From champions to victims: what happened to SL Benfica? 

You guys know where I stand, so have your say now! Are the calls for a new manager justified, or unfair?

Arthur Cabral was on the starting eleven on the first half of the season without playing that good or scoring. He finally found his form, started scoring, and RS removed him from the team. Why?

Wrong players for Gengenpressing and inability from the coach to adapt his tactics to the players.

Rui Costa knew exactly what he was getting in: at PSV, Roger had a fabulous first year and the second year was a disaster. Story is repeating at Benfica right now in front of us. If Rui does not step in, we sink further...

The same problem of star players getting sold is always the issue for teams like Benfica, this was inevitable

Parabéns.uma excelente análise da situação do nosso SLBenfica. Mas Eu acredito que vamos ter mais do que um motivo para festejar em Maio. Força rabonatv e Força Benfica.🙏🏽❤️

It's so contradicting to switch the starting 11 every other week and to just refuse to substitute during the game. He did the same thing at PSV. Let's just say the fans don't look back at that period in a very positive way. Our way of playing has improved so much in quality, performance and entertainment under v. Nistelrooij and especially under Bosz. Edit: Just read that under Bosz we have the most goals scored by subs in the Eredivisie (16) 😂

When he came in to SLB he looked like a savior that was going to end our trophies drought, but yea this season has gone incredibly bad. I'm not one to crucify a championship coach, but maybe we're already due for a change 🤔

Man, I was waiting for this video. I thought you would be too heartbroken to talk about Benfica😅 (esp. after Porto match) P.S Love your content, have been subscriber for a long time

You missed talking about Florentino not playing. He is not the perfect at passing the ball but he was the best at recovering the ball and he gives a lot to benfica's pressing system. Total mystery on why he doesn't play

Obrigado Adrien, I knew you'd have the best take. CARREGA BENFICA! 🦅

For me you were spot on, I still Schmidt has it and if he is willing to make changes to the team we could create momentum and with some luck we can still be champions. Fingers crossed for that 🤞

15:58 There are so many big clubs in Europe who somehow had the biggest bottlejobs at the end of the season by going trophyless, despite having a big expectations to win all of the competitions. Benfica had even suffered this back in 2012/13 season. They failed to win Primeira Liga after losing their crucial Clasico to, you guessed it, Porto, despite being unbeaten in the league before that game, then lost the Europa League Final to Chelsea by last minute goal from Branislav Ivanovic, and surprisingly got beaten by minnows Vitoria Guimaraes in the Portuguese Cup Final.

I 100% agree with your opinion. I´m a benfica fan too. Everytime we start a match is like we already losing it. Either because of the manager choices or because the fans have lost the faith on the team and dont support the players when things dont turn out right. I really dont think that sack Roger mid season is a good solution. But he needs to change is approach and the fans need to support the team on difficult times. I know its hard to understand why joao mario, morato and even rafa play all time but we need to support the team even though we dont agreed with the starting eleven.

You really do make the most articulate, intelligent, interesting football videos online. Better than anything made by English “journalists” or “experts” in the media here, and I’ve paid for some of that rubbish in the past. (I’m looking at you, The Athletic). Just fantastic mate. Keep doing what you’re doing, and thank you for the content.

A manager who doesn‘t play new signings just tells you that he didn‘t get the players he wanted and now wants to show the board „look I told you“

Marcos Leonardo, Prestianni, Rollheiser, David Neres should be the starting team, the two middlefielders should be Neves and Florentino Luiz, the centerback pairing needs to change as well Otamendi is getting constantly outplayed by faster and more physical strikers, Gyokeres ate him alive, the entire backline needs to change

Sorry to say that I do not share your enthusiasm :( He seems to be way too stubborn. Why is Florentino out of the team after such a good last season partnering with Enzo? They were the reason we could keep up that high pressing and got the ball back so quickly. We were not caught with our pants around our ankles on quick transitions, like we do now. João Neves is different from Enzo, but not so much that he could not reenact a similar partnership with Florentino. Having an intense double pivot in the midfield frees up the creatives further upfront. 4-2-3-1 with real fullbacks on both sides would do wonders for us. Up front, Rafa coming in from the left, Kokcu in the midle near the penalty area for that last pass/outside shooting, Di Maria coming in from the right and a real nr. 9 (maybe Cabral), pinning down the opposition centerbacks. Then J. Mário could come in later as a sub if we need to keep the ball, or Neres/second striker to turn up the heat on the opposition if needed.

Can’t get enough Rabina tv man daily uploads wouldn’t be enough 😫😤

Thank you for putting many of my thoughts into video! I would just add one detail: why doesn't he play Florentino? He still tries to press high, but without him is waaay harder. Everytime he strarts we can see a better and more cohese team, but Roger prefers to move J. Mário to the middle instead...

I like the subtle like new edits ur putting it Good to Shake things up

The problem is that Roger has a core of players he never bench even if they play in unfamiliar positions. João Mario, Frederic, Rafa, DiMaria, Otamendi and Morato always play even exhausted .

As a Benfica fan myself, there is nothing worse than seeing talent being recruited and then we just don’t use it. Di Maria has had moments of brilliance yes but there have been so many games where he has been poor. Give rolhaiser game time. Carreras possibly may not be playing due to the buy clause, okay so play a youth player instead of Morato who has shown time fm time again he cannot play there, I’m sure a proper left back from the B team will at least do a bit better. We need a backup right back so that aursnes is not forced to be playing as a full back and can play in midfield where he has performed the best helping us press properly. Joao Mario cannot play on the wing, yes he has been better in midfield but still short for me I would much rather stick a Florentino in there at least we know we are safe defensively and Joao neves can roam a bit more. Tiago Gouveia deserves more game time 100% Cabral for me not good enough and Leonardo should be our starting ST allowing him to develop and create the chemistry on the pitch with the team. He can score goals so why bench him? Lastly might be controversial but I would like to see Otamendi benched for Tomas Araújo who I think would actually develop very quickly to be the best pairing to Antonio, just because of the many mistakes from otamendi recently. Long comment don’t know if you will read it but hey at least this is how I feel about Benfica right now. Do I believe in Roger? Yes but it’s fading away quickly honestly

I prefer Porto to Benfica but I only watch Benfica games for Neres. Love that guy. Deserves to get a Brazil cal up over freakin Raphinha😒

Very nice video. I almost agree with everything you said there. The part where i disagree is the last one. I'm not sure if we must sack him right away, but a decision needs to be made by the president right now for the end of the season because even if we win trophies, what RS as shown in this year and a half is that he's not going to change. So that means that the problems will still bé there next season (whithout Rafa or Di Maria to bail us out). Ps. I agree 100% about the point you made about Jurasek, and i would like to say another 2 names that, in my opinion have been mistreated by RS: Florentino Luís and Petar Musa (and David Neres is also in this category), don't you agree? To finish, from a portuguese and a SL Benfica fan (maybe you are both too, i don't know) thanks for the video 🙂✌️

Great analysis Adrien! Really enjoy watching your videos. As a fellow benfiquista would like to now your opinion on a couple of questions; What do you think about Gonçalo Guedes barely being used by schimdt and quickly sent on loan to spain? And why can Benfica have two good seasons in a row, no matter who's coaching? Club structural problems maybe?

Adrian with a Benfica Banger!

I don't think he should be fired now. I have mixed feelings on Schmidt - loved what he did last season, hate what he's doing right now. If the Porto game acts as a wake-up call, maybe Schmidt's stubbornness will end and he'll finally realize these lineups aren't working. I thought things weren't going too bad in January, and it was the 2-2 game against Guimaraes where Roger started trying the strange strikerless lineup where I felt things started to go really wrong. If he goes back to what he was doing before that game, plus giving some other players a chance, we still have a squad that can challenge for a trophy. You covered most of the issues (left back, striker). Another one I'd add is the center midfield, specifically Florentino. I don't understand why Roger stopped playing Florentino, when Florentino was part of the team that gave us last year's Champions League success, in fact he had some of the best defensive stats in the CL. Florentino was also very important in Roger's pressing system being able to win the ball high up the pitch. His partnership with Enzo was perfect, one midfielder staying back and the other able to move up the pitch. I imagine Neves and Kokcu could play even better with Florentino covering for them defensively. This is one of the worse errors by Schmidt imo, since this isn't a transfer window problem and he just isn't using a player that already did well for him. Arthur Cabral was done dirty. Finally when he got confidence and got 3 goals in 3 games, he didn't get another start after that. How can someone be benched when scoring every game? Maybe there's a theme here? Possibly Roger doesn't think the less flashy players like Cabral and Florentino are good for his tactic, forgetting that having some players with different traits like Cabral's strength and Florentino's defense can make life easier for the Di Marias and Rafas to use their skills. Again, the Porto game could be Roger's wake-up call since he did sub on Florentino, Carreras, and Cabral in the 2nd half (of course it was already too late to make a difference, but consistently starting these players could help the team be more balanced).

I don't agree nor understand some of the choices as well, and, the stuberness of making substitutions sooner.. But, we need to be with the team and the club now. Now that we are not that well, is the time to support them. Support when the team is doing fine is easy. Thats why we are call fans and supporters, is to support. Not to put them down, for that we have the fans of the other teams. The season is not over, and Roger was champion on his first season, lets support them until the end.

Realistically who could Benfica get that would change the season. Do what Bayern is doing and ride it out till the end of the season.

Ur background music is sheway. I like it a lot ❤

Even last year after january me and my brother already saw a lot of problems that were just hidden like the lack of pure wingers that are capable of taking on a player like good fulbacks that can actually cross the ball(bah can but he rarely has the oportunity to do so) and the lack of dynamics if anyone ser the games in the portuguese league u would want to fall asleep its just possession no dynamics no chances created every chance we create is from di maria crossing or david neres taking on a player

It's not the end yet for Benfica. If if beats Sporting & Porto beat Sporting, it can have an opportunity to seize the league. But it will need outside help. Benfica have to be perfect in the remainder of their matches. Forza Di Maria!

Que vídeo completo e sóbrio! Espero que a direção veja este conteúdo que representa a opinião da maioria dos benfiquistas…

Fully agree with you. My biggest surprise has been, sure use morato as left back, but if you do make everyone else mote attacking, the inverted full back role is a tactical innovation which works well, but if hes bombing up thats useless, it makes us more defensively vulnerable, not less

Getting rid of Ristic after a season of very few opportunitties due to Grimaldo's amazing form even though in these very few chances he would actually deliver and perform well was also a decision that I am not able to understand up to this day...

Maybe you should apply to become Benfica’s next manager! I would love to see that!

Marcos Leonardo came in January when the season ended in Brazil, so he is very tired. And playing in Brazil and Portugal is completely different.

Spot on!!!

The match vs Sporting, where Rafa was alone at the front.... so so so bad cant get how it should play out for benfica

Schimidt had enought time to recover already and just like you said, he keeps doing the same and the same again, thats something that shows he doesnt want change, so he can get the fack out

It’s sad times watching this vid after an amazing time last year 😢

And you didnt even get into why has Florentino, one of Europe's best ball recovery players, just disappeared from regular starting eleven this season!

We just drew against Rangers and he did change the 11 a bit today and I preferred it but honestly he might have to change the gamestyle if he wants to play Di Maria, maybe a 433 with Aursnes/Kokçu, Florentino and Joao Neves Rest Otamendi a little I'd like to see more of Antonio Silva and Tomas Araujo pairing, give Marcos Leonardo a start for once, and for the wingers Rafa on the left and Di Maria can still do it on the right but not for a whole game, he should be substituted after 60-70 mins and start from the bench every 3rd game or so, let us see what Rollheiser and Prestianni and Gouveia can do. I still have a lot of faith on Roger and believe he's gonna get us the league this year but man it's getting harder to keep this much faith on a guy that shows no sign of wanting to learn from his own mistakes. Viva Benfica

Gonçalo's season wasn't the most consistent, it's true. But it was his first full season as the 9 and he was 21

I'm listening to Adrian describe the benfica mgr and he sounds exactly like the mgr at my Club Chelsea (Poch)

Too many players, to many names.

On point

With exception to the selling players model, there's a lot of similarities to Manchester United

I get that we should give him more, time, but he also needs to realise that he needs to change, as soon as the game starts he doesnt change the game plan, if we are not performing well playing like we usually do then we need to improvise, thats what being a manager is about, being able to do quick adjustments, against tolouse we had a simple gamplain in the first half, that didnt work so what did we do? the exact same, and after tolouse switched game plans they were all over us, that cant happen. Another thing is Roger seems to not study is opponents, against Porto we already knew they defensive line up, we need to switch players and game plan before the whistle is blown, he simple does the exact same and we lost , 5-0, Sergio conceiçao knew exactly what he had to do, he studied us and used our weaknesses , Roger on the otherhand looked like he didnt even look at the weaknesses Porto had, wich are obvious. Another thing is that Roger doesnt seem like that type of coach who can improve tha players, Sergio does, he knows that x player is bad but with some words and smart thinking he looks decent, Roger cant do that, aursnes is a very good defensive of center midfield, he isnt even using him at a similar position.

I feel like the team is good it’s just they are missing a great number 9 because they can’t find a player that can be as good as gancalo Ramos or Darwin Nunez because they keep switching there striker there midfield and defense is scoring more goals I think that’s the problem

I mean, I was thrilled when we won 5-0 in the Dragão against Benfica and I hope that at least Porto finishes in second place. In fact it was shocking and I hope that at least Benfica reaches the quarter-finals of the Europa League

Florentino has to be in the starting 11, he was one of the players with more ball recoveries in the 22/23 UCL. Kökçü does not have the same characteristics as Enzo Fernandez, so he can't play as an 8, he has to play as a 10. Not having a left back doing the same work as Grimaldo worsened drastically João Mário's performance. Not having a fast/physically strong striker like Gonçalo Ramos prevented Benfica from high-pressing as intensively as last season, being this aspect one of the key aspects of Benfica, pressuring high and recovering the ball quickly. I would have kept Gilberto, not the best player ever, but a hard worker with some interesting details. Di Maria should be benched more often and enter only around minute 60, so he can make an impact in the game. Having Aursnes playing as left/right back is such a waste. 22/23 Benfica had the starting 11 defined in the pre-season, there were routines and the players were entranced. We are 2 months away from the end of the 23/24 season and there isn't a fixed starting 11.

Para quando um vídeo em Português?

Thinking benfica was in lead before the match against FC Porto is the faulting thinking and the problem that benfica and his supporters are facing now. Benfica wasnt in the lead, sporting had 1 less match. Benfica need to open his eyes and wake up. Actually, they should had woken up long time ago, maybe if it happened, this match wasnt a loss, or at least not 5-0. They did ended 1st last season, but as you said in the video, the strong begining actually was what managed to do that. Benfica this season was dropped from champions in group stage, and the reaction (i think it was from Di Maria) was that all they wanted was to win eroupa league... Like, are you fkng serious?? XD Benfica as portuguese champion should at least went to next stage. In theory it was one of the easiest group and they only won 1 match?? Benfica blindness is the problem. It doenst matter if they need to swicth the coach or whatever, they need to take fkng responsability for the mistakes and present with a solution, and dont content with consolotion prizes, like europa league or celebrating like they're in 1st when everybody knows that Sporting still have 1 more match to go. They cant keep going like there is nothing wrong. Hell, FC Porto season is really bad, and still they manage to present better display at champions than Benfica. They always manage to get out group stage, for at least the last couple years. And even when they lose against strong europeans teams, they always put a really good fight, its actually incredible. Benfica should have woken up a long time ago and now maybe is too late.

Spot on Adrian Last year even wining 4, nil at home he wouldn't sub leading to fatigue on 1 hand Porto taking that shit to the last game and players feeling undervalued at the club on the other Don't get me started on the full backs, Ristic would be a good replacement for Grimaldo, sold!?Jurasek 14m wtf??burning Morato a decent,valued CB at LB with Carreras on the bench and if you start banging goals upfront on big matches he will go with the guy that just comeback from injury and out of form letting 40 m on the bench for the last 2 min Frederik A needs to play in the CM his best position ,he can plug holes sure but as we all know JM will always but ALWAYS play despite being a shadowy figure from what he was last year,he's being slowly cooked on the eyes of supporters that received him with open arms ,its either him or Kokcu on the pitch, Neres,Florentino etc etc He lost me already to be honest ,Il settle for silverware this year but the lack of ideas .ego and blindness is something we can go without As always great insight ,continua com o grande trabalho brother Um grande abraco E PLURIBUS UNUM

the blame is three fold: absent team that seems detached from the game with adistinct lack of fighting spirit and inability to react hastly to threats, a manager who seems troubled especially in his reluctance in exploring new player positions to cover for a lack of natural players in those positions, and finnally the fans for how historically harsh and critical they are about their own club to the point of actively withdrawing support and aggravating the problems within instead of being an anchor the club can rely on in times of trouble

Fredy our best midfielder is playing aa defender, Ramos sold to PSG and DiMaria only works offensive so you have lost all that pressing capability you had even after selling Enzo.

What happen? The coach is a stuborn guy...

i have never seen a video more factual than this.

Its amazing how we portuguese speak english exactly the same way

Roger lost us with his incoherent approach, lack of preparation on each opponent, extreme stubbornness, foolish substitutions and just awful poor squad management. I commend you for still believe in him, I don't. He's not showing a will to change, keeps saying we're playing "top football" even after being completely outplayed by smaller opponents, misses to understand the culture of the club (we can never accept a loss, against anyone, like he does)... I don't agree with mid-season sackings but at the end of a trophyless season, he needs to go. Yes, it's impossible to still believe in silverware after the football we've seen throughout all season! Thanks for everything, you really made us dream again, absolutely loved your first season but with this attitude, it's enough...

Não estamos a jogar nada. Espero que ele sai no final da temporada .

whats happening Benfica was looking amazing and now we look awful

This is just normal within the last years. The "irregularity" here is Sporting, despite a few points offered by the referee/Var (clear offside) and economic unfair pardon from banking institutions. Crisis is in Porto with mediocre players and risible sells.

RB position I think were fine I feel like Bah or Aursnes do a good job left back and striker is where i feel like we are missing some key points Arthur Cabral is not bad but his finishing is not really there its like 40/60. I think we also buy a lot of players that are/could be great yet we put them on the Bench we have: Marcos Leonardo, Rollheiser and Prestianni and i don't get the point of benching them but als always much love for Benfica still

Jurasek was hightly rated were ?? bro the moment i saw that guy videos with the best moments i said it was the biggest robbery in modern football , 14M for that literal piece of s**

Benfica administration is not innocent. Roger wants well-rounded versatile players. One of the best things Roger did when he arrived was clear out all the half-players (Weigl, Pizzi, etc.) - guys who were only good at one thing - from the stables. But the acquisition policy by the Benfica administration since has been to acquire a whole bunch of half-players again. We desperately needed a left back in Jan, but we get a "future project". This "stubborness" feels calculated, like a power struggle between Roger & Benfica directors in the background. The lack of prep for games feels like Roger has thrown in the towel until he believes there is actually a project here. Dismissing him would be returning to the bad old Vieira days when the Benfica admin & their agent friends acquired all sorts of trash for future re-sale and hired a "yes-man" manager to simply smile and accept it. Our three best players - Rafa, Di Maria and Joao Neves - will likely be gone this summer. Benfica is going to have to rebuild. The question is whether we want Roger to be part of that rebuild. If no, then fire him now, don't wait. Because nothing is going to change before the end of the season, and we still have chance for silverware.

I hope that after watching a mid player like Francisco Conceiçao tearing our defense apart we take the full back problem srsly

The reason he doesn't use more the new players its because he doesn't trust them. They're very green still, and I don't blame him. Carreras had some flaws in his past games. Its a clear message the Schmit doesn't rely on the new players, and that we need players with experience that can add NOW and not in the future.

As a benfica fan, for me the classic was his last opportunity. It's been ONE YEAR since we played decent football. Roger seems not interested to change and his inactivity during the games is not from a coach who receives 4M per year. Sorry Adrian, but we deserve more

Let's start with the most concerning factor, which is how slow we are. We have no energy or intensity. Unfortunately, all that is going wrong is a collective effort. However, what is ridiculous is playing the same players. Playing people out of position, aursens at right back, morato at left back, kokcu I don't know what his role is because even at 10 he does ok but not world class as was made out to be when he arrives. The truth is Roger has his favorites and he selects the same players all the time. It's a disgrace that Florentino Luis isn't playing he is the best defensive midfielder in our squad. Also start Marco Leonardo he is our best forward !!!!

kokcu with confidence and trust is a serious problem for europe

Ay yo ! Di Maria be looking like Tony "El Cu Cuy Ferguson" in the thumbnail 😂

Benfica will get pumped at Ibrox, and I'll be watching it live WATP

The Ben striker was very poor on the night

How do I send this to Roger?

Yes, what has HAPPENED?!?!?!

2 palavras: Roger Schmidt

Selling Ristic was so so so dumb...

E isso mesmo, Benfica problem is João neves and di Maria

My Question is why does Roger schmidt play Rafa Silva as a CF while Joao Mario plays on the wings?

What's the name of the outro instrumental?

Benfica sucks,the only reason they won porto twice this seasson and sporting ,was both games they were playing +1 player ,11 vs 11 they will always lose,the refeeres always help them

Benfica problem is called fc porto and they have won in the last 30years : 2 europa leagues 18 portuguese leagues , 1 champions league, 1 world club champion .

3:11 “we were still leading the league after all” with sporting having one less game played, hilarious

A verdade,é que o benfica sem a ajuda dos homens do apito não ganha nada,bola,zero...a prova esta nas competições europeias...nada,bola,zero! Resumindo,o benfica é um mau produto com muita publicidade,com muito marketing!

"im not supersticious!.....BUT" every benfica fan ever

Não temos laterais avançados de jeito e o otamendi que não vale um caralho

Schmidt doesn't know anything about football An inventor who sometimes gets lucky but without consistency The worst coach in the last five Benfica coaches

What is up with managers these days playing players out of position and cont even when they fail (like poch with colwell as lb or chilwell as lw) crazy! Hope your video dont further jinx them. I can feel why you ddnt want to make a video but had no choice after the 5 nil slapping.

OHHH LAMPIAO LEVASTE 5 NO DRAGAAAAAO NUNCA MAIS ESQUECERAO ESTA GRANDE HUMILHAÇAO💙🐉

O ano passado Tegnsted nem calçava e este ano gasta 40+M em avançados e já é primeira opção. Desculpem mas isto não é normal ou algo interno de errado se passa ou este treinador é o pior que já vi na vida...Depois é Alemão teimoso e um parvalhão de 1º em conferências, sair no final da epoca passada era tarde

start again? bro roger is constantly is losing every game against our rivals, is having diffiulty against low tier clubs with all due to respect but drawing against toulose? and we only won the other game by 1 goal cmon he can do better, bro doesnt make any changes, like di maria has been terrible but he still played 120 minutes against marseille yesterday while he was tired af we had attackers on our bench but he still chose not to use them, thats just disrespecting our club, the fans, even the players on the bench, i just dont get what is going through his mind when we are playing like this

Carreras didnt look prety solid comon dude ?!!! he looked like the worst left back that we had in a decade even worse that Bruno Cortez ahahhaha

Enzo Fernandez was the engine piece that made this team work, losing him made everything go down, Florentino Luis for example was never able to perform in the same way without Enzo

Benfica is not at UEL QF

Quiet honestly the coach is not good. He has a lot of good players to work with, and he will ruin others new players career. Pristiani and roolheiser ( maybe written different art ) are gems and he is the wrong person to be the coach. Grimaldo it was his fault, I miss him a lot and Gilberto, much better than bah that is awful defending and median attach. Artur Cabral is a Froward not s striker, Leonardo is a striker. All players are playing out of position, it is just unbelievable. need him out now and start new season.

He should be fired. Benfica is a great European club but they are underperforming

you should make a video about gyokeres, this guy is monster truck