With all the hoopla surrounding the arrival of Freddy Adu, Bergessio, and Cardozo, we almost forgot to mention that the man responsible for bringing these player to Benfica has  left SL Benfica for good.

José Veiga´s departure from Benfica was cordial.  JoséVeiga stated that he would like to “pursue other projects”, and Benfica thanked Mister Veiga for all the help in planning the current season.  The unofficial version is that Veiga left Benfica because he was kept out of the loop on the sale of Simão Sabrosa to Atletico de Madrid.

I have previously stated here on this blog that I am not a big fan of José Veiga, but I can admit when someone is competent and is good at their job.  It was after all under Jose Veiga that Benfica won a National Championship after a very long drought.  And this was accomplished at a time when Benfica did not have a good team, or any money to build a good team.  José Veiga also bought a level of professionalism to Benfica management that had not been seen in Benfica before his arrival.

Not everything went right under José Veiga, there were a few players that got away, and some that should never have came.  But this is normal, mistakes will always be made, overall his contribution was positive.  José Veiga did a good job while at Benfica, and he knows the ins and outs of the international soccer world.  For now Luis Filipe Viera has taken control of the soccer department, but I hope he finds someone to take over the spot left open by José Veiga´s departure.