Jardel: “We have to focus even more”

Benfica inaugurated this Tuesday, the Store at Aeroporto Humberto Delgado, in Lisboa. This is the 4th merchandising space of the Club after the Benfica Official Store located at Rua Augusta, in Lisbon downtown, at the commercial area of Estádio da Luz and at Centro Comercial Strada, in Odivelas.

The players of the football team, Jardel and Zivkovic, were present at the space, and the centre-defender even made the symbolic gesture of cutting the ribbon that formalize the opening of this Benfica Official Store, talking afterward to the Press.

“Benfica keeps growing and a lot. It opens another store at the Lisbon Airport, a beautiful store and I am happy to be at the inauguration. I hope all goes well and that it may be successful as the other have been”, started by wishing Jardel speaking about the merchandising space of the Club.

FC Porto lost on Monday at Estádio do Restelo against Belenenses, and Benfica is the leader of the Liga NOS, with 71 points, but Jardel stressed that nothing has changed and that the focus match by match continues.

“I see it as a good result for us, but it changes nothing. We must be even more focused on our job, on growing in the competition. There are six finals left”, he pointed out.

On Saturday (8:30 pm), the eagles travel to Estádio do Bonfim, home of V. Setúbal, a match that should be tough, but the goal is to get the three points.

“To play there is difficult. V. Setúbal has an excellent team, a good coach. We are working hard to go there and do a great match”, said Jardel.

Encouraged to reveal if he considers Benfica the favorite to win the title, the number 33 jersey was clear: “No, no! Nothing changed, it was just a good result and we must work in the same way. FC Porto is also favorite, just like us.”

For the centre-defender, it remains a title race with four contenders...

“I cannot say that because Sporting is in the title race and SC Braga is also close. There are four clubs in the title race.”, he said.

On April 15 it will be played the "clássico" at Estádio da Luz. Jardel does not consider this to be the title-decider match.

“No! We will approach it another difficult match, but just another one. We cannot think about that yet because there are still two week s left. Our focus is on V. Setúbal”, he stressed.

New store as an icon for the Benfica brand

Miguel Bento, the Commercial and Marketing Director of the Club, was present at the Aeroporto Humberto Delgado and revealed that the are other actions planned to boost the Benfica brand.

“Within what is the development of the brand are programmed several actions until the end of the season, but each one in due course. This new store is a big icon for the brand because the major brands worldwide are present at the airports, and it was important for Benfica to take that step”, he said to BTV.

One of Benfica's strongest investments is related to digital and the restructuring of the online store.

“Apart from the four psychical stores, we have the online store which is very important. We will, until the end of the season, present a new store completely restructured, within what is our digital restructuring. We have the ambition that this may be our biggest store in the world, but there will be more news until the end of the year”, he said.

Text: Marco Rebelo

Pics: Tânia Paulo / SL Benfica