Benfica shock and awe Ajax in Amsterdam

Benfica traveled to Amsterdam for their second leg against their heavily favoured Dutch opponents and escaped Amsterdam with a 1-0 victory stunning the Dutch league leaders, many pundits around the globe and their fans, myself included. Benfica entered the game with a plan to sit back and defend hoping that the club would get an opportunity and be able to capitalize on it after a first leg draw at home.

They got that opportunity in the 77th minute of the game off a set piece as striker Darwin Nunez headed home the goal from an Alex Grimaldo cross, silencing a large home crowd minus their own traveling fans and sending the football world into a frenzy around the globe, it was Benfica's only shot on net in the entire game.

Benfica now advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the fifth time and their first since 2016 when they were knocked out by Bayern Munich. Benfica also pocket an additional €10.6M for reaching the final eight and have earned over €55M in the competition this season and will await to find out their opponents Friday from a remaining group of clubs that will be foaming at the mouth hoping to land the Portuguese side in the next round.

Benfica fans hope for a surprise in Amsterdam

Benfica take the hope of their fans with them to Amsterdam to take on Ajax in their second leg of their Champions League encounter after fighting to a 2-2 draw in Lisbon in the first leg. Benfica and Ajax are set to face off on Tuesday at the Johan Cruijff Arena in a winner take all match up. Benfica need just a victory to advance and do not need to worry about the away goals suffered at home with UEFA abolishing the rule this season. A Benfica victory would see the club earn an additional €10.6M by moving on to the quarter-final round. Benfica have had a disappointing season, currently sitting in third spot in their domestic league and an advancement past Ajax would give their fans some joy which has been missing for the majority of the year.

Potential Benfica managers for next season

Benfica trot through the remainder of a poor season with intern manager Nelson Verissimo at the helm, a man who has clearly shown to be out of his depth managing a club of Benfica's stature. Verissimo can not take all the blame for the poor performances of the club as he should never have been handed the role for such an extended period of time by club President Rui Costa.

Benfica are currently sitting behind first place FC Porto by nine points but this margin could grow to twelve by the time the weekends set of games are over and with only eight league games remaining, Benfica would be lucky to even finish in the Top 2 this season. Benfica's only hope for some sort of glory is if they are able to manage a deep run in the Champions League but with a second leg winner take all game coming up in Amsterdam this week, even the most optimistic fan would find it difficult to not expect another disappointment.

Taking a look at next season, the club will have numerous options at their disposal to take over the managerial post and with Rui Costa's preference of having a Portuguese manager at the club, I'll take a look at who may just be the clubs new manager for the 2022/23 season.

Pedro Martins

Currently managing Olympiacos, he has spent the past four seasons with the Greek giants capturing the past two league titles and is in a comfortable spot to make it three in a row this season. Martins has also won a Greek Cup and has experience managing in Portugal having spent time at Guimaraes, Rio Ave and Martimo.

Odds to manage Benfica: 25 to 1

Ricardo Soares

Currently managing Gil Vicente in Portugal, Soares has been on a fantastic run during the season and currently has the Barcelos club on a ten game unbeaten run, while suffering only once loss in his past sixteen league games. Gil Vicente currently sits fifth in Portugal which has us wondering what can the 47 year old do with a more talented squad.

Odds to manage Benfica: 20 to 1