Benfica, or how I learned the joy of jeopardy
Before I start this blog, I should first add the disclaimer that this has nothing to do with Alex Trebek. Although the theme of ‘it’s good but it’s not quite right’ is perhaps accurate.
Okay, I know that’s Catchphrase, but do hear me out in any case. I’ve never actually watched Jeopardy.
Say the word Benfica, and a lot of thoughts probably spring to mind for avid fans of the game. The Estadio da Luz, which sits on every footballing bucket list, is probably the first thing that comes to the forefront, and it has to be said that it’s a magnificent place to watch a game.
During a particularly and annoyingly early Spring Break, I opted to visit myself as the Portuguese giants took on Gil Vicente, based in Barcelos in the country’s far north. Having been playing as Casa Pia on Football Manager 24, I’ve gained a growing appreciation for the Portuguese game in recent months.
The visit was actually with the intention of seeing my beloved Geese, who also reside in Lisbon along with Benfica, Sporting, and a host of others in and around the city limits. Regrettably, that game against Boavista was to be played 80 miles north in the middle of nowhere, and furthermore on the Monday night before a 6.55am flight. For now, Casa Pia would have to wait…
Ordinarily, that would irritate me. The main reason for my trip west to a new country, scuppered. That said, Benfica was probably not the worst consolation in the world.
Getting to Lisbon
I set my alarm for 6 on Saturday morning g, hopping on the trusty E76 toward Brno Letiště, for a 10.45 flight to Stansted. It’s pretty much the only flight available from Brno currently, but it sure is useful for an English immigrant such as myself.
From Stansted, I took the 17:35 to Lisbon, which landed around 8-ish, though it did take quite a while to get through security. The plan was three nights, though of course the final night would involve the rude awakening of an early flight to Vienna, before a 2pm bus back to Brno.
It was on a shoestring, given how close Spring Break fell to Christmas this year, and how I only had the one payday so far this year. But I felt confident I could manage, given that I’d paid for everything already - ticket, travel, hotel. Most of the costs came via the airport.
Benfica 3-0 Gil Vicente: Expect the expected
Funnily enough I have seen Benfica play live before, and they got absolutely destroyed 7-0. To F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg as well!
Okay, so this was a different Benfica - RM Hamm Benfica to be precise, who’d only amassed four points by that final day game at Dudelange - but still, I’m no stranger to the moniker Benfica at least.
This was what you could call the ‘proper’ Benfica - the envy of so many teams the world over, with talent like Angel Di Maria casually strutting his stuff over the mere mortals of the Liga de Portugal.
When all was said and done, the game was just as one sided as that fixture in Luxembourg, and therein lies the problem of Portuguese football, and indeed football the world over. There’s no jeopardy or peril.
The staggering fact of the matter is that nobody bar the big three (Porto, Sporting and Benfica) have won the Portuguese Liga since 2001, when Boavista won the title. Even then, they are only one of two to do so, with the other being Beleneses back in 1946.
With such a disparity between the best and the rest, how can any fans of those clubs get any joy domestically? When games like at home to Gil Vicente are as predictable and foregone as it gets, where does the joy come from?
As you might expect, the atmosphere before the game was superb, but once the game got going, it never really took off. The first goal was a perfect corner from Angel Di Maria headed in by Antonio Cabral before Joao Neves made it two - I missed it because I was buying a hot dog and coke for (sigh) nine euros. That said, I did get a nice souvenir from it.
The third goal from Rafa Silva’s neat finish sealed an inevitable three points, with the game petering out big time. Gil Vicente looked more of a threat but Benfica easily kept them at arm’s length throughout. It was exactly like that Portugal v Mexico game mockingly depicted in The Simpsons. Even Ariaga II couldn’t save this snoozefest.
It was all just so…tedious. The reason I love supporting Stevenage is that nothing is guaranteed. There’s always the chance we could slip up at home to a team far below us in the table, and that is where football brings the most joy to me. Overcoming that obstacle. What obstacles do any of the big three have other than one another?
At least other leagues in Europe are slightly less of a closed shop. Girona and Leverkusen are opening things up, where the likes of Leicester and Lille had done so before. Who will do that in Portugal?
Someone has to win the league, so how do we solve this problem? Furthermore, is it a problem that needs solving, or is it just an inevitable result of life, let alone football?
If my experience on Football Manager is anything to go by - and it’s not - nothing will change anytime soon. What other league has a triopoly of this magnitude?
Though a marvelous trip in which I’d seen Sporting’s magnificent stadium too, as well as some lovely sights around Lisbon, I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. The joy being the jeopardy of sport.
Comments
Post a Comment