Roger Schmidt: "We are looking ahead, today’s training was good and we are ready"

PREVIEW

At Benfica Campus, Roger Schmidt previewed the Estoril-Benfica game, which takes place next Saturday, October 7, at 8:30 pm, at Estádio António Coimbra da Mota, in Matchday 8 of the Liga Betclic.

What kind of game do you expect against Estoril?

I expect a difficult game, as are always the games away from home. Estoril are better than the classification shows. They have shown this season that they can play good football, that they can score goals, at times they were very unhappy with the final result. They have a lot of new players, a new coach, so we have to be very well prepared and focused. Of course we also know our quality. We have every chance of winning, it is a very important game for us, before the stop for national team commitments. We are looking ahead, today’s training was good and we are ready for tomorrow’s game [Saturday].

Roberto Martínez [national coach] released the squad list, with João Neves... What comment do you make to the call? Is he happy now?

He is always happy [smiles], even when he is not called to the National Team. When he touches the lawn, when he puts on his boots and touches the ball... he is always happy! He is a player who loves football every second. Now, being called up to the national team is a great reward for him, and an honor. I haven’t talked to him about it yet, because I was coming to the press conference. We are happy for him, and also for António [Silva], we have two young players from Benfica Campus called for a great team in Europe. In my opinion, Portugal is one of the best teams in Europe, and if they are part of it, it’s because we have two top players. It means that our Training department has developed two players perfectly. I think the call is fair because they are playing at a very high level. Also for their attitude, mentality, they are always very focused on the team. They have a lot of responsibility, work hard and have quality, of course, otherwise they were not part of the National Team. But, in general, the personality [of António Silva and João Neves] is top, they remain humble, they do not think they are the greatest because they were called [to the National Team] or for playing at Benfica. I love them, I’m happy for them.

Bah and Di María had some physical issues in the last game. Are they available for the clash against Estoril?

They are out of the game with Estoril, 100%. But they do not have major injuries, we hope they return to training with the team after the break and are ready again. 

Last season the media said that Roger Schmidt made few changes on the team. What comment do you make?

It is not a golden rule that one of the forms is always the correct one. We have to adjust when it is necessary to adjust. At the moment, as I said, we are not at a very, very high level. Sometimes the balance in the game is not perfect, when defending or attacking. This year we are fighting a little harder to be reliable for 90 minutes in tactical terms. Opponents have had more opportunities than last year, we have to improve that. In the attack we have already demonstrated a fantastic football, creating several opportunities, but sometimes we stop a little, despite the intensity and focus on the field. That is our main task, to increase the intensity, the reliability of the intensity and to have a top quality for 90 minutes. It’s the big question now. Of course if the players are doing great, you don’t have to change, if they’re not, you have to change.. For me, at the moment, there is no clear starting eleven, so we have to change.

Last season Benfica lost four games and this one have already lost three in 11 games. Are Benfica more vulnerable without Florentino?

Comparing this season and the next with the previous one will always be difficult. It will always be difficult to do better than last season [2022/23]. We almost achieved the record for points in the League, in the Champions League we also achieved a record in the group stage, played the quarter-finals, scored almost 40 goals in the Champions League... To do that again is very difficult. Last season we won so many games in a row, scored so many goals, conceded so few, it was a fantastic first season. Then we lost some players, now we have new players and we have to look for the right balance, play more consistently at a very high level. Comparing with the last season is very difficult and it will be difficult to do the same in the coming years.