Matchday 3: Sporting CP - SL Benfica

Bier · Sep 6, 2005

Benfica have the chance to make the bad start forgotten this weekend by beating city rivals Sporting away.
The match will be held at last years UEFA-cup-final host Alvalade XXI, home-stadium of Sporting. Benfica gained 3 vital points there back in 2004 on their way to the vice-championship taht year but lost to Sporting in last seasons away derby.
Sporting, having won their first two SuperLiga-matches, look like being in better shape then Benfica at the start of the season, but they also seemed in good shape at the closing of the last season just before Benfica beat them 1:0 on their way to the championship.
With Karagounis and Miccoli newly signed Koeman will have to make changes which will probably see club-icons such as Nuno Gomes or Manuel Fernandes out of the line-up. Here's my guess:

GK Moreira

RB João Pereira
DC Luisão
DC Ricardo Rocha
LB Leo

DM Petit

OM Beto
OM Karagounis

RF Geovanni
SC Miccoli
LF Simão

RealMadrid · Sep 6, 2005

Sporting.

Inácio · Sep 6, 2005

the odds are on sporting side which means that as usual we will have to win

my biggest doubt would be on defense, which CBs to pick.....

anyways my line up would be:

Code:

                moreira

nelson - luisão - ricardo rocha - leo *

       petit  - manuel fernandes

                 miccoli

 karagounis - nuno gomes - simao

* (if he is in shape, if not i would pick ricardo rocha and put anderson next to luisao, since i didnt like at all dos santos performance last game)

viola_girl · Sep 6, 2005

Good Luck For Sporting

Flo · Sep 6, 2005

viola_girl said:
Good Luck For Sporting

The hell with Sporting and the rest of the Lagartos.

:stuckup:

O Glorioso · Sep 6, 2005

We have to win this game.

nunomigueljorge · Sep 7, 2005

IS going to be hard for Sporting with all the injurys (I still don´t know what the **** is that medical department doing...), but benfica is kinda weak this year. I guess We have chances.

If I get it right: koeman is going to be fired after the 5th game! loses with sporting, a draw in the next one (or a suffered win) then a draw or lost in the other one.. and it´s out! lol

Balakov10 · Sep 8, 2005

Sporting will choke...as always...i'm expecting a draw or a narrow win for Benfica

Bier · Sep 8, 2005

Ye learned from history I see

but usually what you expect happens at the end of a season in decisive games ... in the first derby of the year Sporting use to look better and not seldomly have the better outcome, so I have the same fears as you, mate, but to the other direction

benfiquista · Sep 8, 2005

It's good for us that we're facing the big clubs away in the first round. If we manage to stay near the top by the end of the first round, our chances increase on the second.

I think it's a good game for Miccoli since we'll play in counter-attack, and his speed can be decisive. Still, if he does play, it's his first game and his contribution might not be exactly brilliant.

Prediction? 1-1

O Glorioso · Sep 8, 2005

A draw is not an option for us. We have started out the season with a draw and a loss; another draw would be devastating...

benfiquista · Sep 8, 2005

I'm not exactly concerned about the result. Of course that it's very important, but what i want to see are improvements from game to game.
I think that Koeman has a very good set of players and has everything to make us play great football and achieve something important in the CL.

Inácio · Sep 9, 2005

i really really hope we win..a loss would put us 8 pts behind first place :googly:

i agree its still very early, but lets face it, its a 2 defeats and a draw behind, its quite heavy for a start....

im nervous but confident we will make it

Inácio · Sep 9, 2005

seems like petit may be really missing the derby due to injury...that would make the coach's decision on the midfield easier.

also, since karagounis hasn't really been able to train properly, i think he won't be starting...

soo, this would be my revised line-up

Code:

                     moreira

nelson - luisão - ricardo rocha - leo *

       beto  - manuel fernandes

                 miccoli

geovanni - nuno gomes - simao

from geovanni's latest performances , i might actually bench him and play karyaka on the left, with simao on the right , BUT geovanni seems to do rather well versus sporting (

) , so i think he could start afterall

* provided he is ready,although something tells me we will have ricardo rocha doing the left again :rollani:

Inácio · Sep 9, 2005

the poll looks hilarious

7
1
7

:howler:

anyways these are the stats from the derby at sportings stadium, in the last 67 years:

sporting's win:27
draw:14
benfica's win: 26

kleber · Sep 10, 2005

We will win the game,after all Mantorras will not play. :tongue:

Ikaros · Sep 10, 2005

You have a good squad over there . Im suprised Miccoli signed for you guys really suprised. I rate him very high and although Benfica is a good name in Europe i expected him to join a bigger side.

However good luck against Sporting it would be a good game to watch. Unfortunately i would not.

Bier · Sep 10, 2005

Moreira;
Anderson, Luisão, Ricardo Rocha;
João Pereira, Karagounis, M. Fernandes, Nélson;
Carlitos, Miccoli, Simão

SUPLENTES: Quim, Alcides, Leo, Karyaka; Beto, Geovanni, Nuno Gomes.

we are losing at halftime ... Koeman plays with 3 defenders

Bier · Sep 10, 2005

Ricardo Rocha in the meantime got himself an early shower and a red card BUT Simão scored the equaliser ... the board did their smartest move by not selling our captain, I tell you that ... I just wish we can keep this result somehow.

Bier · Sep 10, 2005

I knew we couldn't keep it 2:1 Sporting. Liedson scored in minute 74. Good to see at least our captain still has it.

Bier · Sep 10, 2005

It's over. Sporting win, from what I read that's deserved.
I for my part can't wait to see our topscorer-list at the end of the season ... there will be them big names with their lousy outcomes of 5, 6 or 7 goals again and the only player not underachieving will again be Simão with at least 11. When will we stop relying only on him? When will Nuno Gomes start showing what he has his reputation of being a goalgetter for? When will our strikers finally start scoring goals, what they are paid good money for?
1 point and 1 goal in 3 games. Hell, Belenenses would be ashamed of such a start.

Needless to say I begin to lose faith in Koeman. Only stubborn children use to commit the same mistake twice. Koeman played a 3/4/3 tonight, just like against Gil Vicente.

Inácio · Sep 10, 2005

we played great with 10 , big up for the players!

ricardo's red card was totally absurd, but the ref had to make up one affair in a game without any lol

we scored one goal at last"!!!!! and im glad it was simao

i think koeman wont last, he sux big time. how can he insist on playing a back line of 3?!?!?

and why the hell was carlitos starting? we have the players to win the bloody league, but im fed up with koemans mistakes, hes making dificult the easy :rollani:

Inácio · Sep 10, 2005

ah yes, i really liked to see miccoli, hard working talented player:thmbup: , and karagounis was ok too. nuno was great, so was simao and luisao. manuel missed lots of passses tonight, but he fought hard.

joao pereira and carlitos (surprise surprise) sucked big time

but really.....i want koeman out....he has the players and he is the one messing up blatantly with his idiot tactics.

he must realise he has to adapt the tactis to the players he has, not the opposite :googly:

Wally · Sep 10, 2005

inacio said:
i think koeman wont last, he sux big time.

music to my ears

3 man defence ? I guess Koeman thought he was playing Salgueiros or something. Typical Ajax arrogance.

Watched most of the game and I thought Sporting deserved to take it but where was my old friend Ricardo, the man who linked himself to Arsenal?

Bier · Sep 10, 2005

inacio said:
but really.....i want koeman out....he has the players and he is the one messing up blatantly

Yap, he had a pre-season to get to know his squad and he even got two players in positions he wished for. The time for experiments is over. Well, and the time of a 3 man defence is over since like 20 years.

Hmpfg... as for Nuno, he always plays well but he never scores ... Jardel never played well, but he always scored. Guess which kind of striker I'd prefer.

Hope Miccoli can still show he knows where the net is in the future.

Inácio · Sep 10, 2005

nuno brought new life into our offensive game, and he literally gave luisao the goal....open goal

we gave sporting a all 45 m advance by playing the 3 CB's + nelson and jp on the wings...coz it became 5 defenders really lol

seriously, the players are there, but koeman today made them play like 3 diffrent tactics lol

in part becoz of ricardo being expelled, but....why the 3 - 4-3, and why carlitos?!? that alone was enought to mess up the 1st half lol

although, i must say, it was a very very balanced game

3 games, and its absurd koeman is still experimenting, with players that in most cases already played last year, i just dont get it

Who's gonna win the derby?

Benfica

Draw

Sporting

Matchday 3: Sporting CP - SL Benfica

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