Eagles were invited to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the former home of the Germans.
During the international break, there was a Legends of World Football match.
Benfica were invited by Dortmund to play a legends match to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the German club’s former home , the Stade Rote Erde. In the end, Benfica drew with a spectacular goal from Saviola.
RECORD THE GAME MOVIE.
Benfica was chosen for a very simple reason: in the 1963/64 season, Benfica suffered a heavy defeat (5-0) precisely in this stadium, in the second leg of the Round of 16 of the European Cup.
Despite the negative memories, the legends of the Reds quickly showed that this time they wanted to write a different story.
Benfica were proving superior to the Germans. Players like Gaitán and Saviola were spreading the magic we all know. The Argentinian duo were essentially serving the striker João Tomás, now 50 years old.
It was João Tomás who had the first great opportunity of the game. Saviola put the Portuguese international through on goal, and he chipped the ball with class when facing Weidenfeller. However, unfortunately for the striker, a defender cleared the ball off the goal line.
Shortly after, the Eagles had another golden opportunity to open the scoring. The referee awarded a penalty against Dortmund. But, from the penalty spot, Karagounis’ shot was saved by Weidenfeller.
Therefore, it was necessary to wait until the second half for any goals to be scored.
Saviola, who was one of the standout players of the match, was the man to open the scoring. André Almeida broke down the right flank and crossed to the Argentinian. Saviola received the ball with his chest and fired a first-time shot to open the scoring.
The deadlock was broken in this game of legends.
Despite Benfica dominating much of the game, Dortmund managed to equalize. Jardel, the former central defender, committed a foul outside the penalty area, and the referee once again pointed to the penalty spot.
For the Germans, it was the Egyptian Zidan who took on the responsibility. With Bruno Costa in goal = who replaced Artur Moraes at halftime = the striker shot to the right, deceiving the former Benfica goalkeeper.
With no further goals in the match, the final whistle signaled a draw (1-1) in this legends game between Benfica and Dortmund. At the end, the former Benfica stars even had a moment with the Benfica fans present in the stadium.