Benfica the unwanted standout in the league’s Team of the Year | OneFootball

Benfica were one of the biggest absentees when the Liga Portugal Team of the Year was announced. Despite having several standout players over the course of the season, such as Vangelis Pavlidis, Andreas Schjelderup and Fredrik Aursnes, the Eagles were unable to place a single footballer in the ideal team chosen by the coaches and captains of the competition’s 18 teams.

The confirmation came with the inclusion of Luis Suárez in attack. The Sporting forward filled the final spots in the ideal team after an extremely productive debut season, in which he finished as the league’s top scorer.

The Team of the Year was dominated by national champions Porto, who had five representatives. Sporting came next with four players, while Braga completed the team with two members. Benfica, despite their stature and the expectations created at the start of the season, ultimately saw none of their players recognized.

The decision is likely to spark debate among Benfica fans, especially given the historic weight of the Club and the contribution of several squad figures throughout the season. Even so, the vote of the coaches and captains was clear and left the Eagles out.

Benfica finished no higher than third place with 80 points. Despite remaining unbeaten, they ended the campaign with 11 draws, six of them at the Estádio da Luz - matching the 2007/2008 record. José Mourinho’s side scored 74 goals and conceded 25.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.