pachman40

2-2 halftime, entertaining game to say the least, come on blues!!!!

http://www.tvgente.com/canaisflash/euromb3.htm# Decent stream for you guys.

The value being placed on him as part of the Luiz deal is 5mil euros, do you guys think that's fair or a bit inflated to make the deal look better in Portugal?

Agreed, the Chelsea of early season was fearsome, then we lost that fear factor, had a couple of good results recently, now its time to smash some teeth in and wake everybody the fuck back up and say, "Oh shit, they're back!!!!"

As long as its not on penalties .... Luiz heads in off a corner in the 65th minute!!!!!

Didn't want to imply "hey sturridge, when you come back from loan you don't have a number". I was just thinking if Sturridge didn't have any special feelings for the number he may vacate it and grab another. I don't know how often that happens in Europe but in North American team sports it happens quite often when a new player comes in that he's given his normal number and the current user takes another but only if the current user suggests it.

Well, I'm putting an early request in to my wife for my b-day present, David Luiz jersey in Blue thank you very much. I hope he sticks with 23 to represent his Benfica ties, but if he gets 4 I'll be glad too. Either way, wrap it up with a big bow on it!!!!!

I think Luiz played at left because Luisao was entrenched on the right but to be honest we don't know. It could be that Luiz adapted to the left to accommodate Luisao but it could be his more natural side. Either way Carlo will work that out easily.

I agree with those of you saying Drogba's gone next year but not because he can't play with Torres. I think they'll be fine together. I think he'll leave simply for business sake. That will be the last opportunity to get some cash for him while also "passing the torch" to Torres. If there's nobody willing to drop a few million for him then he stays and plays out his contract and walks out the front door after next season. Either way, I think next season will be either no Drogs or a diminished role for him and Torres being the main focus (pray he stays healthy).

I'm pretty sure our friend Luiz would have to adapt to Terry as opposed to the old dog learning new tricks. I don't remember, when Luiz played those couple of times with Sidnei, didn't he play right side?

Conflicting reports out of Portugal about the value of the deal, one outlet say 20m euro + Matic + incentives up to additional 5m euro , other outlet says 25m euro + matic valued at 5m + a friendly game in portugal valued at 1.5m euro + up to 3.5m euro based on performance totalling up to 35m euro..... not sure what that all translates into sterling but just fyi and curious to see what it shakes out to in reality

Where did you hear that? That's completely contrary to everything I heard in Portugal and contrary to anything I heard or read anywhere else.

chelsea fan in me is ecstatic!!!! Benfica fan in me hates the president right now. Just when I thought he grew a set of balls he caves like the little shit he is. Good Deal guys!!!!

Charlie Adam going to Liverpool too!!!!!!! Holy Christ they're shaking things up.....I assume Torres will be confirmed to Chelsea within minutes. I'm torn, I'm happy we're getting a world class striker but sad we overpaid. Such is life.

Assumption is that he plays fantastic for us and leads us to the title this season, reality is that he's a great striker when he's healthy and at this price we're gambling that he will be at his best for at least a few years.

No doubt he's not worth the 35m but I'm looking at the net spending. They're getting overpaid for Torres and in turn they overpay for Carroll, plus they have Suarez, and their bank account stays almost the same. I think its good dealing. Now lets get Torres to score 25 goals in the second half of the season and I'll gladly laugh at 'pool with the rest of ya.

Don't get me wrong, I hope Torres makes me eat my words but I have a terrible feeling he's done in a couple of years, we're out the cash, and 'pool have 2 young strikers reaching their prime.:unsure:

Wow, I'm not excited to pay that much for Torres at all. Way too much money for this guy when his health is not at 100% in my opinion. He should not be more than 25-30 tops. I know some of you will say "well that's the attitude that prevents us from getting quality players" but I just think Liverpool are taking advantage of our lust for him and selling high when they know he's going downhill. Perfect business by 'pool to sell Torres and bring in Carroll and Suarez for a minor net spending. They've rejuvenated their strikeforce and barely spent anything. I hate 'pool but I think they've done good business in this case.

Every single deal that is ever made someone has to cave and say "let's do it". Honestly I think they are so close that if either side "caves" its not a big deal at this point. What's a million or two between friends. Its not like Liverpool caving on Suarez "here's an extra 14M, you're welcome". As far as any other club paying that much I think you'll be surprised this summer if the deal doesn't go through now. Unless he gets hurt or tries to force his way out then I can almost guarantee it.

Torres will happen this summer but I can't see him coming over to be honest, I can see him going back to Spain for Real Madrid....then we sneak Benzema for 15-20..... By the way, the Luiz thread is closed but I just wanted to say I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the deal still happened. The business of Benfica having to disclose everything to the stock exchange is meaningless. The day before Ramires was official they disclosed that there were no offers for him and then voila he's sold the next day. The announcement today is probably their "official" way of giving an ultimatum to Chelsea. If Chelsea phones them and says "fuck it, we cave" then the deal is done. Only certainty here is that Benfica aren't caving on this one and now its up to us if we accept or not.

Agree 100%, why all the back and forth? Quit the games, go after who you want and be done with it. Although that dollface doesn't do it for me to be honest. There's no way that Liverpool sells him to us unless we're getting bent over. Maybe we can squeeze Benzema out of Madrid instead in the summer????? What do you guys think? Forgive me if its been suggested previously but I haven't cruised around the forum enough yet.

Disappointing for the blue side of me but fantastic news for the Benfica fan in me. Honestly, its a lot of money to drop but I think Chelsea dropped the ball in this case. Luiz will continue to solidify his starting position for the Brazilian team, Benfica will qualify for minimum CL qualifying position, and Luiz will continue to improve as he matures this year. As long as he doesn't get hurt then Benfica lose absolutely zero leverage for negotiations this summer. Add to that the fact that Coentrao's sale will likely fill their coffers to the tune of 22-25m euros in the summer and you will see an even feistier Benfica when it comes to negotiating Luiz. The only thing is that I'm sure Benfica made a gentleman's agreement with Luiz that if he stayed then he would be sold in the next window....but you'll definitely see Real Madrid and AC Milan in the fight together with Chelsea and Man City. Good luck boys but I think this ship might've sailed.

I agree, Alex and Ivanovic are very good players but they aren't the right piece for the puzzle. Carvalho was that piece and Luiz is that piece. I hope the deal goes through because it will be a pleasure to watch him perform in blue and eventually become mentioned with the Pique's, Maldini's, and Lucio's of the world (well maybe not Maldini ).

Thanks for the welcome guys, I just discovered the forum and I hope to have some time later tonight to familiarize myself and get involved but for now its back to the portuguese forums. Cheers!

OK, I'm brand new to the forum but I want to get involved here. First, a little background...I'm a big Benfica fan and I'm also a big Chelsea fan. I must confess that I'm not a "born and raised Chelsea fan" and I jumped on the Chelsea bandwagon when Mourinho arrived but I've stayed on and am proud to be blue. That being said, there is a LOT of misinformation in this thread. First of all, Luiz is not as versatile as most people are discussing here, that is not a knock against him at all but simply to keep the facts straight. He has never played RB or DM for Benfica but he played quite a bit of LB 2 seasons ago. He is fantastic as a CB and excellent as a LB. As far as Chelsea having other needs ahead of defenders, I understand your position but I don't understand your logic. The fact that Chelsea are looking at this guy NOW just proves that they are committed to stabilizing this team going forward. We are too old now and it is catching up to us. Obviously we need creativity in the mid-field and we need a new striker but that shouldn't blind us to what we'll be needing in a couple of years. This is a positive move and a positive mentality for this club and we have to get behind it! Also, there has been a lot of talk in this thread of Luiz's place in the pecking order and him being a back-up. Make no mistake, Luiz is being bought to start beside Terry. I have a lot of respect for Alex and Brano but this guy will be top 5 in the world within 2-3 years no doubt in my mind. I know there is a lot of loyalty here towards the current squad but this guy is special. When Benfica brought him in he was supposed to be a squad player for the future. First game he played was against Porto and was due to a bunch of injuries and suspensions to our regulars but he played amazing and I remember turning to a friend of mine and saying "this guy's gonna be a star" and before you know it a couple of years later he's player of the year in our league. I know that the portuguese league does not have much respect in England but the bottom line is that this guy is way better than you're giving him credit for. Next, Benfica are not desperate for money and they are not desperate to sell him in this window. There is no need to spout off about their greed or their negotiating tactics. Bottom line is that they know what they have in this player and they know that if they don't sell him now the value is not going down in the summer unless he gets hurt. Don't be naive and think Chelsea/Man City are the only ones who would splash the cash for him. Also, for the people saying that Benfica fans want this deal to go through because he's not worth it, I don't know where that came from. I believe the more accurate sentiment is that we've resigned ourselves to losing him the way we did with DiMaria last summer and the way we will with Coentrao next summer. We just want the whole saga to end so we can move forward. Its definitely good money and there's always a risk to lose some value going forward. Lastly, some people need to get over this idea that defenders are not worth this kind of money. Carvalho, Pepe, Cannavarro, Ferdinand, etc...all went for big money and they were all worth every penny. It makes no sense to settle for the Cahills of this world just because of sticker-shock on Luiz. I'm torn on this deal since I'm a fan of both sides but I honestly feel Chelsea will end up winning big on this deal. I hope I offered a different perspective on the situation to you guys and I look forward to talking more about it with you.