thrilled when we won 5-0 in the Dragão against Benfica and I hope that at least Porto finishes in second place. In fact it was shocking and I hope that at least Benfica reaches the quarter-finals of the Europa League
We just drew against Rangers and he did change the 11 a bit today and I preferred it but honestly he might have to change the gamestyle if he wants to play Di Maria, maybe a 433 with Aursnes/Kokçu, Florentino and Joao Neves Rest Otamendi a little I'd like to see more of Antonio Silva and Tomas Araujo pairing, give Marcos Leonardo a start for once, and for the wingers Rafa on the left and Di Maria can still do it on the right but not for a whole game, he should be substituted after 60-70 mins and start from the bench every 3rd game or so, let us see what Rollheiser and Prestianni and Gouveia can do. I still have a lot of faith on Roger and believe he's gonna get us the league this year but man it's getting harder to keep this much faith on a guy that shows no sign of wanting to learn from his own mistakes. Viva Benfica
Getting rid of Ristic after a season of very few opportunitties due to Grimaldo's amazing form even though in these very few chances he would actually deliver and perform well was also a decision that I am not able to understand up to this day...
As a benfica fan, for me the classic was his last opportunity. It's been ONE YEAR since we played decent football. Roger seems not interested to change and his inactivity during the games is not from a coach who receives 4M per year. Sorry Adrian, but we deserve more
As a benfixa fan my stance is. I do think he should a will finish the season But the play like the quality of play has been sooo low . Has a team its like theres no plan. Any team can high press us and we have no clue what to do. Ive seen more unwinnable seasons. But its hard to remeber seasons where im bored or upset watching benfica play with this amazing talent
the blame is three fold: absent team that seems detached from the game with adistinct lack of fighting spirit and inability to react hastly to threats, a manager who seems troubled especially in his reluctance in exploring new player positions to cover for a lack of natural players in those positions, and finnally the fans for how historically harsh and critical they are about their own club to the point of actively withdrawing support and aggravating the problems within instead of being an anchor the club can rely on in times of trouble
Schmidt doesn't know anything about football An inventor who sometimes gets lucky but without consistency The worst coach in the last five Benfica coaches
schimdt sent ristic away he looked like solid player much better than jurasek jurasek was out of his debt couldnt make a pass if pressured but this carreras doesnt look that good too but idk why he doesnt use any of the january transfers only 5 minutes per game
In the end it all depends on the importance roger had on this seasons signings ... If he was the major person behind every signing, he should just go on the end of the season The other problem for me is the team rotation, same 11 and late subs (and always the same subs) ... Its a problem since he came, even on our best moments i was saying that, to little rotation, and he saw that For that reason, in my opinion, he should leave at the end of the season I can understand not changing when we on top and shining, "ok, the results and exhibitions are on point, do what you want" but when the results are not on point, at least show us we trying to address it by changing something
The reason he doesn't use more the new players its because he doesn't trust them. They're very green still, and I don't blame him. Carreras had some flaws in his past games. Its a clear message the Schmit doesn't rely on the new players, and that we need players with experience that can add NOW and not in the future.
He played rafa as a cf to put kokcu on the cam position (which he played very well). In the other side he puts João Mário at the wing since it was the position he played last season and most of the times, to get a cf + rafa in the middle and di maria on the right but recently he is using him more as a cm while kokcu plays at cam and rafa as a cf or in a 4 3 3 (once against Porto). Biggest problem though arent the players but like Adrian said the tactics, its to easy to get counter attacker and the defensive wings are very weak.
Benfica administration is not innocent. Roger wants well-rounded versatile players. One of the best things Roger did when he arrived was clear out all the half-players (Weigl, Pizzi, etc.) - guys who were only good at one thing - from the stables. But the acquisition policy by the Benfica administration since has been to acquire a whole bunch of half-players again. We desperately needed a left back in Jan, but we get a "future project". This "stubborness" feels calculated, like a power struggle between Roger & Benfica directors in the background. The lack of prep for games feels like Roger has thrown in the towel until he believes there is actually a project here. Dismissing him would be returning to the bad old Vieira days when the Benfica admin & their agent friends acquired all sorts of trash for future re-sale and hired a "yes-man" manager to simply smile and accept it. Our three best players - Rafa, Di Maria and Joao Neves - will likely be gone this summer. Benfica is going to have to rebuild. The question is whether we want Roger to be part of that rebuild. If no, then fire him now, don't wait. Because nothing is going to change before the end of the season, and we still have chance for silverware.
The Benfica’s problem is one : KARMA For years they payed referees and opponent players to them to win. They influenced the Media, the judges in the court where Benfica fanatics etc… It’s a big club? A big shitty club, why don’t you talk about this?
You guys know where I stand, so have your say now! Are the calls for a new manager justified, or unfair?
Unfair - Who could benfica realistically get in at this stage of the season to make a drastic turn around anyway?
As a diehard Benfiquista myself, I felt humiliated but we need to have a cool head before any rash decision
@@diamondcianoi heard Mourinho was present at the porto game
Jorge Jesus
for for him to stay, he had to go to the final of Liga Europa, and/or win the league, If none of this happens, he should leave, but never when there are only few games missing to the end of the league and we can still win it...
Arthur Cabral was on the starting eleven on the first half of the season without playing that good or scoring. He finally found his form, started scoring, and RS removed him from the team. Why?
O Xumite não curte picanha.
@@adrianapeixoto6046😂😂
He had flu for 2 games after that and lost his spot after the 2 games
He was playing because tengsted got injured
@@lol50edu93 nah, he was playing because of the 25m€ signing fee
So nice to see you cover your favorite team Adrian. I love your channel because you consistently cover across all the leagues in Europe, instead of just the prem like most channels do. I’ll keep watching keep up the good content please.
Man, I was waiting for this video.
I thought you would be too heartbroken to talk about Benfica😅 (esp. after Porto match)
P.S Love your content, have been subscriber for a long time
You are too kind, thank you! It definitely was a terrible feeling after that match, but matches have been "uncomfortable" for a while now. I hope Schmidt makes some changes to how he is doing things so that we finish strong. The squad is good enough, but not optimized.
@@RabonaTV Totally agree with you. we have an amazing squad, with a lot of option. But Schmidt keep doing the same mistakes.
PORTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
PORTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO @@RabonaTV
@@pedrocardoso909 criança..
This was a banger of a video, Adrian! You addressing the problems at Benfica helped me understand a bit better what's going on with them. Me as a Portuguese Sporting fan can tell you that has been difficult to understand because here in Portugal, everyone that talks about Benfica being in crisis is like Portugal is dying (yes, seriously). Even though is just about a manager that has a top talent at a top club, and he is being terrible at man management at the moment.
About Sporting, we've been so good this season because of one man and he is Viktor Gyokeres. Doing a video on him and how he changed how Sporting play in the present compared to past season would be interesting. Also, more coverage of Portuguese football coming from you is a blessing. Keep up the good work, Adrian! 🙏
Hjulmand também foi uma contratação importante. Não é só o Gyokeres
You missed talking about Florentino not playing. He is not the perfect at passing the ball but he was the best at recovering the ball and he gives a lot to benfica's pressing system.
Total mystery on why he doesn't play
Wrong players for Gengenpressing and inability from the coach to adapt his tactics to the players.
Starting with Di Maria.
Very ten hag-esque
Right ideas but wrong team
Very true
But even then Florentino, who is the best pressing and ball winning midfielder, rides the bench almost every game this season
Meanwhile 36 year old Di Maria and many other poor defensive players often log 80+ minutes every game
Hard to explain and even harder to understand...
@@marmanjoteta2100 I have a really unpopular opinion: Di Maria is killing the team. Does't fit at all with the profile of a winning-gegenpressing team. Also very selfish. Technical wise is still the best in the league in some aspects, but overall he is a massive handicap. I mean, again: no winning team in the world plays a 36 winger that does not press. Much less with two 36 year old players, the other being Otamendi. I was never in favor of Ti Maria joining Benfica, and I am tired of pretending it was a good decision.
@@marmanjoteta2100 P.S: I just checked the statistics. Ti Maria is the second player with more lost balls in the League, only behind a guy calles Costinha from Rio Ave.
Enough said for me.
I think it all started with poor scouting. We lost 3 important players (Ramos, Grimaldo and Enzo) and all we had to do was to find good replacers.
Instead of it, we got a random Jurasek, injured Bernat, Kokçu (a 10 to play as a 8), injured Guedes, old Di Maria and Cabral who didn't know how to play in our system.
Lost Gilberto and got stuck with just 1 rightback. And why the hell we got rid of Ristic??
Besides all this, we lost Aursnes as a left mid and Florentino never plays. Too many changes! We shoud've just went for good replacers for Grimaldo, Ramos and Enzo and stick with the same lineup and ideas as last year.
The only upgrade we had from last year was the GK.
Guedes is playing and scoring at Villareal. It's an insult to Schmid for not utilising him.
Deveríamos era ter dado ao Grimaldo o que ele queria. Temos 14 milhões Jurasek e não temos para o Grimaldo
rn benfica can play GK-Trubin LB-Carreras CB-Otamendi and Silva RB-Bah MD-Neves MC-Kokcu and Aursnes LW-Rafa RW- DiMaria CF-Marcos Leonardo
@@goncalor.8192 por mim o Rafa rende mais no meio do que nas alas. Na esquerda não vai baixar pra defender, e mesmo que baixe, vai-se cansar e perdemos as suas arrancadas. Aursnes na esquerda ajuda a defender e vem pra dentro ajudar os 2 médios centro.
@@brunosurrador2161 bom, ele também queria um novo desafio.
I love the way you say "we" when talking about Benfica ❤
Last year i found he moved no one.
Same starting line up all year.
How did Ristic never get a chance and he seemed to play well.
Before Morato got hurt against boavista he was the best defender in our league. Was barely given a chance last year when he could have rotated some games.
Aursnes who i love like you said has played every position.
So many great points here in the video and comments
Schmidt is like Fernando Santos...a stubborn stubborn man
There’s one more turning point, last year. Along with Enzo’s departure to Chelsea FC, Rui Costa rushed to renew RS contract and now, in my opinion, Benfica is his hostage. Need to reminder that Benfica is a seller and not much of a buyer and, with that being said, paying 20 M to end RS contract mid season, is close to impossible. As a Benfica fan, I appreciate RS’s early work but I came to the conclusion that will be a near future with out trophy’s. Cheers for the video.
The same problem of star players getting sold is always the issue for teams like Benfica, this was inevitable
Nah. Doesn't justify getting pumped 5-0. Every portuguese team sells. Not just benfica.
RIght, because Porto didn't lose Luis Diaz, Otávio, Uribe, Vitinha or Fábio Vieira just in last 2 years. Apparently only Benfica sells their star players now 😂
this is not due to sales though. Benfica has money, we literally had 90m worth of players on the bench against Porto
Except that they made hundreds of millions in those sales (biggest flop factory in the world, but that discussion can stay for another time) and used that money to heavilly invest in the squad. Benfica is BY FAR the biggest spender in the league, spending more than Porto and Sporting combined, and still fail to succeed. And like the other guy pointed out, the other clubs also lose their stars each year, it isnt a Benfica thing. What is a Benfica thing is how much money they make on selling flops (thanks to Jorge Mendes), so they have a ton more money to spend every season.
Lets get to numbers:
Money spent this season alone:
Porto: 45M
Sporting: 60M
Benfica: 97M
Money spent in the last 5 seasons combined (from 2019/2020 to today):
Porto: 217M
Sporting: 214M
Benfica: 414M (Also, they spent 211M the last 2 years alone, thats about as much as Porto and Sporting have spent in the last 5 seasons)
Unlike this biased youtube channel that refuses to call Benfica a "Failure", i would argue that "Failure" is an understatement... they suck. Money wise, its like having PSG struggling to win Ligue 1.
@@greentuga691 Yeah i'm a fan of Liverpool but I watch a lot of Portuguese League, I've noticed there is a lot of favoritism towards Sporting in this title race this season, If they don't win the league, I think that would be a huge failure considering the calls they've been getting like the Casa Pia game. I've also been loving Darwin Nunez, amazing footballer, don't know where you are getting flop factory from considering Sporting have sold flops like Nuno Mendes, Carvalho, Adrien Silva, etc.
I'm with you. I hate the narrative of "hero to zero" in football. I believe his style of play (that we saw largely last season) is the best approach for Benfica. Last season, Benfica was a joy to watch almost every week. This season, the team has a lot of problems. The pressing is usually innefective, Di Maria doesn't track back and leaves the full back exposed, the midfield can be paper thin (the lack of Florentino is questionable), the striker situation is unbelievable, the full back situation is even more questionable. Another relevant situation is the feud going on between the portuguese press and Roger. A lot of weird nationalistic sentiment from the media around him not learning portuguese, some unfortunate comments by the manager towards the journalists... I believe a lot of journalists have been praying on his downfall and are ready to speculate and make his life harder, so to speak. We shall wait and see
I think the problem isnt the pressing but the defensive construction after an attack, the left wing is very weak and the right weak sometimes feels useless when bah isn't playing (although Aursnes is playing marvelously in the position).
The thing is even though João Neves is with no doubt, one of the best players, the team needs more of a duo between kokcu (builds the attack) and Florentino and rafa to distribute the balls between the wingers, and maybe give more of a variation and play guys like rollheiser, tiago gouveia, prestianni and NERES. I mean if there's a position benfica is always stacked up its the wings and we haven't been using them or rightfully most of the games hoped Di Maria would be a messiah and do most of the job there with luck.
@@eskipoI I hear you. I definitely feel like the left wing is weak especially when Morato and João Mário play there. But I think the biggest issue is with equilibrium and stability. The teams sets up in a high press that is very easily countered. After the first line of press is broken, there's acres of space the opponent can run into,seing Di Maria doesn't do too much defensive work, and Neves and Kokcu are left incredibly exposed. There have been a lot of teams that exploited that: Salzburg, Sociedad, Toulouse, Inter and the last week were particularly bad examples of this. The team needs to find stability in defensive transition and there are two options to solve it: either improve the pressing game (some solutions could be bring Aursnes up, sub out Di Maria or at the very least make Rafa and the ST double the work, bring on Tino) or compromise that idea and defend in a compact low block 442, for example. The wichy washy approach will cost Benfica over the next few games as it is very easy to understand the fragilities atm
@@Jose_C695 you are right but besides trying to find that equilibrium and stability, which sometimes seems like obtained for a series of two or three games and then gets broken, is preparing every game individually, because Schmidt can't keep relying on individual talent and not prepare every game individually.
I dont remember Schmidt making any "unfortunate" comments towards the journalists. The press keeps misinterpreting him (as its their job i guess) and comes from a different culture proven by how he isnt used to so many questions per journalist, it would eventually reach a breaking point. Other than a situation as a consequence of journalistic BS I dont think I've ever heard Schmidt throwing slights at the journalists unprompted at all
@@feetusgaming779 A RTP journalist asked him if the result was better than the performance after the Sporting game (which is an irrelevant question anyways) and the answered by saying that the journalist must be a Sporting (or Porto) fan. That wasn't very classy. Also, he answers a lot of questions by stating that the he already answered that question before (which is true) but I know that journalists hate that response. They perceive it as arrogant and demining. But I think football journalists don't want to discuss the game, they want a headline to print in the newspapers the day after
A manager who doesn‘t play new signings just tells you that he didn‘t get the players he wanted and now wants to show the board „look I told you“
Rui Costa knew exactly what he was getting in: at PSV, Roger had a fabulous first year and the second year was a disaster. Story is repeating at Benfica right now in front of us. If Rui does not step in, we sink further...
His second season at PSV was actually his best. What the fuck are you saying? Just check your facts before saying misleading information
@@JorgeSilva-ii4mcthats why i dont like to talk against bald people
Parabéns.uma excelente análise da situação do nosso SLBenfica. Mas Eu acredito que vamos ter mais do que um motivo para festejar em Maio.
Força rabonatv e Força Benfica.🙏🏽❤️
You really do make the most articulate, intelligent, interesting football videos online. Better than anything made by English “journalists” or “experts” in the media here, and I’ve paid for some of that rubbish in the past. (I’m looking at you, The Athletic).
Just fantastic mate. Keep doing what you’re doing, and thank you for the content.
Obrigado Adrien, I knew you'd have the best take. CARREGA BENFICA! 🦅
I 100% agree with your opinion. I´m a benfica fan too. Everytime we start a match is like we already losing it. Either because of the manager choices or because the fans have lost the faith on the team and dont support the players when things dont turn out right. I really dont think that sack Roger mid season is a good solution. But he needs to change is approach and the fans need to support the team on difficult times. I know its hard to understand why joao mario, morato and even rafa play all time but we need to support the team even though we dont agreed with the starting eleven.
It's so contradicting to switch the starting 11 every other week and to just refuse to substitute during the game. He did the same thing at PSV. Let's just say the fans don't look back at that period in a very positive way. Our way of playing has improved so much in quality, performance and entertainment under v. Nistelrooij and especially under Bosz.
Edit: Just read that under Bosz we have the most goals scored by subs in the Eredivisie (16) 😂
For me you were spot on, I still Schmidt has it and if he is willing to make changes to the team we could create momentum and with some luck we can still be champions. Fingers crossed for that 🤞
the problem is Schmidt. really that simple. the entire season has been a disaster since the beginning. only reason we are in 2nd in the league is individual quality, not tactics.
By a huge mile, the best analysis. By a fucking huge mile. Congrats bro.
P.S: bad decisions aside, I still think Di Maria is more of an handicap rather than a solution. He is the best player in the league still technical wise, but no winning team in the world plays a 36 year old winger that doesn't press. It's bittersweet to say this, but the fact that he apparently needs to play everygame pisses me off.
Very important video, one I was expecting for quite some time now. And yeah, I knew it was a bit of superstition from you waiting first.
Apart from everything else, it is a bummer Rafa and Di Maria would probably leave with that being their last season. Grimaldo leaving last year felt more "right", because of that super season.
Champions league campaign really isn't up to comment this year..
But thanks for making that video ❤
15:58 There are so many big clubs in Europe who somehow had the biggest bottlejobs at the end of the season by going trophyless, despite having a big expectations to win all of the competitions. Benfica had even suffered this back in 2012/13 season. They failed to win Primeira Liga after losing their crucial Clasico to, you guessed it, Porto, despite being unbeaten in the league before that game, then lost the Europa League Final to Chelsea by last minute goal from Branislav Ivanovic, and surprisingly got beaten by minnows Vitoria Guimaraes in the Portuguese Cup Final.
When he came in to SLB he looked like a savior that was going to end our trophies drought, but yea this season has gone incredibly bad. I'm not one to crucify a championship coach, but maybe we're already due for a change 🤔
Há inúmeras razões para estarmos insatisfeitos, mas a mais flagrante é a tremenda falta de preparação que a equipa evidenciou frente ao Sporting e ao Porto.
Parecia que estavam a ser arrastados por um furacão que se materializou instantaneamente e que para o qual nunca se poderiam ter precavido.
Atenção que até contra o Rio Ave vimos esse filme. Ganharam 4-1, mas quem viu o jogo, sabe que o resultado deveria ter sido o inverso...
@@marmanjoteta2100w eu estava no estádio contra o Rio Ave... antes da expulsão foi um jogo renhido demais para um jogo entre 2o lugar e o 17o
I like the subtle like new edits ur putting it
Good to Shake things up
I 100% Agree with your take on Gilberto's exit, it's just nonsense. Awesome Squad Player, always giving full effort, scored some important goals and everyone seemed to like him in the dressing room too!
I know its easy to say now that Leverkusen is doing so good but even before the season started as neutral i was very "unsure" of how Benfica would do without Grimaldo. Dont get me wrong its not one player running the game 24/7 but anyone who paid attention to Benfica's great year before would have seen how much they relied on Grimaldo's output and movements on the pitch and the fact he left on a free is even more sad. (edit - its not just that Grimaldo is an above average defender its that the guy performs like a midfielder as a defender both supplying a generous amount of G/A while also being extremely dangerous in link up play , am not saying he had the G/A of an elite striker but to have a defender that can fill in goals and assists when you need them thats a huge luxury)
Griimaldo was Benfica's exit channel. Getting the ball out of the back always - always - went through Grimaldo. Since he left, Benfica have struggled to get the ball out from the back. Not having another exit outlet or strategy has been a large part of Benfica's problems this season. We can't get out through our useless wings, and our center is always outnumbered. Front line waits haplessly while the backline struggles endlessly getting the ball out.
It was rumoured he wanted a 10M€ signing bonus and I can't believe we didn't take it if it's true. If you see it as a "transfer fee" for a signing, it's an absolute steal. How much would he have had to pay to get someone of his quality? 6x, 10x?
@@teh_bruno150 Grimaldo's problem for benfica was his market , he had an amazing season and had a good market overall , he knew that either Benfica would pay and renew and he would be satisfied or he would take the chance while he had market. And for Benfica it was the same , if they did renew his market in 2 to 4 years would drop considerably, thus making us lose more money down the road. Besides he knew that to be able to be called to the National team he would need to be trained by a spanish coach, so he already wanted out anyway. also dont forget that his salary was one of the highest on the squad , and that leeway is always needed for new signs
The problem is that Roger has a core of players he never bench even if they play in unfamiliar positions. João Mario, Frederic, Rafa, DiMaria, Otamendi and Morato always play even exhausted .
Bravo 👏👏
Just Brilliant Insight!!!👏
In my opinion Benfica has the best squad in the recent history with overflowing talent players. It’s mind blowing to see RS making subs at 85min mark every single game. We have been playing with the same strategy since day one, it was new and it worked but if things are not going as planned the strategy/formation needs to change ( why not try a classic 4x4x2 we have the players for it). RS needs to address this and have a plan B.
Sorry to say that I do not share your enthusiasm :( He seems to be way too stubborn. Why is Florentino out of the team after such a good last season partnering with Enzo? They were the reason we could keep up that high pressing and got the ball back so quickly. We were not caught with our pants around our ankles on quick transitions, like we do now. João Neves is different from Enzo, but not so much that he could not reenact a similar partnership with Florentino. Having an intense double pivot in the midfield frees up the creatives further upfront. 4-2-3-1 with real fullbacks on both sides would do wonders for us. Up front, Rafa coming in from the left, Kokcu in the midle near the penalty area for that last pass/outside shooting, Di Maria coming in from the right and a real nr. 9 (maybe Cabral), pinning down the opposition centerbacks. Then J. Mário could come in later as a sub if we need to keep the ball, or Neres/second striker to turn up the heat on the opposition if needed.
Marcos Leonardo, Prestianni, Rollheiser, David Neres should be the starting team, the two middlefielders should be Neves and Florentino Luiz, the centerback pairing needs to change as well Otamendi is getting constantly outplayed by faster and more physical strikers, Gyokeres ate him alive, the entire backline needs to change
Gouveia should start. Not prestianni.
You are a nice guy, Adrian, you did not deserve a 5-0 thrashing by a little more tjhan mediocre Porto side. As a Porto fan I admire your courage and your humbleness and as a football lover I know when you make a deep dive video of any time - Benfica this time, obviously - you show you really know what you're talking about and we always learn something. Greetings from Porto(gal).
This Benfica loss is more embarrassing than the one in the 2010-11 season. At least that 2011 Porto squad was elite. This Porto squad is too inconsistent. Schmidt really screwed the dog this season. I don't know if winning the Taça de Portugal will save his job.
We need to talk about Di Maria
Definetly. Bad decisions aside (like Morato or Rafa as 9) the problems start with the need to play Di Maria unconditionaly. No winning team in the world play a 36 year old winger that does not press. Period. Nowadays he plays like a quarterback: slowly and throwing long passes. He still is the best in the league technical wise, and he can be decisive in big time games, but overall the team suffers a lot and is exposed by having such a fragile player on the pitch. Both the right bak and right center midfielders suffer a lot in defensive transitions because Di Maria simply does not run.
To prove my point, the closest we had this season from the Benfica of last year was against Vizela, in which Di Maria did not play from the stat and whe were winning 4-0 at halftime, with a very intense gegenrpressing all the time. Rafa almost scored a goal just by the super intense pressing, next to the goalkeeper. Period.
With Di Maria we lost our best N10 and best creator of dangerous and unpredictable chances: the gegenpressing.
Thank you for putting many of my thoughts into video! I would just add one detail: why doesn't he play Florentino? He still tries to press high, but without him is waaay harder. Everytime he strarts we can see a better and more cohese team, but Roger prefers to move J. Mário to the middle instead...
For gegenpressing Florentino played a vital role last season being the player with most ball recoveries in the 22/23 UCL. This season, Schmidt ghosted Florentino. Also Cabral has been improving and scoring. After 4 consecutive goals he was benched. You can also notice Rafa's peak performance was due to Cabral holding back the defense. To finish, whenever we think we have a vreat formula, Schmidt shakes everything again.
Great analysis Adrien! Really enjoy watching your videos. As a fellow benfiquista would like to now your opinion on a couple of questions; What do you think about Gonçalo Guedes barely being used by schimdt and quickly sent on loan to spain? And why can Benfica have two good seasons in a row, no matter who's coaching? Club structural problems maybe?
As someone who isn’t a Benfica fan. I can definitely say that it’s definitely club structure issues. I follow Man Utd. I SHOULD know 😅
Guedes had two long injuries (one last season, another this season) and it seems like he lost a lot of the pace he had before. Last season before the injury Schmidt got some good performances from him. We also have Tiago Gouveia this season who provides some competition in his spot. I'd like to still have Guedes here, but it's probably better for Guedes that he gets more guaranteed playing time at Villarreal.
Club structure yes. Transfer planning can be really hot and cold. Bruno Lage second season is a good example, Felix was sold and Jonas retired and we didn't sign any players with a similar profile. Once in a while we get a good transfer window, like last season with Enzo, Neres, Bah. But this seasons, the planning to replace Grimaldo and Goncalo Ramos was terrible.
Can’t get enough Rabina tv man daily uploads wouldn’t be enough 😫😤
Very nice video. I almost agree with everything you said there. The part where i disagree is the last one. I'm not sure if we must sack him right away, but a decision needs to be made by the president right now for the end of the season because even if we win trophies, what RS as shown in this year and a half is that he's not going to change. So that means that the problems will still bé there next season (whithout Rafa or Di Maria to bail us out).
Ps. I agree 100% about the point you made about Jurasek, and i would like to say another 2 names that, in my opinion have been mistreated by RS: Florentino Luís and Petar Musa (and David Neres is also in this category), don't you agree?
To finish, from a portuguese and a SL Benfica fan (maybe you are both too, i don't know) thanks for the video 🙂✌️
I don't agree nor understand some of the choices as well, and, the stuberness of making substitutions sooner.. But, we need to be with the team and the club now. Now that we are not that well, is the time to support them. Support when the team is doing fine is easy. Thats why we are call fans and supporters, is to support. Not to put them down, for that we have the fans of the other teams.
The season is not over, and Roger was champion on his first season, lets support them until the end.
I am confident that Roger will turn this around.
Just play Tino, neves and Kokcu on the middle and don't play Morato as a leftback!!!!
after the entire season of playing like shit you still think Roger can turn this around? lmao
The main problems are Grimaldo who left, and Schmidt doesn't trust the left back we have, so he decides to play Morato as a left back, while he is not even able to play as a solid central defender. Why Carreras is not playing? Schmidt doesn't trust him. So why did he come in January?
Why Aursnes is still playing as a right back, when Bah is fit already? Aursnes is very good in the midfield. With Neves, they can dominate the opponent midfield.
Why Tengstedt is considered to be the main striker while he nearly have experience? Cabral and Eduardo are considered by Schmidt as not good enough (he said that scoring wasn't enough to be strikers at Benfica). What is Tengstedt doing more compared to Cabral and Eduardo?
What does Kokcu bring to the team? I don't see what he adds. Especially when he plays with Joao Mario. They should be playing not together. They have exactly the same characteristics.
I don't know if it's stupidity, arrogance, self doubt or a mix of them, but the man seems to prepare the 11's with no thought of the opponent. Against Toulouse Sporting and Porto away, where he needed to keep the ball as long as possible and be solid defensively, he leaves Florentino on the bench. Joao Mario doesn't know how to defend, on the rare occasions he feels like it, leaving Neves to do a double shift.
As a Benfica fan myself, there is nothing worse than seeing talent being recruited and then we just don’t use it.
Di Maria has had moments of brilliance yes but there have been so many games where he has been poor.
Give rolhaiser game time.
Carreras possibly may not be playing due to the buy clause, okay so play a youth player instead of Morato who has shown time fm time again he cannot play there, I’m sure a proper left back from the B team will at least do a bit better.
We need a backup right back so that aursnes is not forced to be playing as a full back and can play in midfield where he has performed the best helping us press properly.
Joao Mario cannot play on the wing, yes he has been better in midfield but still short for me I would much rather stick a Florentino in there at least we know we are safe defensively and Joao neves can roam a bit more.
Tiago Gouveia deserves more game time 100%
Cabral for me not good enough and Leonardo should be our starting ST allowing him to develop and create the chemistry on the pitch with the team. He can score goals so why bench him?
Lastly might be controversial but I would like to see Otamendi benched for Tomas Araújo who I think would actually develop very quickly to be the best pairing to Antonio, just because of the many mistakes from otamendi recently.
Long comment don’t know if you will read it but hey at least this is how I feel about Benfica right now.
Do I believe in Roger? Yes but it’s fading away quickly honestly
Adrian with a Benfica Banger!
Enzo, Grimaldo , and G.ramos leaving.
The replacements are not at the same level
3:11 “we were still leading the league after all” with sporting having one less game played, hilarious
Yes, my point being that complaining about the general play while we were topping the league earlier in the season wouldn't make sense. But now that our luck has run out, it's worth pointing out our flaws. Make sense?
It’s sad times watching this vid after an amazing time last year 😢
Its amazing how we portuguese speak english exactly the same way
I’ve been waiting for a video like this all year. I am Luso Canadian and speak it but all the channels are in Portuguese and I may miss a word here or there. How long before Benfica sells Neves? I wish they would keep him forever but we both know they sell players as a
Sport 😂
And you didnt even get into why has Florentino, one of Europe's best ball recovery players, just disappeared from regular starting eleven this season!
Fully agree with you. My biggest surprise has been, sure use morato as left back, but if you do make everyone else mote attacking, the inverted full back role is a tactical innovation which works well, but if hes bombing up thats useless, it makes us more defensively vulnerable, not less
Gilberto and Ristic were more than good enough for Benfica. In fact, Ristic is better than any of the options we've had this season (excluding Bernat, if he wasn't injured all the time). I really don't understand what goes on in the football department at Benfica and what's going through Schmidt's mind!
I prefer Porto to Benfica but I only watch Benfica games for Neres. Love that guy. Deserves to get a Brazil cal up over freakin Raphinha😒
Ur background music is sheway. I like it a lot ❤
Realistically who could Benfica get that would change the season. Do what Bayern is doing and ride it out till the end of the season.
For when a video about the TRUE club of Portugal, FC Porto? xD To be fair, I wasn't expecting this result against SLB. I know Porto are always good at home against Benfica, but the way they were playing, 5-nil never occured to me and I can see Porto drop some points this friday in Portimão. Good video and good analysis as always..
Thinking of doing a video on Conceição eventually, actually. Hope you are doing well man, all the best!
@@RabonaTVcould you do a video on any of the big portuguese derbies? (Sporting vs Benfica, Porto vs Benfica, Sporting vs Porto, Porto vs Boavista, Braga vs Guimarães,...)
Jurasek was hightly rated were ?? bro the moment i saw that guy videos with the best moments i said it was the biggest robbery in modern football , 14M for that literal piece of s**
A fun video idea: I would love to see a yearly review of Benfica, how they did that season, and all the drama surrounding it from an acual Benfica fan.
You from Portugal?
Corrupt club in a corrupt country, disgusting how much they are favoured by refs
Marcos Leonardo came in January when the season ended in Brazil, so he is very tired. And playing in Brazil and Portugal is completely different.
Schimidt had enought time to recover already and just like you said, he keeps doing the same and the same again, thats something that shows he doesnt want change, so he can get the fack out
I don't think he should be fired now. I have mixed feelings on Schmidt - loved what he did last season, hate what he's doing right now. If the Porto game acts as a wake-up call, maybe Schmidt's stubbornness will end and he'll finally realize these lineups aren't working. I thought things weren't going too bad in January, and it was the 2-2 game against Guimaraes where Roger started trying the strange strikerless lineup where I felt things started to go really wrong. If he goes back to what he was doing before that game, plus giving some other players a chance, we still have a squad that can challenge for a trophy.
You covered most of the issues (left back, striker). Another one I'd add is the center midfield, specifically Florentino. I don't understand why Roger stopped playing Florentino, when Florentino was part of the team that gave us last year's Champions League success, in fact he had some of the best defensive stats in the CL. Florentino was also very important in Roger's pressing system being able to win the ball high up the pitch. His partnership with Enzo was perfect, one midfielder staying back and the other able to move up the pitch. I imagine Neves and Kokcu could play even better with Florentino covering for them defensively. This is one of the worse errors by Schmidt imo, since this isn't a transfer window problem and he just isn't using a player that already did well for him.
Arthur Cabral was done dirty. Finally when he got confidence and got 3 goals in 3 games, he didn't get another start after that. How can someone be benched when scoring every game? Maybe there's a theme here? Possibly Roger doesn't think the less flashy players like Cabral and Florentino are good for his tactic, forgetting that having some players with different traits like Cabral's strength and Florentino's defense can make life easier for the Di Marias and Rafas to use their skills. Again, the Porto game could be Roger's wake-up call since he did sub on Florentino, Carreras, and Cabral in the 2nd half (of course it was already too late to make a difference, but consistently starting these players could help the team be more balanced).
We can all agree the reason we lost to Porto was Morato. Francisco Conceição dominated his flank and could initiate any counter attack from there.
We couldn't attack also because of him, the lack of play with the wings which Benfica throughout history usually does is the biggest reason we aren't as dangerous as we should be.
Schmidt should wake up and realize Benfica needs to approach every game individually and not hope for individual talent to sort things out (on a note we have to appreciate him for investing in scouting and our talent and foreign talent, we dont even need to compare the team he got and the one he built up without counting Di Maria of course)
Que vídeo completo e sóbrio! Espero que a direção veja este conteúdo que representa a opinião da maioria dos benfiquistas…
Obrigado!
Spot on!!!
Even last year after january me and my brother already saw a lot of problems that were just hidden like the lack of pure wingers that are capable of taking on a player like good fulbacks that can actually cross the ball(bah can but he rarely has the oportunity to do so) and the lack of dynamics if anyone ser the games in the portuguese league u would want to fall asleep its just possession no dynamics no chances created every chance we create is from di maria crossing or david neres taking on a player
I'm listening to Adrian describe the benfica mgr and he sounds exactly like the mgr at my Club Chelsea (Poch)
No Enzo no party. He was the system defining player apart from the best player.
Maybe you should apply to become Benfica’s next manager! I would love to see that!
zip it you ant!
On point
It's not the end yet for Benfica. If if beats Sporting & Porto beat Sporting, it can have an opportunity to seize the league. But it will need outside help. Benfica have to be perfect in the remainder of their matches. Forza Di Maria!
I mean, I was thrilled when we won 5-0 in the Dragão against Benfica and I hope that at least Porto finishes in second place. In fact it was shocking and I hope that at least Benfica reaches the quarter-finals of the Europa League
I wish Enzo joined a different club :(
What happen? The coach is a stuborn guy...
We just drew against Rangers and he did change the 11 a bit today and I preferred it but honestly he might have to change the gamestyle if he wants to play Di Maria, maybe a 433 with Aursnes/Kokçu, Florentino and Joao Neves
Rest Otamendi a little I'd like to see more of Antonio Silva and Tomas Araujo pairing, give Marcos Leonardo a start for once, and for the wingers Rafa on the left and Di Maria can still do it on the right but not for a whole game, he should be substituted after 60-70 mins and start from the bench every 3rd game or so, let us see what Rollheiser and Prestianni and Gouveia can do.
I still have a lot of faith on Roger and believe he's gonna get us the league this year but man it's getting harder to keep this much faith on a guy that shows no sign of wanting to learn from his own mistakes.
Viva Benfica
Getting rid of Ristic after a season of very few opportunitties due to Grimaldo's amazing form even though in these very few chances he would actually deliver and perform well was also a decision that I am not able to understand up to this day...
kokcu with confidence and trust is a serious problem for europe
As a benfica fan, for me the classic was his last opportunity. It's been ONE YEAR since we played decent football. Roger seems not interested to change and his inactivity during the games is not from a coach who receives 4M per year. Sorry Adrian, but we deserve more
As a benfixa fan my stance is.
I do think he should a will finish the season
But the play like the quality of play has been sooo low . Has a team its like theres no plan. Any team can high press us and we have no clue what to do.
Ive seen more unwinnable seasons.
But its hard to remeber seasons where im bored or upset watching benfica play with this amazing talent
Não estamos a jogar nada. Espero que ele sai no final da temporada .
Benfica will get pumped at Ibrox, and I'll be watching it live WATP
the blame is three fold: absent team that seems detached from the game with adistinct lack of fighting spirit and inability to react hastly to threats, a manager who seems troubled especially in his reluctance in exploring new player positions to cover for a lack of natural players in those positions, and finnally the fans for how historically harsh and critical they are about their own club to the point of actively withdrawing support and aggravating the problems within instead of being an anchor the club can rely on in times of trouble
Too many players, to many names.
Schmidt doesn't know anything about football
An inventor who sometimes gets lucky but without consistency
The worst coach in the last five Benfica coaches
Gonçalo's season wasn't the most consistent, it's true. But it was his first full season as the 9 and he was 21
How do I send this to Roger?
schimdt sent ristic away he looked like solid player much better than jurasek
jurasek was out of his debt couldnt make a pass if pressured but this carreras doesnt look that good too but idk why he doesnt use any of the january transfers only 5 minutes per game
He should be fired. Benfica is a great European club but they are underperforming
Here we go
Kinda off topic but i personally think he should bring back the weekly reviews instead of monthly
In the end it all depends on the importance roger had on this seasons signings ... If he was the major person behind every signing, he should just go on the end of the season
The other problem for me is the team rotation, same 11 and late subs (and always the same subs) ... Its a problem since he came, even on our best moments i was saying that, to little rotation, and he saw that
For that reason, in my opinion, he should leave at the end of the season
I can understand not changing when we on top and shining, "ok, the results and exhibitions are on point, do what you want" but when the results are not on point, at least show us we trying to address it by changing something
The reason he doesn't use more the new players its because he doesn't trust them. They're very green still, and I don't blame him. Carreras had some flaws in his past games.
Its a clear message the Schmit doesn't rely on the new players, and that we need players with experience that can add NOW and not in the future.
My Question is why does Roger schmidt play Rafa Silva as a CF while Joao Mario plays on the wings?
He played rafa as a cf to put kokcu on the cam position (which he played very well). In the other side he puts João Mário at the wing since it was the position he played last season and most of the times, to get a cf + rafa in the middle and di maria on the right but recently he is using him more as a cm while kokcu plays at cam and rafa as a cf or in a 4 3 3 (once against Porto).
Biggest problem though arent the players but like Adrian said the tactics, its to easy to get counter attacker and the defensive wings are very weak.
The match vs Sporting, where Rafa was alone at the front.... so so so bad cant get how it should play out for benfica
Benfica administration is not innocent. Roger wants well-rounded versatile players. One of the best things Roger did when he arrived was clear out all the half-players (Weigl, Pizzi, etc.) - guys who were only good at one thing - from the stables. But the acquisition policy by the Benfica administration since has been to acquire a whole bunch of half-players again. We desperately needed a left back in Jan, but we get a "future project". This "stubborness" feels calculated, like a power struggle between Roger & Benfica directors in the background. The lack of prep for games feels like Roger has thrown in the towel until he believes there is actually a project here. Dismissing him would be returning to the bad old Vieira days when the Benfica admin & their agent friends acquired all sorts of trash for future re-sale and hired a "yes-man" manager to simply smile and accept it. Our three best players - Rafa, Di Maria and Joao Neves - will likely be gone this summer. Benfica is going to have to rebuild. The question is whether we want Roger to be part of that rebuild. If no, then fire him now, don't wait. Because nothing is going to change before the end of the season, and we still have chance for silverware.
Benfica amor da minha vida ❤❤🦅
The Benfica’s problem is one : KARMA
For years they payed referees and opponent players to them to win. They influenced the Media, the judges in the court where Benfica fanatics etc…
It’s a big club? A big shitty club, why don’t you talk about this?
"im not supersticious!.....BUT" every benfica fan ever