Roger Schmidt: "Our focus is to play an intense game, score goals and win"

PREVIEW

Roger Schmidt, Benfica's coach, looks ahead to the match against Santa Clara, this Saturday, May 27, at 6 pm, at Estádio da Luz, on matchday 34 of the Liga Bwin, with the same determination that left the eagles one win away from winning the 38th National Championship! 

Santa Clara knows that it will play in the 2nd Tier next season. What kind of opponent do you expect to face? How is the team's spirit for the decisive game?

Santa Clara has nothing to lose. If we see and analyze their last matches, they don't play like a team that is going to be relegated to the 2nd Division. They play good football, with intensity, they have speed up front, and I expect an opponent that plays without pressure in front of a full stadium. I expect a good game from Santa Clara. We also know our situation. It has been a long journey this season to be in this position, and tomorrow [Saturday] is the last game. We know that if we play a good game at home and win, we are champions of the Portuguese League. We have shown during the whole season a good spirit and a good attitude, the players are committed, and I am sure they will be completely focused on the game. The decision is made on the pitch, between the first and the last whistle of the referee. We are prepared for this. We want to play an intense game, score goals and win. That's our focus, nothing else matters right now. We are prepared for tomorrow [Saturday].

You have already talked about the team's focus, but regarding nerves, how do the players feel?

There is always pressure in football, and being nervous before this game is good. It means there is tension. We have already shown this season that it doesn't matter where we play. Internationally, when we played in the Champions League at the beginning of the season, there was so much pressure on the players, the team and the Club, and we showed that we can concentrate on what we are doing on the pitch. The players have shown a lot of quality, that they are resilient to this pressure. In difficult moments, we often played our best football, and that's what we want to do tomorrow [Saturday].

Was the draw in Alvalade, against Sporting, a lesson for Benfica, who had a 10-point lead over the 2nd place, and will now decide the Championship title in the last round?

In my opinion, we played a fantastic game against Sporting. In the first half, the opponent was better and scored two goals, but to react as we did in the second half... we controlled and dominated the game, we showed great confidence, attacking football, we were able to press and keep the ball in the opposite half. In the end, I think the draw was more than deserved. It wasn't a lesson, it was football. In every game, we have to be ready and respect the history of the game and the quality of the opponent. It's not because we are Benfica that we win every game by ourselves. We have to work hard for every point. We had a 10-point lead, but because we won almost every game. The season was a long run, we won many points, and now the situation is very clear: we have the last game to win.

Do you feel that your players deserve to be national champions? Do you think that Benfica was the best team in Portugal, since they lead the National Championship since the beginning?

It's not my job to say who was the better team. Do we deserve the title? I think so. But it's not an automatism... we have to achieve it. At the end of the season, the team that is champion is the one that deserves to be champion.