March of the Red army
BENFICA are the most successful team in Portugal with 36 Primeira Liga titles and 81 domestic honours. They have won the European Cup twice - in 1961 and 1962. They play at the Estadio Da Luz which hosted the Euro 2004 final and are managed by Rui Vitoria, who has been in charge for two of their four consecutive league titles. BENFICA’S last Champions League campaign was relatively successful as they advanced from the group stages, beating Dynamo Kiev twice – winning 1-0 at home and 2-0 in Ukraine. Crucially, they drew home and away with Besiktas 1-1 and 3-3 and relied on Dynamo Kiev beating the Turks 6-0 to see them through after being beaten 2-1 by Napoli in Lisbon. They made it to the knockout stages where a man-of-the-match display by current City goalkeeper Ederson saw them win 1-0 against Borussia Dortmund at home, but they were beaten 4-0 in the return leg ending their Champions League hopes. RUI Vitoria’s men play strong possession football, usually in a 4-4-2 formation, and have averaged just under three goals a game this season (2.8), playing six and winning five, most notably beating Braga 3-1 and Belenenses 5-0 at the Estadio Da Luz. BENFICA’S star player is Brazilian striker Jonas. The former Valencia man has scored 72 goals for the Lisbon side in 86 games, which averages out at impressive 0.8 goals per game, and will hope he can help to fire them into the knockout rounds. Journey faced by the other Brits: 8,298miles 7,344 6,254 6,218 3,802