Benfi ca academy leaves Porto
and Sporting in the dust
I
n February 2019, recently appointed
Benfica coach Bruno Lage faced his
first major test in the league as he
sent out a youthful starting XI to
take on Lisbon rivals Sporting in front of
a hostile Alvalade crowd. Fired by a Joao
Felix man-of-the-match performance,
the young Eagles blew away their hosts,
with the imperious Ruben Dias also
scoring in a 4-2 stroll.
One month later and another tough
away game, effectively the title decider
at Porto. Felix was on the scoresheet
again, while the centre-back pairing
of Dias and fellow academy product
Francisco Ferreira were outstanding
as Benfica claimed another richly(^) SHOYA NAKAJIMA
(Porto)
Brilliant at Portimonense, the
Japanese attacking midfielder is
back in Portugal after a brief spell
in Qatar.
(^) JOTA
(Benfica)
The latest starlet to emerge from
Benfica’s Seixal Academy, the 20-
year-old made his first-team debut
last season.
(^) RAUL DE TOMAS
(Benfica)
One-time Real Madrid youth-team
striker expected to be a big hit after
productive loan spells at Valladolid
and Rayo Vallecano.
deserved three points.
By the end of the season, Benfica
were celebrating a fifth championship in
six years, their academy players having
made a huge contribution.
Felix, Florentino Luis, Ferreira and
Gedson Fernandes all played key roles
throughout the year, while Dias followed
up his breakthrough season with another
immense campaign. It may have taken
time, but this felt like the year that
president Luis Filipe Vieira’s long-term
promise to make the club’s state-of-the-
art Seixal Academy a central part of the
first team and the heart of Benfica’s
future had finally come to fruition.
The academy opened in 2006, its
Season preview 2019-20
PORTUGAL PRIMEIRA LIGA
Return...Ivan
Marcano is back
at Porto
PLAYERS TO WATCH