The 45 year old Shevchenko is a former teammate of current club President Rui Costa. The two played together at AC Milan from 2001 to 2006 were they captured a Champions League title during the 2002-03 season along with other silverware. Shevchenko spent 52 games in charge of the Ukraine national team before signing with Italian club Genoa this past November but was let go this weekend after a mere 11 games.
Benfica's hope of recapturing the Portuguese League title continues to get further and further away after the club dropped points once again in league action earlier today. Benfica could be as far back as nine points from top spot once Week 18 in Portugal wraps up depending what happens with league leader FC Porto in their encounter tomorrow.
The season has just passed the half way point and with sixteen games of action left to go, anything is still possible but Benfica will need to go on a remarkable run and get help along the way, since they no longer control their own destiny. Benfica have been on what would be considered a mediocre run in league play with a 5-2-2 record in their last nine league games after starting the first nine 8-0-1.
Benfica who are currently led by intern manager Nelson Verissimo after the dismissal of Jorge Jesus, look like a club that is in need of a make over not a total overhaul. The club has some great young pieces and quality veteran presence but need to clear out some spare parts (which I will name in a future article) to get back on track and capture their 38th league crown, just don't expect it this season.
Marin has appeared in 17 games across all competitions for Famalicao, scoring one goal. Marin came up through Villareal's youth system before moving onto Leganes, Alaves and then Granada. Famalicao has an undisclosed option to make Marin's loan move permanent at seasons end, in which time they can then flip the player for a profit to one of it's league rivals.
