The countdown is on for Benfica vs Real Madrid round two, and an unexpected name is throwing a spanner in the works.
Benfica beat Madrid 4-2 in the league phase of the Champions League, eventually setting up a two-legged play-off tie against Jose Mourinho‘s former side.
The transfer window closed shortly after the match, and it isn’t a new signing that’s added a new X-factor, but instead an academy graduate.
Anísio Cabral now has two goals in just 19 minutes of action since being called up to the Benfica first team in January, and Mourinho isn’t playing down expectations.
“The potential is there: the physicality, the back-to-goal play, the runs in behind the goal,” he said of Anisio.
“He has many things with his back to goal that are very similar to a player I had, very, very similar…
“He reminds me of Drogba with his back to goal… except that Drogba, in five crosses, scored five goals with his head.
“You’ll laugh and call me an idiot, but his heading game isn’t good. With his physique, it’s something he really needs to work on. He scored two headed goals, but I think it was a miracle.”
Mourinho isn’t the only one with high expectations of the teenager, with Spanish outlet Marca also singling him out.
The leading Spanish outlet wrote: “In his debut, Anísio certainly did enough to deserve continuity and, a week later, Mourinho threw him back into the Lions against Tondela.
“In a crucial situation against Vinícius Júnior’s Alverca , with the title race at stake, Mourinho called Anísio again… and the Luz stadium exploded.
“We’ll see if he doesn’t cause Real Madrid a disappointment…”
What else has Jose Mourinho said about Anisio Cabral?
Asked about the hype surrounding the teen, Mourinho said: “We will manage him well, as we do with the others who have already moved up to the first team. Continue to work, continue to improve.
“I met his mother in the hallway and you can tell everything is very calm, very down-to-earth.
“Hopefully, between the family and Benfica, we can protect him a little from the world of football.
“Obviously, he’s old enough to play in the Youth League, and Benfica has a history in the Youth League, and we would very much like to reach the final again.
“Therefore, he will play in the Youth League again, but we have to manage him as we did this week with Banjaqui and José Neto, where, after analyzing in detail, we felt that those two needed four days of complete rest, not to be involved in any kind of competition.
“But the focus now is on Anísio, Zé Neto and Banjaqui, who are the ones who have been here and are closest.”
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