Illes Balears Palma Futsal fans can breathe easy. Antonio Vadillo has decided against moving to Benfica. The Lisbon club had made a substantial financial offer to the Jerez coach and was willing to pay his release clause of 60,000 euros. But the coach of the European champions has chosen to stay at the club he has called home for the past eleven seasons.
Mastermind
Vadillo, the mastermind behind the UEFA Futsal Champions League double victory, intends to honor his contract with the Balearic team until 2026. He has finalized all the preseason details and is eagerly anticipating his twelfth season with the club. Having spent four as a player and eight as a coach at Son Moix. With Palma Futsal set to defend both its continental and intercontinental titles and aiming for a total of six trophies, the mood in the Balearic club’s offices contrasts sharply with the Portuguese media’s earlier certainty that Vadillo would join Benfica.
The Andalusian coach was flattered by Benfica’s offer but declined. Feeling that his time in Mallorca is far from over, especially without having secured a national title. Vadillo’s decision leaves Benfica in a challenging position as they continue searching for Mario Silva’s replacement. A Benfica official also contacted Eduardo Sao Thiago, known as Duda, but the conversation was brief. As the Spanish-Brazilian coach, who recently renewed his contract with Jimbee until 2026, is committed to his project in Cartagena and plans to retire there.
Benfica
Benfica is now considering other options, including Spanish coach Diego Rios, currently with Bintang Timur Surabaya in Indonesia, but has shifted its focus to the Brazilian market. The club has already made an offer to Cassiano Klein, the coach of Brazilian team Joinville. Klein, named the best coach in the world in 2022, won a Libertadores and a Liga with Cascavel and could be Benfica’s solution. Meanwhile, Palma Futsal has officially announced the signing of Spanish defender Manuel Piqueras, 27, who joins on loan from Real Betis FS, a team that was relegated to the Second Division and won a King’s Cup.
The club has an option to buy the player after one season. The Murcia-born player, set to replace Romulo, expressed his enthusiasm for joining the project, calling it “an exciting opportunity for any player” and noting that “we had been in talks for some time, and now was the perfect moment to come together.”