Benfica prepare for third round Taca de Portugal encounter

Benfica are gearing up for their third round Taca de Portugal encounter against Azores club Lusitania on Friday in the picturesque island of Terceira, in what amounts to a battle between David and Goliath once again.

The match looks set to be a spectacle of football taking place in the small island of just over 53,000 people between two clubs with contrasting backgrounds but equal ambitions to advance.

Lusitania will be flying in over 40 sports venue assistants from the mainland of Portugal due to the logistics of hosting the defending league Champions and Portugal's most popular club at the Estadio John Paul II which normally holds 7,000 fans.

This will set the club back $20,000 to cover all accommodations for these workers but it will be worth the media coverage and free advertisement that the brand will receive from such a big match.

Benfica will be looking for nothing short then advancing to the next round and have their focus on making a run to the final to capture a trophy that has alluded them since the 2016/17 season.

 

Rosario Central want Di Maria next season

Argentinian club Rosario Central are hoping to land Benfica winger Angel di Maria next season once he becomes a free agent in hopes of having Di Maria end his career where it started. Rosario's sporting director Federico Lussenhoff spoke earlier today about preparing the right conditions to bring Di Maria back next summer.

Benfica acquired the talented Di Maria from Rosario Central in the summer of 2007 for €8M and the 35 year old spent three seasons with Benfica before departing and joining Real Madrid. Di Maria's career has taken him through Manchester United, PSG and Juventus before returning to Benfica this summer. 

Benfica need to give Cabral more time to adapt to club

Benfica made a significant signing this summer when they acquired striker Arthur Cabral from Fiorentina for €20M to replace departing striker Goncalo Ramos who moved on to join PSG. 

However since his arrival Cabral has struggled to find his footing and has yet to score or provide a helper in the limited time that he has appeared in games.

Benfica manager Roger Schmidt has continued to shuffle between Cabral, Petar Musa and Casper Tengstedt as he looks to find the piece that can replace what the club lost with departure of Ramos. 

Cabral has appeared in 230 minutes of the 900 minutes that the club has played this season, which does not bode well for the striker as he looks to adapt to his new club and teammates.

Benfica need to give their summer acquisition regular playing minutes if we are to see what he can bring to the club as if Cabral is to build chemistry with his new teammates he will actually need to be on the pitch with them.

Benfica should look to include Cabral against the leagues minnows more regularly in the hopes that he can provide the club with what they first saw when acquiring the 25 year old this past summer.