Benfica to face unknown

Posted Thursday, September 17, 2009 by PA

It will be a journey into the unknown for Benfica and BATE Borisov when they meet on Thursday night in their UEFA Europa League Group I opener at Lisbon's Stadium of Light.

The clubs have never met before and Benfica coach Jorge Jesus wants the Benfica faithful to get behind his team to make it as intimidating an atmosphere as possible for the Belarussian club.

"The most striking presence is in the stands," said new coach Jesus, who took SC Braga to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup last season. "The more help we get the easier it will be to win."

Pablo Aimar and goalkeeper Joaquim Manuel Sampaio Silva are missing from the Benfica squad but in Nuno Gomes and Javier Saviola they have experienced strikers and 20-year-old Argentine midfielder Angel Di Maria is hoping to continue his consistent form so far this season.

Di Maria said: "I feel good, my game is getting better. The team are growing day by day. I hope we can show the form of the last two games."

Benfica have started well in the Portuguese league and are lying second after winning three and drawing one of their first four matches

But while BATE are outsiders, in a group which also includes Everton and AEK Athens, they did make their debut in the group stage of a UEFA competition in last season's Champions League, where they finished bottom despite two draws against Juventus and Zenit St Petersburg.

BATE are most famous for being founded at a Borisov tractor factory. They are coached by Viktor Goncharenko, who at 31 last season became the youngest coach in the Champions League.

A former BATE defender who was forced to retire with a cruciate injury, Goncharenko unsurprisingly is also the youngest coach in the Europa League group stage.

Jesus is taking nothing for granted. "They are a tactically disciplined team," he said. "They are very strong on the counter attack but we are playing and winning and these are concrete things."