Breaking Bela Guttman's Curse

BREAKING NEWS: Townsend unveiled as new Benfica manager by Joao Gabrie



Director Joao Gabriel called a press conference at the Estadio da Luz this afternoon to present new manager Gareth Townsend. The unknown English manager has recently retired from professional football due to a serious leg injury forcing him to call time on a budding career.

It is unclear at this stage how Townsend will cope with adapting to life in a new country, a new language and the small hurdle of commanding the respect of the Benfica players when he will only turn 21 in November.

Townsend said (with the help of his translator) "This is obviously a club with a huge amount of history winning back to back European Cups in 1961 and 62 is obviously a highlight in the clubs glittering trophy cabinet. 53 years is clearly a long time to wait for a European trophy and I understand that European Cup winning manager Bela Guttman placed a curse on this club. I'm here for the long haul. I want to break that curse and I will not rest until I get my hands on that Champions League trophy again."

Although little is known at the moment, this first press conference has certainly given fans here in Benfica a reason to be optimistic

Townsend makes seasoned midfielder Fernando Gago his first signing at Estadio da Luz for an initial €5.5m saying that "Fernando brings a wealth of experience to this side and I have absolute faith that he will perform well in a holding role in midfield"

When pressed about any further additions he hinted that we could expect a younger player or two to join in the not too distant future

Looking forward to this very much

Like the idea here, best of luck!

BREAKING Japanese star joins Benfica



Benfica have confirmed the signing of Japanese forward Yoshinori Muto. The 23 year old is able to play anywhere in the attacking third and will certainly be useful if Townsend is to be a success on multiple fronts this season. The signing is also said to have had an impact on the clubs standing abroad with many fans in Japan flocking to buy Benfica shirts with Muto's name across the back.

When questioned Townsend had this to say "The fee was certainly high, but that is sometimes a necessity when you look to bring in an important player. There were several offers floated around but an initial fee of around €12.5m there will certainly be an air of expectation around Yoshinori when he steps onto the pitch. Versatility was definitly a factor in this signing and adding to the depth of the squad was certainly what I had in mind when looking around. Our transfer business is now done, there will be no more additions to the squad and we can now get ready for the season ahead. I expect Yoshinori Muto to be heavily involved."

"It's a great way to start the season. I know that there are a number of fans who don't see the Supertaca as a legitimate competition but for me it's a game which provides us with a real understanding of where we're at with our preparations for the coming season. André had a great start to his career here at Estadio da Luz getting on the scoresheet in his first competitive game for us and of course it's always nice to lift a trophy, regardless of the prestige attached" - G Townsend following Benfica's 1-0 victory over Braga

5 games into the season and things are going well, although we haven't really played any of the top sides in the division. Apart from Sporting of course but that game didn't go to plan conceding the only goal of the game to a silly own goal. The problem we have is that Porto aren't conceding goals so that's going to have to change soon. I'm hoping that they can draw a game or two sooner rather than later so that we can build a little cushion back to them like we already have to Sporting despite losing to them earlier on.

I'm working on a tactic at the moment but I want to make sure that we're getting consistent results before I post about it. I'm also training players in a tactic that I've developed for another save I'm playing. I'll post about them soon

5 games into the season and things are going well, although we haven't really played any of the top sides in the division. Apart from Sporting of course but that game didn't go to plan conceding the only goal of the game to a silly own goal. The problem we have is that Porto aren't conceding goals so that's going to have to change soon. I'm hoping that they can draw a game or two sooner rather than later so that we can build a little cushion back to them like we already have to Sporting despite losing to them earlier on.

I'm working on a tactic at the moment but I want to make sure that we're getting consistent results before I post about it. I'm also training players in a tactic that I've developed for another save I'm playing. I'll post about them soon

Good luck with Benfica Good signings as well

Some really good results in the league. Picking up 4 wins and only one loss signifies a good period for us. The loss to Porto could prove costly though as like I said previously they're not conceding many goals so we now need other results to go our way which may take a while.



As you can see we're still just behind Porto in the league and the result against them is the reason that we're not sitting at the top. I still have complete confidence that we'll catch them, I doubt highly that they'll go unbeaten for the entire season.



The Champions League hasn't gone to plan so far. We still have Spurs and Shakhtar to play who are arguably the most difficult games, given that it's so close it's vital that we pick up as many points as possible here. Beating Shakhtar is the most important, I think 4 points would see us through.