Summary: Maccabi Haifa - MS.
Ashdod 1:3 (Sport1)
When Maccabi Haifa was hosted at Ha'or Stadium in September, Nefika encountered difficulties in the first half, and the crowd feared that the inability to beat the Israeli champions would destroy the chances of qualifying for the Champions League round of 16 already in the first round.
Alex Grimaldo made sure to remove those worries.
The left defender cooked for Rafa Silva at the start of the second half, scored a spectacular goal himself after a few minutes, the Eagles went up 0:2, and the three points made their safe way to the box office.
The Spaniard, who was naturally chosen as the outstanding player of the evening, just smiled: "I've already scored with such kicks."
Since then the business has only gotten better and better.
Benfica's campaign is great for now, and they will fight for the top spot on Wednesday.
The ticket to the round of 16 was guaranteed a long time ago, but it's really not certain that Grimaldo will be there.
The game against the Greens in Haifa may be his last in the red uniform in a European framework, in preparation for a possible move in January.
His contract in Lisbon ends in the summer, the departure is almost a foregone conclusion, and the club's management will not stand in his way in the middle of the season if it brings them a few good millions instead of losing the star for nothing.
Big teams are already lining up to enjoy the spoils, with Manchester City reportedly the leading contenders in the kingdom.
And if that's the case, then Pep Guardiola will receive the La Masia graduate six years late.
Will Maccabi Haifa's nightmare continue?
Alex Grimaldo (Photo: Reuters)
Pep wanted him back in 2017
Because already at the end of 2016 Manchester City was really interested in signing Grimaldo.
Guardiola was then just beginning his tenure at a club owned by the Sheikhs who aimed to build themselves in the Catalan tradition with senior managers who had previously worked at the Blaugrana.
If so, everyone there knew very well the story of the boy who was considered very promising in Barca's academy, since he joined it at the age of 12. Grimaldo was persuaded to leave his parents' home in Valencia, joined La Masia despite all the difficulties, and quickly became one of the most talked about names there, especially after who was shifted from link to the defender position.
Two weeks before his 16th birthday, the boy already made history as the youngest player in the history of the second Spanish league, wearing the reserve uniform of Barcelona.
That summer, in 2012, he was also the youngest player in Spain's under-19 European Championship squad. There were 19-year-old Juan Bernat and Jose, Paco Alcacer, Denis Suarez, 18-year-old Suso and Gerard Deulofeu, Saul and Oliver Torres The 17-year-olds and also the goalkeeper Basque Coffee, also 17 years old.
Grimaldo was the smallest, also physically, but that didn't stop him from being a key player on the left wing and being included in the tournament's outstanding team after winning the gold medal.
In Catalonia, most people had no doubt that the future belonged to him.
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Will he finally get Grimaldo?
Guardiola (Photo: GettyImages)
The golden boy in La Masia
Well, that's not entirely accurate, because Luis Enrique didn't like him to say the least.
The coach returned to Camp Nou in the summer of 2014 at a very problematic time for Grimaldo who missed the entire year of 2013 due to a tear in the cruciate ligament in his knee.
After finishing the recovery process and impressing again in the reserve team, it was time to advance to the senior squad and become, as the commentators expected, Jordi Alba's backup.
Instead, he was stuck with Barça B, which had just experienced a crisis and was relegated to the third division.
This is how Grimaldo found himself playing at the age of 20 on poor quality pitches, and the frustration began to accumulate in the face of the complete disregard from the coach of the senior team.
"Luis Enrique never said anything to me. I have no contact with him, and I have nothing to say about him. I get along well with my coach, but that's all," the defender stated in an interview at the time, and there is a reasonable basis for assuming that this will not contribute to his ambitions to break the wall with the boss who decided everything.
Therefore, before the end of his contract, he chose to leave - and Nefika got him for only 1.5 million euros in January 2016. It was a great investment on the part of the club that is very used to buying cheap and selling expensive, the management should have made a lot of money soon - it is no coincidence that Grimaldo's contract included a release clause of 60 million.
Manchester City did not want to pay that much, but the parties were supposed to reach a compromise that would satisfy all parties.
If someone had predicted then that the Spaniard would still be in Lisbon at the end of 2022, they would have told him that he did not understand anything about the football business.
Not holding Magrimaldo.
Luis Enrique (Photo: Reuters)
Feel at home in Lisbon
The expected move to Guardiola was dropped because Grimaldo was injured in October 2016, and only returned in April.
This period was critical, and in the meantime Manchester City made a beeline for Benjamin Mendy from Monaco.
The French arrived in the summer of 2017 on the standard of the perfect player for Pep's style, and everyone knows how it ended.
During this entire period, there was no stability in the left back position with Guardiola, and midfielders were often required to play there, from Fabian Delph to Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Joao Cancelo, originally a right-back, is the man who has taken command there recently, and he's doing a great job in his own way, but a natural left-back wouldn't hurt - especially if he arrives as a free agent in the summer or at a bargain price in January.
On the other hand, it is not at all certain that this is the preferred direction for Grimaldo himself, because he would like to join a team where he will definitely be defined as the team player.
This is the main reason why he has been closing for seven years in Benfica.
In every transfer window, Grimaldo's name is constantly associated with countless teams that wanted him, but somehow it never ripened for a move.
If he had knocked on the table and demanded to leave, it would have happened a long time ago, but the Spaniard learned his lesson well from Barcelona, and knows how to appreciate the trust he received from all the coaches at the Stadium of Light.
"Benfica is a home, and I am happy here. I play in a very big club, compete for titles and improve professionally," Grimaldo used to say.
In fact, he did not rule out in interviews the possibility of signing a new contract even now.
"We talk, and everything is open," he claims.
"If I could only, I would ask him to stay here for many years. He will have to make that decision, but for now he is focused and having a lot of fun," said coach Roger Schmidt.
Between the lines, you can read a kind of completion.
This time the journalists in Portugal are sure that the star will be tempted by a new adventure at the age of 27.
He even excelled this season.
Grimaldo (Photo: GettyImages, CARLOS COSTA / AFP)
Luis Enrique does not count him in the team either
The team that wins his services will get the best Spanish left back today, according to many commentators.
Grimaldo is very efficient and disciplined at the back, but he excels very much in supporting attacks, with excellent accuracy percentages in cross balls and fine technical ability in breakthroughs.
Last season he provided a personal record of 5 goals and 9 assists, and was also involved in qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
In the group stage, Benfica was ahead of Barcelona, and these were his first two meetings against the club that raised him.
They finished with a clean sheet in both cases - a crushing 0:3 victory in Lisbon and 0:0 at Camp Nou.
The season also started wonderfully for him, and the ability may have even improved.
For proof - Grimaldo also scored for Rafa Silva in a 4:3 against Juventus last week, and on Saturday he scored in a light 0:5 against Chavez in the Portuguese league.
In his current form, it would make a lot of sense to consider calling him up for the World Cup, but that won't happen.
Luis Enrique doesn't see him as the national coach either, and so far, quite scandalously, he hasn't even played a minute in the senior team, and he will also watch the upcoming World Cup on TV.
Maybe it's actually for the better.
A rest will not harm him in preparation for the possible transfer, or in preparation for the continuation of the battles in the Champions League at the beginning of next year.
Either way, right now the goal is to finish in first place, and for that we need to beat Maccabi Haifa in Israel as well.
After the performance in the first round, Barak Becher knows very well how great the danger is from him, but it is not at all certain that the Greens have the right tools to deal with him.
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