"Happy to play at home, we want to play a good game for our fans"

PREVIEW

Benfica's coach, Roger Schmidt, previewed the game against Casa Pia, from matchday 19 of the Liga Bwin, scheduled for Estádio da Luz, on Saturday, February 4, at 6 pm.

Benfica will face an opponent that has been a good surprise in the championship. What can we expect from this match?

First of all, we are very happy to be back at our stadium. We have played three matches away from home, with a lot of travelling, and we are looking forward to playing this match challenge. At the beginning of the season, we faced Casa Pia and we won by 0-1. It was a very difficult match. We played in a stadium full of Benfiquistas [in Leiria], but it was complicated to win. Since then, they have been confirming that performance. They have been very good, they are organized, they defend well, they don't give many spaces to score, and they deserve to be in the position they occupy. In recent weeks, we have played against teams with that approach, and tomorrow [Saturday] we know there will be a rival with the same approach, but with more individual quality. In the attack, they are very dangerous, but we are in a good moment and with a lot of confidence. We are happy to play at home, we want to play a good game for our fans, and we need the three points.

Benfica has not signed a direct replacement for Enzo. Are you satisfied with this solution?

We have 21 outfield players and three goalkeepers. At the start of the season, we had too many players and we managed that very well. I have the highest praise for the players, the atmosphere in the working group was always extraordinary and many players didn't get many chances to play. Our goal was to reduce the squad, to have a more compact group so that all might have the opportunity to play. Enzo's departure was quite unexpected. Still, the joint decision was to leave things as they are, because on the last day of the transfer market, it's hard to make a quick transfer, and if something is done, it has to be of unequivocal quality. In my opinion, the five athletes we have for this position are top players. This was our decision. I am convinced it was the right one. With these 24 players, we want to be champions, to make Benfiquistas happy and proud.

In February, Benfica will play five matches (three in the Liga Bwin, one in the Portuguese Cup and one in the Champions League). Will it be necessary to rotate the team? Will Andreas Schjelderup and Casper Tengstedt have opportunities in this cycle?

All competitions are now resumed, we play the League, the Portuguese Cup, and the Champions League... We have been working with Andreas e com o Casper in the last few weeks. I have previously explained that they were on vacation, they weren’t training when they signed for Benfica and, for that reason, they cannot be at 100 per cent right now, but they are much better than they were when they arrived and are already used to their teammates. In a near future, they will have opportunities to play.