Rui Vitória: "With good players around, the youngsters even seem to be at a different pace"

A special guest at the Coach Forum, in Braga, to speak about “The pathways to become National Champions”, Rui Vitória shares experiences and knowledge, also revealing he has no problem believing in young talents and launch them at the highest level.

“Maybe I go against the normal trend that we have been witnessing. I don't think you have to be almost a super-human as a kid to become a top player. One cannot have preconceived ideas. If they have certain prerequisites, quality, and if they appear in a good context, near good players and are launched in the right moments, these players have a huge evolution in a short period of time, they even seem to be at a different pace”, said the Benfica coach.

According to Rui Vitória, a youngster with quality increased his concentration levels when he moves to a higher level in terms of demand. “A player with a bright future usual will give a good response. So I have no problem believing in a young prospect because he is like an empty hard drive in which we put information and all that information is stored”, stated the coach.

“I always like to have space for young players in my squads. And any squad should have room for the emergence of young talents”, added Rui Vitória.

The confidence, the consistency and the human side: how Rui Vitória "goes into" the player

Rui Quinta, as moderator, launched the question: how does Rui Vitória influence his players?

“Confidence and consistency. The players like that. Another worry I have is with the man: we all have a family, the players are not machines. No matter how much money they earn, the players are human beings who have problems with their parents, with their children, with their girlfriends, with their wives. To understand and to know the human being as best as possible to later be able to work and have an impact on the player: for me this is determinant”, answered the coach.

The players, from the professional point of view, "are more and more prepared”. The most recent experiences contributed to this interpretation from the coach.

“To be a professional is not just one-and-a-half-hour training session. That is a mistake. This is the first message I pass on to a player. Maybe the one-and-half-hour training session is the easiest thing for a player”, said Rui Vitória, for whom“there is not just one recipe for success”.

The ball-in-play time has to be a general concern

During his intervention, the Benfica coach, speaking about the national reality, highlighted the importance of joint effort to increase the ball-in-play in the Portuguese top flight, which, as he revealed is around 49 minutes and is the lower among the Top European leagues. In the Champions League matches the ball-in-play time is, on average, 60 minutes, in the last four years. This increase, according to Vitória, “has to be a general concern”, because it is crucial “to improve” the competitive edge of Portuguese football, namely when we play overseas.

Text: João Sanches

Pics: Archive / SL Benfica