Football Season Guide

Disappointing 23-24 season for Benfica with a complete dry to show off to the fans after an encouraging previous season. Manager Roger Schmidt couldn't repeat the excellent debut season and finished the season under heavy criticism by the supporters. Schmidt was back up by chairman Rui Costa, but will have very minimal margin for mistakes in the first weeks. He will keep his 4-2-3-1 formation, but now with a proper playmaker in the no.10 position, in Orkun Kokçu, now that the pacey second-forward Rafa is gone. Otamendi will remain at Luz, but it is more likely that he will fade out and from the XI and the likes of Morato should be assuming a spot in the starting team. Trubin proved to be a reliable keeper. New signing Beste is the 4th attempt to properly replace Grimaldo as left-back. Barreiro arrived for the midfield to compete with Florentino for the no.6 position. The biggest worries are that the youngster João Neves left to join giants PSG, much sooner than the fans hoped form. Renato Sanches is returning to the club, in exchange, but his physical condition is a major worry. Benfica might need to bring someone else for the no.8 role, since it's clear that Kokçu won't play in other position than the 10. In attack, Benfica brought a fourth striker, the Greek Pavlidis starts as the main candidate for the no. 9 position, but Marcos Leonardo will definitely have some saying along the season. Dí Maria will stay one more year, but some fans are demanding more minutes for David Neres on the right wing. Without the speed of Rafa and the talent and reliability of Neves, Benfica doesn't look stronger than last season. The biggest concerns are however related with the Schmidt's ability to reinvent himself and let go of some questionable options from the past. If he doesn't, Benfica will remain predictable and easy to deal with.