There’s so much on Benfica’s badge that you need an afternoon of self-isolation to take it all in: an eagle, initials, Latin motto and bicycle wheel
Tag: benfica
He’s been likened to a young Cristiano Ronaldo, but Benfica’s João Félix still faced the same challenges as any other from his YouTube generation
A brilliant ball-carrier and versatile, Ramires at his peak was indispensable for Chelsea. Sadly that peak came too soon and didn’t last long
It took long bike rides, a shot of chance and a manager with complete confidence in him, but Jan Oblak now stands as one of the world’s best keepers
In a country where football is one of the most celebrated and passionate in the world, Portugal has created some of the most gifted players in the history of the sport. Ranging…
In these days of expanded World Cups, bloated Champions League competitions and saturated television coverage, most football aficionados are used to seeing regular clashes between the world’s current top two footballers, Cristiano…
“You’re too young to be playing that much football and moving from home – focus on your studies.” Ricardo Aimar wasn’t in any mood to allow his son’s life to be caught…
This article is taken from the Battle of the 10s issue of These Football Times Magazine, which you can order today. “Who’s that black guy that scored three goals in 20 minutes?…
THE BEAUTIFUL SPORT of football, like life, can be visualized as a seemingly infinite game of Pac-Man, wherein young players are repeatedly chased throughout their career by an assortment of problems. While…
“LOOK AT EDERSON OF MANCHESTER CITY. When he came to me he was just a lad from the favelas, too scared to leave his own penalty area. Now he takes bigger risks…
There’s a song by Sud Sound System, a reggae group from the Italian region of Apulia, that begins like this: ‘If you never forget your roots, you’ll be able to respect those…
AGED JUST 35, to say Adam Crozier was a surprise choice to step into the role of Chief Executive at the FA would be understating the case more than a little. The…
WHEN DAVID LUIZ WAS CARTED OFF TO PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN for a world-record £50 million transfer fee, it felt like Chelsea had conned their way into one of the deals of the century.…
Erwin Sánchez was, at his best, as good as most other South American playmakers in the 1990s, however, his time at the top was masked from the limelight
BODO ILGNER, Andreas Köpke, Oliver Kahn, Jens Lehmann, Manuel Neuer; the list of Germany’s first-choice goalkeepers over the past three decades reads off like a reel of dynastic succession. Not only is…
THE CONCEPT OF AGGREGATION by marginal gains was first championed by British cycling performance director Sir David Brailsford. In an interview with the BBC during the aftermath of the London 2012 Olympics,…
RUI COSTA’S footballing life can be summed up by one goal and the few moments that followed it. In August 1996 in Lisbon’s Estádio da Luz, Benfica lined up against Fiorentina for…
Blessed with more ability than most professional footballers could ever dream of, Adel Taarabt has spent more time believing his hype than generating it