No reason to worry

The media and blogosphere are stirring up fear around Benfica.  The pre-season games where 20-22 players are sampled by JJ each time are not revealing when you look at the result only.  I would rather Benfica lose every pre-season game than win them.  A loss in the pre-season helps the coach drive home his methods and processes more effectively.  It will create a spirit of urgency and seriousness in the training sessions.
I for one, as a Benfica fan am not worried at all by these results.  The analysis of them reveals to me that the club signed some very good players.  We already know the value of the coach and how well he will work this team and get the best out of the talent he has.  With respect to the panic about the exits of a few players, I do not share such panic.  Lets look at the players lost and how they were replaced.  All the rest are known quantities, from the coach, to the remaining talent, to the style of play and tactics.

Oblak - hard to replace yes.  He was surely exceptional.  But the loss of Oblak does not mean the end of the word.  Sevilla didn't need Oblak to win the Europa League.  Benfica didnt need Oblak to win all its 32 other titles.  I agree we need to sign a good starting keeper and we will.  Its the cheapest position in terms of what will need to be spent in order to bring in a good starter.

Siqueira - a very good but injury prone left back.  Was he worth paying $2.2 million in net salary to keep ?? No.  The President did the right thing in letting him go.  Before he came to Benfica he was an average starter in the Spanish Liga.  He didn't regularly play for his national team.  He didn't play for one of the big teams in Spain.  Now all of a sudden Benfica fans make it seem like he was a God.  He wasn't.  He was a good player.  Remember he was the second choice to Eliseu who arguably has enjoyed the same stature and level of play in La Liga as Siqueira did. Is Eliseu a long term solution ? No. He is 30.  But he will do for this year.  Benito is the long term solution and is showing much already.  He will only improve.  All the times Andre Almeida was asked to play that position he played just fine too.  I am not worried at all about this position.

Fejsa - this injury hurts the team a lot.  This too is not the end of the world.  He will be back in January.  Andre Almeida can play this position well.  So can Amorim.  I think the choice should be tailored to the opponent and thus replaced by committee.  Joao Teixiera has shown a lot of promise and will only improve further  as a backup.  If needed Eliseu could also play this position.  This position is largely tactical as well.

Markovic - He was a great player who at the end of the season divided the position with Salvio.  We still have Salvio.  We also have Ola John back who is playing well.  We also have Bebe who with work can become a dominant player at that position.  Yes they are different in characteristics but in JJ's system the role requires speed and explosiveness which all of them have.  I don't think its the end of the world that he is gone.  Lets not forget that every 1 in 3 games Markovic would disappear.  Nobody can tell me that each of the available options will not have success in the 1 on 1 situations on the wing, and stretching the opposing defence and in crossing for many goals.

Garay - another very good player who had a great season.  Replaced by Lisandro Lopez who was one of the best central defenders in the Spanish League last year.  I watched many of Lopez' games last season and am confident he will make Benfica fans forget Garay very quickly.  I think the position remains as strong.

Rodrigo - a good player who has never given playing time until Cardozo got hurt.  Yes he scored a beautiful goal against Porto.  But the team was far from dependant on Rodrigo.  Derley had 8 more goals than he did last season and Derley had a weaker supporting cast.  Rodrigo began to perform better when he adjusted properly to the system JJ has in place.  Derley has the same physical attributes, same speed and there is no reason to believe he won't learn the system.  He definitely has shown an ability to score more goals than Rodrigo did.  I continue to emphasize that Bebe should be tried as a replacement at this position as well.

If Gaitan or Enzo leave then the money they bring in will surely guarantee that ample replacements arrive.  Neither of these players are Gods or untouchable  They are players that know the system JJ played very well and are a strong fit with the team.  I want them to stay and I think they will.

As for the rest of the depth in the team, I think Talisca is a player who shows a lot of ability and has great size.  Derley is a proven forward who can score, he has great speed, works very hard and runs more than anyone else on the team when he plays. Bebe will be a great addition to the bench who I would like to see tested out playing upfront with Lima.  I think those two would combine very well and be havoc for defenders.

If I had to pick a slogan to describe the State of the Nation Benfiquista it would be this : All is well.  We will have a very very strong team once again.  We will compete with Porto for the title and have no reason not to finish in the top two spots in our Champions League group no mater who is in it.  We will be seeded as the top seed this year so will have one very strong team and two other teams that we will be clearly stronger than.

Benfica suporters have to calm down and look at things the way they are and not based on pre-season meaningless scores or headlines in sport journals meant to inspire dissension in the ranks.  There is a great abundance of talent on this team.  The coach is very capable.  Benfica will crush their opposition when it counts !