Although its hasn´t yet been announced in SL Benfica´s official site, it is as good as a done deal since SL Benfica has already informed the Portugal Stock Exchange.

Benfica signed Óscar Cardozo to a 5 year deal and paid about 9.1 million Euros (about 12.3 million Dollars) for 80% of Cardozo´s pass. This is SL Benfica´s second biggest acquisition ever, following the 13 million Euros deal to acquire Simão Sabrosa from Barcelona FC in the summer of 2001. Cardoso should prove to be valuable player, since he scored 20 goals in 32 games playing for Newell`s Old Boys in Argentina.

This acquisition should mark the beginning of a new era for SL Benfica. The fact that SL Benfica did a bond offering, and the interest from investors like Joe Berardo in SL Benfica, shows that Benfica is a viable enterprise with a very strong brand name. Lets just hope that all this interest translates into lots of fans in the Stadium next year and above all lots of wins.

My only worry about Cardoso is in what kind of a physical shape he will be in when he arrives for training camp in July, since he is currently playing for Paraguay and will not have any resting period this season. But this is something that I am sure José Veiga must have thought about.