BOLA invited three well-known Benfica fans to comment on Rui Costa’s interview on BTV the day before yesterday. There was praise, but there was also criticism after 90 minutes of explaining that Francisco Benítez, Gaspar Ramos and Vasco Mendonza were far from deserving of 10.
“There were things that I liked to hear, others that I didn’t like to hear at all, and there were things that I would like to hear and not hear,” summed up A BOLA Francisco Benítez of Servir o the Benfica movement that went to vote together with Rui Costa in the last November elections.
“I was pleased to know that the bylaws committee is progressing at a good pace and that there will be a draft at the end of February, a sign that we will have a structuring document about the life of Benfica that can help us change this dark page,” he listed without stopping: “I also liked to hear that the sport needs more attention and that the pavilions will open for fans, this is a good idea. And the renovation of the interior of the stadium… he said he would do it, and I completely agree.”
However, in other subjects he was deeply dissatisfied. “The audit should be in the Benfica group and, it seems, in the Ministry of Public Administration (MP). The first three contracts were analyzed to make sure MP did a good job, now another 55 contracts… Is this an audit? Benfica is interested in auditing the entire Benfica, to find out if there are crimes in the organization, in the relations between employees, companies and suppliers,” he said, continuing: “I also did not like that Benfica did not became an assistant in the process. They insist on whitewashing Operation Red Card, which means nothing, it’s Vieira’s own business, and he keeps pushing the situation with his belly. And I didn’t like it either, then Rui Coste was uneasy when he talked about how contracts are signed, especially when buying players. So, is he the administrator in charge of football and he signs contracts because he is there if there is no one else to sign?”
Another negative point was the declaration of absolute confidence in Domingos Soares de Oliveira.
“He and Miguel Moreira are the only two defendants who remain at Benfica, and Domingos has been out of control of SAD for a long time,” he said.
Gaspar Ramos, the historic leader of the Eagles, found the explanation about Jesus “a little complicated” and felt that Rui Costa should have done better.
“He had a duty to prevent this situation from happening in due time, which discredited him and Benfica. So with your experience you don’t know what’s going on in the resort. At least he should have been informed about the structure by people if they didn’t… I think it’s poorly explained, even if it could happen, as he says it shouldn’t have happened. , he pointed out, believing that this trial was “a disgrace to all Benfists.”
The theme of John Textor deserves reservations.
Vasco Mendonsa, columnist for A BOLA, was also far from happy with everything he heard.
“I liked that Rui Costa introduced himself to the partners and took the time to do it. It was an unusually long interview and I felt like it tried to cover a lot of topics and provide a lot of clarification,” he said before moving on to criticism.
“I didn’t like how the signing of documents was described and that it didn’t amount to harmful behavior or a bad decision. As far as I understand, the administrator does not have direct contact with everything that happens, in an organization like Benfica, with the role of Rui Costa in SAD, who had a football portfolio, it is difficult to understand that someone says that he signed the papers, but this does not mean that he was aware of what was happening,” he stressed.
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