"We want to be a good part of the Club's tradition, we're working towards that"

PREVIEW

A "top" game is what Roger Schmidt expects from the clash between Benfica and Sporting in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals, scheduled for 8:45 pm this Thursday, February 29, at Estádio José Alvalade. 

What will be the keywords in the dressing room for tomorrow's match [Thursday, February 29]?

As for the keywords for tomorrow's game, I don't know, I haven't thought about it yet. It's a very good game against a top team in Portugal. It's the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-final, a Sporting-Benfica, of course it's a top game. Both teams have shown a lot of quality this season. I really hope for a very good football match. We'll try our best to play a good game and get a very good result.

Benfica and Sporting have been neck and neck at the top of the league. This derby will see the two best teams in Portugal face each other at the moment? Do you consider these three games [against Sporting, FC Porto and Rangers] to be decisive for Benfica's season?

Tomorrow's game isn't even decisive for the semi-final of the Portuguese Cup, so how can it be decisive? There are a lot of games to play, it's a long season. Both teams have already picked up a lot of points, that shows that they're capable of winning difficult games reliably, every game in the Portuguese league is a big challenge. That's what we have to do over the next few weeks, until the last day of the season, in the other competitions too. For me, it's not decisive. Of course we always try to create the best conditions to have an advantage for the last few games, we're working towards that, the other teams are too, and the better we do, maybe at some point in the season, when it comes to the end, we can use an advantage to win the league, the Portuguese Cup, or whatever. But right now, we're not thinking about the decisive phase of the season, we're completely focused on each game.

With so many important games in the space of a week, will you be managing one player in particular?

Of course, it's part of our job to manage the schedule, but we've already done that in recent weeks. We've tried, at the right times, to give some players some rest, because we already knew what these weeks would be like and that these games would come. Right now, we're happy because practically the whole team is in good shape. Only Juan Bernat is out. All the other players are fit. In physical terms, we're in very good shape, the focus is always on each game and on giving 100 percent in this game. We're not thinking about the next game against FC Porto, or the Europa League the following week. We're totally focused on tomorrow's game [Thursday, February 29]. All the players are in very good shape and anything is possible. We'll play this game, and then we'll see what condition the players are in. I don't have any fears about the schedule, because I believe in our fitness and our professionalism, with a view to recovery and regeneration after matches. We always do everything. Everyone on the staff works hard to support the players. We're happy to play every match, and it starts tomorrow.

At the end of the game against Portimonense [on February 25], Kökcü said that he liked playing more up front. Do you think it's more at 10 position that he can perform better at Benfica? Against Sporting, can we expect a team closer to the one that played against Portimonense?

I think we have different options. In midfield, we've already changed a lot. In our system, with two attacking midfielders as interiors, two central midfielders, and then a slightly freer role for the second striker, I think we have many different options. Of course, Rafa has almost always played in the role of second striker since I've been here. He's free to use all his quality, he asks for the ball, and he's very good between the lines. The freedom to move around the pitch is very good for him, to be decisive. But as interiors, on Sunday [February 25] we played with Neres and Ángel [Di María]; last year [2022/23], in the second half of the season, we played with Fredrik [Aursnes] and João Mário in those positions, and we were very successful. Now, João Mário has played the last two games as a central midfielder. I think we have different options, and in the end it's always a question of balance, the players' form and trying to find the best approach for each game. Rafa can also play as a central striker, he's shown that in different games. He's also very comfortable in that position, and that gives us other options, either at the start or during the game, to change something. We try to prepare different things, we also try to be a bit unpredictable, with different options, to make things more difficult for the opponent.

What is your opinion on Sporting? What are its greatest qualities?

Sporting is a very complete team, with a lot of individual quality. They have very good players for every position in their system, and their formation and style of play fit in with the squad. They have a very good coach, they're in good shape physically, and they have a clear tactical approach to everything in a game. That's why they're playing very well, very reliable, very dangerous in attack. It's always like that with good teams, when they're winning tough games consistently, then of course they always have something special, that's why Sporting are in very good form this season.

Today [Wednesday, February 28] marks the 120th year since Benfica was founded. For a club with so much history and recognition in Europe, do you think the work you've done is enough to mark Benfica's history?

To be part of the history of a club like Benfica, you have to win titles. We've already won two titles, the league title last season, the Super Cup [at the start of this season], and of course we want to win more titles. That's what we need to do, what everyone expects of us. When I arrived a year and a half ago, Benfica was in a difficult situation, and together we tried to change something. They hadn't won a title for three years. If you look at the situation today, it's completely different. We've built a completely different squad. At the moment, Otamendi, João Mário and Rafa are still here, all the others are new. Many youth players are in our team, playing up front, key players for the team, other players are always options as substitutes. The value of the players for future sales is also very good. The last year and a half has been very good for Benfica, we've done it all together, and we're on the right track. If you look, there are a lot of changes, but we've always been able to win titles and last season we had a great domestic and international season. Benfica is at a very good moment.

How special do you think Benfica is as a club?

When I started at Benfica, I said that, for me, it's a very special club, with a lot of tradition, with a lot of success in the past and today. It's one of the biggest clubs in Europe, in terms of tradition, status, people and fans, and it's now 120 years old. We want to be a good part of the club's tradition, we work for that. We play to win titles, to play good football, the football that everyone expects from Benfica. Attacking football, courageous football, and that's a great motivation for us.