"It's been a beautiful journey"

BPLAY INTERVIEW

Made in Benfica, Florentino began his journey towards 100 first-team appearances on February 10, 2018, in the 10-0 thrashing of Nacional, which he achieved in the Portuguese Cup triumph against Famalicão last Saturday, November 25. In an interview with BPlay, the midfielder revisited memorable moments as an eagle and talked about his main features.

Starting for the first time in Glorioso's 1-2 win over Galatasaray in the first leg of the Europa League 2018/19 round of 32, Florentino scored on his seventh first-team appearance: he sealed the win at Moreirense (0-4), six minutes after being brought on from the bench. His debut season was crowned by winning his first league title.

One hundred appearances for Benfica's first team. What does it mean to reach this milestone?

It's a memorable achievement. If I look back, I can see that time has passed very quickly. I remember that just yesterday I was a child here at Caixa Futebol Campus, at Benfica Campus, chasing my dreams... and I had a dream of playing for the first team. And today, seeing that I've already reached the 100-match mark, I think it's something memorable for me.

His official debut was certainly memorable. No one will forget that 10-0 home win against Nacional. Interestingly, number 61 came on in the 61st minute. What do you remember about that first game?

It was a game that I think will stay in the memory of all the fans because we achieved a historic result at home against Nacional. I remember looking forward to that game. At half-time, I was already waiting to go in because the result was favorable, and when I saw the manager calling me to go in, I saw that it was the moment I'd been waiting for. It had been a throw-in, I think it was André Almeida, and on the very first play he passes the ball to me and the first touch is good, I was immediately relieved: "Ah, now the game will go well."

What was it like playing this 100th game, this time against Famalicão?

I already knew that if I played this game, I would reach that milestone. My main goal was to win, and we managed to win and win well in front of our fans. And to reach the 100-game mark at home... that's great.

You are one of the players with the most tackles in the league. Does "Octopus" nickname suit you perfectly?

I think people call me the "octopus" a bit because of that, the tackles and interceptions I make during the game. It's one of the strongest features of my game. Of course, each player has their own attributes, and they complement each other, that's why we're a team, and we don't play individually. It's a team sport.

The tackling, the intelligence with which you anticipate plays: you always seem to be in the right place at the right time. Where do these attributes come from?

I've always tried to understand a lot about the game and, ever since I was a youth player, I've always tried to take in everything the coaches tell me and pay attention to the details. I believe that a player who plays in position 6 has to be balanced, both in attack and defense. In every situation I have to be alert because, for the most part, the game passes through there, and anything I see, I always try to anticipate, to think a little ahead of what's going to happen, I try to be there, in the right place.

You are at the Club since you were a U-13 player, is one of the gems of the Benfica Campus. What do you think of your first-team career?

I think it's been a very nice journey, and a long one, since I was a U-13 player. I remember that when I joined Benfica I was still a defender, I played center-back. Then, when we started playing 11-a-side football, I moved to right-back, and there was a game - I think it was in the U-15s or U-14s- when we didn't have any defensive midfielders, they were injured, and the manager asked me if I wanted to play as a midfielder. I said: "Sure, I just want to get in there." I played as a midfielder and everything went well. I can see that, throughout this time, all the situations I've had from the beginning until now have contributed to me being the player I am today, and it's very good.

We're now on to matchday 5 of the Champions League group stage. What are your expectations for the match with Inter Milan?

Our expectation is the same as always: to honor the club we wear on our chest. And we're going in with the greatest ambition, which is to win the game.