UEFA Futsal Cup team profile: Benfica
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
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Benfica won the 2010 UEFA Futsal Cup with Ricardinho; now he could stand in their way in Guadalajara as they return to the finals after a five-year absence.
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Benfica reached the UEFA Futsal final on debut in 2004 but lost 7-5 on aggregate to Inter. They had revenge at the same stage in 2010 when they defeated Inter 3-2 after extra time in Lisbon.
Since then, Ricardinho has left Benfica and is now with the Spanish champions. This season, Benfica are second in the Portuguese Liga regular season, two points behind Sporting CP after Saturday's 2-1 win at Gualtar.
Benfica (POR)
- v Ugra Yugorsk (Friday, 17.30CET)
Finals appearances since 2007: 2 (2010, 2011)
Best performance: winners 2010
Preliminary round: bye
Main round: Centar Sarajevo 8-2, Grand Pro Varna 9-2, Dobovec 6-1 (Group 2 winners)
Elite round: Ekonomac Kragujavec 3-0, Slov-Matic Bratislava 4-5, Lokomotiv Kharkiv 2-0 (Group D winners)
Top scorer: Alessandro Patias 9
Key players: Juanjo, Bruno Coelho, Alessandro Patias
League position: Second
- Three questions:Bebe
How did you feel after Fábio Cecílio scored the Benfica goal that sealed qualification just two seconds from the end against Lokomotiv Kharkiv?
It's impossible to describe a moment like that. We were in the dying moments of the match and of course we were very anxious, but also had a lot of confidence and were risking everything. It was a brutal and amazing feeling to score. I think we deserved to experience a moment like that one because we were by far the best team out there and we were better for the whole match.
How important is it for Benfica to be back in the final four?
A club this big and with such a great history as Benfica should always be up there fighting for the big prizes. We work very hard every day to do that, and more so because our name is already engraved in the history of the biggest futsal club competition in the world.
What do you think of Ugra?
They have a very good team, posing all sorts of problems with their three Brazilian[-born players]: Eder Lima, Robinho and Marcênio. These Eastern European teams are always very disciplined and with an enormous collective strength. They knocked out the reigning champions, Kairat.