World's No.1 Football Manager

Chapter 444 Guzman's Curse

The Stadium of Light in Lisbon, which can accommodate 65000 people, was packed.

In addition to a large number of Benfica fans pouring in to cheer for the home team, what is surprising is that in the visiting team fan area in the stands, there were actually a few Sporting Portuguese fans cheering for the phalanx.

This is not because the Portuguese sports fans are convinced, but because the enemy of the enemy is the friend!
Since the defeat of Sporting Lisbon two weeks ago, the scolding war in Lisbon City has never stopped.

Who knows how the fans of Sporting Portugal have survived these two weeks!

If I apply the words of Brother Ma in "The True Colors of Heroes", it would be: "I have been waiting for two weeks! I am just waiting for an opportunity! I am not trying to prove how great Sporting Lisbon is! I want to tell the people of Benfica that even if we can't win, you still have to lose!"

People fight for one breath, Buddhas fight for one stick of incense!In the city of Lisbon, don't laugh at the elder brother, no one is better than the other!So, come on, Maritimo!Get rid of Benfica!

However, in fairness, at present, the strength of the Benfica team is far superior to the rivals in the same city.

Benfica, founded in 1904, is a football-based comprehensive sports club.The nickname of the team is "Eagle". Not only is an eagle ready to fly embroidered on the team emblem, but even an eagle is actually raised in the club as a mascot.

Benfica has a more glorious resume than its rivals in the same city. 36 times to win the Portuguese football top league championship, 24 times to win the Portuguese Cup, and 2 times to win the European Champions Cup!

Benfica is the second club in history to win the UEFA Champions League, and its seven-time Champions League final is second only to Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Juventus.

Well-known stars in the history of the team include Eusebio, Rui Costa, Nuno Gomez...

However, Benfica suffered the famous "Guzman" curse in the 60s, and has never been able to win the Intercontinental Championship since then.

Bella Guzman, a famous Hungarian coach, is a great coach enough to be recorded in the history of world football. The 4-2-4 formation he created helped the Selecao win the 1958 World Cup.Guzman's peak period was spent in Benfica. In 1961 and 1962, the "Eagle" defeated Barcelona and Real Madrid one after another, won the Champions League, and became the first team in history to break the monopoly of Real Madrid for five consecutive championships.

After leading the team to defeat Real Madrid led by Di Stefano, Puskas and other superstars in the Champions League final in 1962, Guzman asked the Benfica board of directors for a salary increase, but was rejected.

In a fit of anger, the Hungarian left with his seal on his seal and issued a "vicious curse" when he parted: "Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever win a European Cup!"

Guzman is worthy of being a master figure, and he turned his words into a prophecy. From 1962 to the present, Benfica has really never won any European championships!You know, during this period, they entered the finals of the Champions League/Europa League 8 times, and all of them lost.

Before the 1989-1990 UEFA Champions League final, in order to eliminate the curse, the legendary Portuguese star Eusebio made a special trip to pay homage to his mentor's tomb, but he still failed to eliminate the curse and lost to AC Milan in the final.

And not only the adult team, even the youth team was not spared.

In the 2013-2014 season and 2016-2017 season, the Benfica youth team entered the Youth Champions League final twice, but lost to Barcelona and Salzburg Red Bull respectively.

It seems that the curse of Mr. Guzman is still going on. It is estimated that Benfica will not think about the European championship in the next 40 years!
Although the "Curse of Guzman" has some idealistic colors, Benfica's work style can be seen.In order to save a little money, the meritorious coach was not given a salary increase, causing him to leave in anger.It's no wonder that their coaches and fans will seize the opportunity of the disastrous defeat of their rivals in the same city, and wantonly sprinkle salt on the wound!

In order to play this game well, Benfica hid some of their main players in the last round, but in this round, they sent a 4-4-2 full main lineup.

Goalkeeper: 99-Vlahodimos
Defenders: 3-Grimaldo, 97-Francisco Ferrer, 6-Ruben Dias, 84-Thomas Tavares

Midfielder: 11-Franco Seve, 22-Samaris, 49-Tarabut, 21-Pizzi
Forwards: 19-Ziquinho, 95-Vinicius
This lineup can attack and defend well.Among them, the Portuguese international Pizzi, the core midfielder, contributed a large double-double of "30 goals and 19 assists" last season!He is the MVP of the Portuguese Super League, and high center Carlos Vinicius has scored 7 goals and 4 assists this season. He is a strong contender for the Portuguese Super Golden Boot this season.

This is currently the strongest opponent Maritimo has encountered in the Portuguese Super League.It can be said that the opponent is a quasi-Champions League lineup.

Gao Yuan also formed a 4-4-2 formation in the away game.

Goalkeeper: Niu Gensheng

Defender: Danso Antonio Cusaibarella

Midfielder: Joao Zhou Yongwang Ziwukovic
Forward: Dzekojola
This is a lineup with a balanced offense and defense. It is obvious that Gao Yuan knows that this game is not easy to play, and he wants to be stable in the formation of troops.

With the whistle of the referee, the game began.

At the beginning of the game, amidst the cheers and cheers of the fans at the Stadium of Light, Benfica launched a fierce attack on Maritimo.

George Jesus' intention to start the game was very obvious. The whirring sound of the "three axes" was not only to give the opponent a blow, but also to set a tone for the game: at the Stadium of Light, I, Benfica, have the final say!
Maritimo was a little uncomfortable with the opponent's fierce attack. At the beginning stage, he could only defend passively, and was temporarily unable to organize an effective attack.

Although George Jesus was a bit narrow-minded, his professional ability was not to be said.For Maritimo's tactical play, he has worked hard and found the opponent's current weak link very accurately.

The weakness lies in Antonio.

Antonio is the soul of Maritimo's team. He was honed step by step from the youth training camp, but he is not a talented player. He can get to where he is today because of dedication and hard work. Compared with physical fitness, he is more powerful in leadership and spiritual attributes.

安东尼奥1米82的身高和76公斤的体重，在后卫线上并不占优，面对维身高1米90、体重83公斤的维尼修斯，完全处于了下风。

Moreover, Vinicius is a black player, and his speed, explosive power, and flexibility are better than the white player Antonio.

Originally, Gao Yuan arranged for Qusay, who had better physical fitness, to mark Vinicius before the game, but Vinicius was very cunning and deliberately bypassed Qusay's marking and took the initiative to find Antonio.

After several confrontations, Antonio failed to take advantage.

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(End of this chapter)