Rui Costa and Joao Noronha Lopes were back at the debating table for the second round of Benfica’s presidential elections and it didn’t take long for things to get heated.
The pair finished first and second in a first round that saw a world record 85,000 members vote, and now Noronha Lopes looks to pick up the other four candidate’s votes to oust incumbent Costa.
Things were kept respectful throughout, but an early air of class in which the pair both addressed each other by their first names was challenged by insults from their colleagues.
When Costa complained about abuse he’d received, his rival responded: “Be concrete, Rui. Be concrete.
“What’s happening on the internet is a disgrace, and I completely agree with Rui. But there’s a difference. When I ask Rui Costa to be concrete, he can’t be concrete.
“If these attacks came from my candidacy, I would have reacted differently. You’re talking to me about internet things…”
Costa then said: “At a General Assembly, your campaign manager brought my mother into the conversation.
“Your supporters were saying this week that the best thing that could happen to Benfica was to be thrashed by Vitória and Leverkusen. It’s extraordinarily sad to wish for the club to lose.
“Yesterday, from your campaign, they sent me things looking for dirt on me. I don’t find that natural. Whoever spoke about you personally isn’t part of my campaign.”
The challenger then had the final say, finishing: “To be clear, in this campaign, all the criticisms I make are objective criticisms of what happened during Rui Costa’s term.
“And I’ll tell you more: during a General Assembly, I even defended Rui Costa from personal attacks. A Benfica president must have full institutional respect. That’s not my style.
“What we are defending here, once again, is a four-year term. In four years, Rui Costa, who wants to win as much as I do, who is a great Benfica supporter, but didn’t win, didn’t balance the books…”
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