Koeman's year in 'O Glorious'

Competitive, honest, defensive, club, close and communicative are the concepts that are repeated the most when Ronald Koeman is asked at the Seixal Campus, Benfica's sports city. However, despite these characteristics, the 05-06 season in which he led the Lisbon team is also written off.

The main memory Koeman has left among Benfica fans is bittersweet. On the one hand, it is recognized that in the big games the team performed at a high level and that it played a very good Champions League. That year, he defeated the Manchester United in the group stage; eliminated the Liverpool in the round of 16; and fell in quarters before him Barcelona after tying at zero in Da Luz and that Simao had the opportunity to make life very difficult for all Rijkaard when with 1-0 the former player of the Blaugrana team and the Athletic among others, it failed in the final moments a goal that meant the draw and elimination of a team that would end up proclaiming itself champion in that season. Paris.

“In the big games he competed very well, there are the games against Manchester United, Liverpool or Barcelona. And in the league, he won both games against Port, but failed in regularity. The games against bad teams were the ones that cost us the championship “, recalls one of the oldest workers of the Lisbon club.” When he arrived I was in the public relations department and now I am in the press, from my position I did not have much contact Directly with him, but from what people who work close to him say he was a very responsible person. On a human level, no one speaks ill of him here. “

Koeman took over Benfica in the 2005-06 season taking over from Giovanni Trapattoni. As a second he had the late Toni Bruins; and the legendary former Benfica player Fernando Chalana was the third of the staff.

The idea was for Benfica to play a more offensive football, but according to the journalists who covered that time recall “The team was too defensive.”