Benfica vs. Fiorentina: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
The International Champions Cup continues on Friday, as Benfica and Fiorentina meet at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Both teams are continuing a pre-season where they are looking to adjust to life under new managers. Rui Vitoria has the task of filling the large shoes of Jorge Jesus at the Portuguese champions, and former Basel boss Paulo Sousa is looking to build on the respectable achievements of Vincenzo Montella at La Viola.
Both teams come into this game having lost their opening game of the competition, with both sides failing to overcome French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the past week. Benfica lost to Laurent Blanc's side 3-2 despite leading with 30 minutes remaining—a game that perhaps warmed the French side up as they beat Fiorentina more handily, 4-2, three days later at Red Bull Arena.
Results are never the be-all and end-all in pre-season, but nevertheless both new managers will want to get off the mark as soon as possible, as they bid to win over their squads and get them to buy into new methods and new approaches. Both sides will be eager to notch a win on Friday and get off the mark in the ICC tournament.
Date: Friday, July 24
Time: 8 p.m. ET (1 a.m. BST)
Venue: Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Connecticut, USA
TV Info: Fox Soccer 2 (U.S.)
Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S.)
The Two Teams
Both managers in this game are united by a desire to improve their familiarity and understanding of their squad, as they settle into the hot seat ahead of the start of the season. Arguably the pressure is most on Benfica's relatively unheralded new boss, Rui Vitoria, who has a lot to live up to as he succeeds the inimitable Jorge Jesus at Estadio da Luz.
Vitoria got off to a losing start in his first game on the Benfica bench, but he insisted that he learned a lot from the defeat to PSG and saw plenty of positives to build upon.
"It was a game of two distinct halves. We played well in the first half; in the second, we made several changes and the pace dropped," Rui Vitoria said, per Benfica's official website. "PSG scored in the few opportunities they created. Now is the time to observe and to test, and we have done that."
Benfica have long been a team that experiences a lot of squad turnover each summer, an inevitable side effect of a Portuguese sporting model that relies heavily on the sale of valuable assets to keep the club running smoothly.
Consequently, Rui Vitoria is taking over a championship-winning squad that has already seen some faces depart and some arrive—and he has been keen to stress that everyone has the opportunity to earn their place in his plans.
"It’s too early to speak of a starting eleven," he added. "We are still observing."
That is arguably the focus of the ICC for Benfica; to get some game experience against other elite European teams, but also to allow players to make their case for starting spots once the domestic season gets under way.
That is a similar case for Fiorentina boss Paulo Sousa, who faces a difficult task in improving on the work of predecessor Vincenzo Montella, who led the team to fourth in Serie A and a Europa League semi-final appearance last season. Sousa inherits a solid squad but one that appears unlikely to receive significant reinvestment this summer, with the loss of on-loan winger Mohamed Salah and dependable goalkeeper Neto, among others, likely to be felt over time.
La Viola sold defender Stefan Savic to Atletico Madrid, with defensive midfielder Mario Suarez moving in the other direction to the Italian side. But Sousa will be looking for some of the younger squad members to step up and make their case for greater first-team involvement over the course of this competition.
Team News
It will be interesting to see how Rui Vitoria approaches this game, having named a strong lineup for the opening ICC defeat to PSG. Plenty of players left on the bench for that game will perhaps be in line to start this time around—Ola John, Bryan Cristante, Joao Teixeira—but the manager may choose to stick with the same lineup he opted for in his first game, to give them another chance to impress.
There are other wild-card options, too, with fans keen to see what recent addition Adel Taarabt and returning attacking midfielder Filip Djuricic can add to the squad. Both may need to improve their fitness somewhat before being given game time, however, with neither man featuring in the club's opening ICC tie.
As for Fiorentina, widespread reports indicate Mario Gomez is on the verge of leaving for Turkish club Besiktas, one of them being from the Corriere dello Sport (h/t Turkish Football). This means the German's appearance in their opening ICC game against PSG might be his last runout in the purple of Fiorentina.
Giuseppe Rossi would be the obvious player to step in and start in place of Gomez, especially after scoring a penalty in his substitute appearance against the Parisiens. Beyond that, Sousa has the option to rotate his squad considerably, with Josip Ilicic, Federico Bernardeschi, Borja Valero and Joaquin all perhaps in line to start this one after coming off the bench in the previous game.
Fans might be eager to see Mario Suarez make his first appearance for his new club, but having travelled a lot in the last few days to complete his transfer, he may not yet be fully recovered and able to start in this one.
Possible Starting Lineups
Benfica (4-2-2-2 formation): Julio Cesar; Eliseu, Jardel, Luisao, Silvio; Pizzi, Cristante; Gaitan, John; Lima, Jonas.
Fiorentina (5-4-1 formation): Tatarusanu; Alonso, Basanta, Hegazi, Bagadur, Fazzi; Badelj, Vecino, Ilicic, Rebic; Rossi.
Players to Watch
Benfica: Nicolas Gaitan
While the likes of Anderson Talisca might have something to say about it, it seems highly likely that Nicolas Gaitan will be tasked with being Benfica's primary creative player over the coming season.
Generally the rewards for being a standout performer for Benfica are significant—over recent seasons the likes of Nemanja Matic, Angel Di Maria and David Luiz have all earned big moves based on their performances for the Portuguese side—and Gaitan will be aware that, at 27, he is closing in on the point where it is now or never for his own such ambitions.
SAPO Desporto (via the Daily Star) recently quoted him as saying "where would I go?" when asked about his future, so it seems Gaitan will not be leaving Benfica this summer despite rumoured interest from the likes of Manchester United. Unless he is playing coy, that means he should be free to concentrate on his role for the club under Rui Vitoria.
With a wealth of attacking players at the club, including new addition Taarabt, Gaitan will be aware that he still has to earn his starting position at the club, and the ICC is the perfect stage for him to do so. With Fiorentina's defence having a new look to it following the departure of Stefan Savic, Gaitan will be eager to rip between La Viola's back line and make a compelling case to his new manager about his place in the team.
Fiorentina: Giuseppe Rossi
After a recent career that has been ravaged by injuries, the American-born Italy international will be eager to get a full pre-season under his belt and hit the ground running when Serie A gets back under way. A calmly converted penalty against PSG ended up being somewhat meaningless in the context of the game, but Rossi will be relieved to have started his campaign with a goal—especially coming as it did in Jersey, the place of his birth.
He will also be hoping to gain a greater understanding of the type of football new coach Paulo Sousa wants to play, with Rossi likely to be a key part of his attacking plans.
"As a collective in the past three years, we’ve done tremendous work with our style of play, which has been rated one of the best in Serie A," Rossi recently told Bleacher Report. "I think we’re fun to watch. That’s what everyone says around Europe. We’re going to try and bring that fun to watch style over here to the U.S."
Rossi will almost certainly be Fiorentina's most dangerous attacking player, but Sousa will perhaps be particularly keen to see how he dovetails with some of his team-mates—the likes of Josip Ilicic, Ante Rebic and Khouma Babacar.
Prediction: Benfica 2-2 Fiorentina
Bleacher Report is official media partner of the International Champions Cup North America.
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