“Being part of one of the world's great clubs is a great honor”

They know what Benfica is all about, the passion that cements an impactful fervor. In different but interconnected ways, they show us the paths taken in the past with an eye to the present and, above all, the future. Toni, Mr. Benfica, an idol and reference as a player and coach, and Roger Schmidt, the Glorioso's current coach, share their visions, perceptions, feelings, desires and ambitions in an interview for the Club's media. The Club is very much present in both of them! 

Toni: Coach, it's a pleasure for me to have spent a day at the Campus to watch the training, to meet you and the players. I've had the pleasure of meeting you in person for a long time and it's a great pleasure for me because you're in charge of the club of my heart. I had my experience here as a player, then as assistant coach, as head coach and also as sporting director. That's why I'd like to start by saying that when you arrived in Portugal you made a statement that has stayed with us. “If you love football, you love Benfica.” Two years on, how would you describe Benfica and your relationship with the club? I liked that phrase.

Roger Schmidt: First of all, it's also a pleasure to talk to you and to have you here at Benfica Campus. Of course, I also got a good impression of you at the celebration of Benfica's 120th anniversary when you made your speech and it was very emotional. So, of course, it's always good to talk to people like you, with so much experience, because, as I said, I've only been here for two years, so it's not as long as you've been here. When I said that sentence, it actually came from the heart. And, after two years, describing Benfica isn't easy, because it's a very special club and it's also very demanding for everyone who works here, who plays for the club, who is part of it or who also has a role of responsibility, like me, as head coach. It's also a very beautiful club. There's a lot of enthusiasm for Benfica in the city, in the country and also abroad when we travel. It doesn't matter where we go. There are always lots of Benfiquistas. So it's fantastic to be part of that. Obviously, now I also know the ambition of all the people at Benfica. Everyone expects you to win everything. If you don't, they don't take it very well, so you always have to create a balance. Winning and chasing Benfica's goals, in other words, chasing trophies is the challenge and also knowing that, yes, there is a lot of pressure around the club, for the players and for everyone who works there. And I think that, after two years, I have a very good impression. The first year seemed very easy because we won a lot, almost everything, and in the end we were champions. We started well in the second season, with the Super Cup, but then it became difficult. For me, I think it was also important to feel this situation. If you really want to understand Benfica, you have to be part of the good times. But I think it's also an advantage to be part of the difficult moments. We learned that last season, and I think it will be useful for next season too.

T: I think you've almost answered my second question, which was: did Benfica live up to everything you expected or were you surprised by what you found here?

RS: Of course, there are always surprising things. You think about what the club is, how it is, and you know that the club has a lot of fans. But for me, in the end, I'm always surprised when we go to the stadium on the bus. You look outside and see so many people waiting for the players, waiting for the game. And when you see the enthusiasm of those people, it's always something very special. For me, it's very important. We're training, we're having our meetings, we're talking about the importance of the next game, because for us, every game is a final. And so we're completely focused, but then when we go to the stadium, I think the encouragement we get for the game is always the fans who are waiting for us, around the stadium or in the stadium. It's always surprising to me. It's also very similar in away games because it's almost the same, especially in Portugal. And when we play away, there are always a lot of Benfica fans. I'm very grateful for that and it's very important for us.

T: When I arrived at Benfica, you were a year old, so you can see how long my connection to Benfica has been, 56 years. Do you remember the first time you heard about Benfica?

RS: When you're young and start playing football, of course you love what you're doing. When I was little, all I did was play football every day in the street after school. Then we grew up and, of course, the passion for football stayed with us too. And I was also interested in top football. Top football in Germany, but sometimes we'd hear about the big clubs like Real Madrid, Benfica, Barcelona, Inter Milan. Of course, I couldn't have imagined that one day I would be part of this football I was a kid who played because I loved football. I didn't have a great career as a player like you. I was a bit below professional football, so I didn't think I'd be part of a club like Benfica. To be honest, it's a dream come true! Being part of this club is a great honor. To be part of a club like this, one of the great clubs in the world, is a great honor.

T: We're at Benfica Campus, where you spend most of your time. What's your day-to-day life like here at Benfica Campus?

RS: I really enjoy being here. First of all, the location of Benfica Campus is spectacular. My work involves coming here almost always early in the morning, around 8 am, and in pre-season I spend the whole day here because we have three training sessions. I enjoy being here. It's a very pleasant environment, not just the building and the facilities, which are top-notch. TIt has everything you need to train. What's special here, in my opinion, is also the size of this training center. The youth football department, women's football, the first team, the B team, all these teams are together here in the same building, in the same place. And I think you also feel that this is something very special. I really like it here. In the end, we decided not to go abroad for an training camp this summer, because we thought: “Okay, we have the perfect environment here, so why should we go anywhere else?” In the end, we stayed, and the reason is that it's a fantastic place.

T: There's more to life than football. What's life like for you beyond the Benfica Campus and the Estádio da Luz? How did you adapt to life in Portugal?

RS: You've also been a coach. When you're a coach, you don't have much time. So for me, in recent years, my life has been all about football and my family. Apart from football, I love living in Portugal because it's a fantastic country. And also the people, the culture of the people is so positive for people who come from abroad. I like spending a lot of time here in Portugal.

T: Benfica has a lot of fans, so it's natural that people want your autograph or even like to ask you questions. Do you experience that?

RS: Of course, it's part of my life, so it doesn't bother me. If I go out, no matter where I go, people recognize me or the players, and that's very positive. I like talking to them. Everyone wants to take a picture, I get a lot of positive reactions from Benfica fans. They motivate us a lot. I love meeting people in the street, talking to them about the club and that gives us a lot of motivation, because we feel that they are passionate about Benfica.

T: In your first season, you brought a high level of pressure to Benfica and its football, a reaction after losing ball possession and an attacking style of football that thrilled all those who love football. Last season things didn't work out like that. How do you plan this coming season? Are you planning to reach the heights of your first season at Benfica?

RS: I think we always have to adjust our style of play a little to the players. It's always necessary to have a clear axis in the team that is also responsible for the style of play. I think we were very successful in the first year. Many players who were already at Benfica, and who hadn't had much success, were very motivated to play a different style of football. And I think that, right from the start of pre-season, we found the players who put this kind of football into practice on the pitch. So we gained a lot of confidence. Then we ended up having a very good season and were champions. However, with these expectations, the second season wasn't very easy. We did our best to play similar football because I think Benfica fans expect an attacking style of football. I believe that this is also Benfica: attacking and being proactive in the game. I think we did that last season too, as well as we could, but we weren't as reliable and regular as before. Then we lost too many points and also some quality to win the league. I think we're ready to start again and, game by game, we try to do our best and win games, gain confidence and then have a top season. It was important for me to get a lot of information and impressions from my players. And I think that, with this experience, we're ready to fight for the league again.

T: There are still some players on vacation at the moment. Some of these players will form the basis of the team. What kind of football does the manager promise for this coming season? What do you think there is to improve?

RS: After the season you have to give the players who play in these tournaments some rest, so that they can be ready for the new season, for the next season. And, as I said, there are still a lot of players who played a lot, last year and the year before, who aren't with the team yet. But I think it's important to give them more time to rest and then come back and have a short pre-season to be ready for the start of the season. This is normal in football these days. I think the first two weeks of training have been excellent. I liked the motivation of the players and also the quality. I think we did well in the friendlies, but of course they weren't perfect. You can already see that, even when we have a lot of young players with us in pre-season, we're capable of playing the way we want. And when you talk about the style of play for the new season, of course it's attacking football. We want to be active, we want to be very active when the opponent has the ball. We also want to have a clear idea of how we can regain possession as early as possible because we also have our moments of transition in attack. The important thing is that we do it very consistently, that we do it together, and that all the players are involved and take responsibility too. When you want to play active football, with a lot of pressure and moments of transition, all the players have to be involved. But, for me, the most important thing is that the players are prepared and motivated to put into practice the way we want to play.

T: Since the first year, several players have left the club, players who are important to the manager's idea of the game. This year they lost a player like Rafa. Now, with these changes and other players, how are you going to welcome Pavlidis, Leandro Barreiro and Jan-Niklas Beste? Do these players add quality to the squad? How would you describe them? I know that as coaches we don't want to... But just from a technical point of view, do you think they're players who will add to the squad? I think that's the idea...

RS: That's exactly what I said. If we think about new players, I think we have to think about new weapons. New special weapons in the game. And that's what we're trying to do. Rafa is almost a unique player. If you look at his profile, it's almost impossible to find a player like Rafa. But, as I said, Rafa has left. What we're trying to do is find players on the market like Pavlidis, like Beste, like Barreiro, who also have weapons in a different style. Pavlidis is a player who has shown, especially in the last two seasons at Alkmaar, that he is a very complete striker, with a lot of quality in finishing, scoring goals and making assists, but also a very hard-working player. I think he's a player who has the profile to play this kind of active, high-pressing football, and what he's already shown in the first two weeks, he also has the mentality to show that on the pitch. With Barreiro we have a player who is very reliable, very similar to Florentino. I think both players, in terms of tactical concentration, quality, physical strength, are capable of playing this kind of football . And they're very good at winning balls back, and I think sometimes that's also something that's needed in the team to create the right balance. Of course we need some artists, some players who can make a difference in attack, but we also need players who can give us the stability we need to play good tactical football. And Niklas Beste is a player who has played the last two seasons at a very high level, has a fantastic left foot for finishing, set pieces, crosses, and is also very powerful in sprints and high-intensity runs. I think these players are capable of playing the football we want to play. That's why we chose them for Benfica.

T: I'd just like to mention Di María here, who has just been the best player in the [Copa America] final...

RS: I'm very happy for Ángel [Di María]. He started out at Benfica and came back to Benfica. This is a fantastic football story, in my opinion, because he could have done so many different things. He could have gone after more money. Many players make different decisions, but he made the decision to return to the club where it all began in Europe. And I think that says everything about his character. If you saw him every day in training... I love seeing him because he's an example to all the players, to the players who are growing up and who are watching a player who has already had a fantastic career, but who still wants to win in every training session. He's very motivated and continues to play at the highest level. And I think he gives us so much quality and mentality. In my opinion, when you look at European tournaments and also the Copa America, if you look at the winning teams, those are always the teams that play very good football, but also have a very special mentality. Spain were undoubtedly the best team in the European Championship. And if you look at Argentina, they won the Copa America, they won the World Cup and they won the Copa America again. So, in four years, they've won everything against the best teams in the world in very, very tight games, with very few clear-cut situations during the game, but in the end they've always won. And, for me, that's a question of mentality.

T: Throughout my history at Benfica I've had great, great Presidents. This time, a new cycle has opened up because we now have a President who was a former player. Rui Costa was an extraordinary player. The maestro. All that, the final pass, the finish, the technical quality... A player President, something that didn't exist in the years I spent as a player and coach at Benfica. What's the relationship like between Rui Costa, the president, and the player? You discuss options, football... I think it's normal, isn't it?

RS: Of course we talk a lot about football, about Benfica and also about everything that goes on in football. To be honest, I really enjoy working with our President because, first of all, he's a great person. Secondly, he was a great player. I also followed him when he was playing. In my opinion, he's a fantastic president. Now I know what it means to be president of Benfica, it's not an easy job. It's even harder than being a coach. But he took on that responsibility. Why? Because he loves the club. He's working really hard. Of course we have to talk about the squad, our players and the development of the players. When we first talked about coming to Benfica, there were two tasks for me: the first was to win titles, and the second was to develop young players. I really enjoy working with the young players and giving them the chance to appear and grow, and of course also because of the Benfica fans, who love to see them in the stadium. And I think we've had very good examples in the last two years with players who have developed from the Benfica Campus to the first team. But overall, working with our President is a great honor, and I appreciate him as a person, as a football expert and also as a human being.

T: What about Portuguese football? What do you like best and what do you like least?

RS: What I like or what I see in Portuguese football is that the league is stronger than people think. It's not easy to play in this league, even for Benfica. Being champions is hard work and a big challenge, because if we want to be champions we need 85 to 90 points, which means we have to win almost everything. And, of course, we have the big games against FC Porto, Sporting, SC Braga, Vitória SC, and everyone knows that it's not easy to play against them. But my feeling and my experience at Benfica, in this league, tells me that the other games are just as demanding. It's not easy to play against other teams because they have very good coaches. They have very good players, which always makes things difficult for every team. And I think that's something I really like about the Portuguese league. What I don't like is that sometimes we have to play in small stadiums, but it's actually not so bad because the stadiums are always full of Benfica fans. At the end of the day, I feel very happy here. When the club talked about renewing my contract for another two years a year ago, I did so with conviction, because we love being here in this country. And of course I love being part of Benfica, but I also love my job here in Portugal. I see it as a great challenge, because you play for titles in the league or in other national competitions. And you can play in the Champions League. It's the highest level at which you can work as a coach. And that's why I'm very happy to be part of Portuguese football.

T: Both as a player and as a coach, we know that I've experienced moments of great euphoria, but I've also experienced moments when criticism, whistling, booing... I experienced a situation as a player, when I was at the end of my career at Benfica, where, after winning eight championships, I made a wrong pass and there was a chorus of whistles, until the coach took me off. In the old stadium there was an access tunnel, and then I didn't cry inside, I cried in... Because football has this cruel side too, doesn't it? As a coach, you've already experienced, over the last two years, moments in which you've been supported and moments in which there have been adverse reactions that are motivated by the very emotional part of the game. You're going into a new season in a relationship that... I think the Benfica fan is a very special fan, very demanding, but at the same time he knows he'll never be alone. You'll never walk alone with your players.

RS: There's always a relationship with the fans, but here at Benfica it's very special. To be honest, I think I was very lucky because my start at Benfica was very positive. We won a lot of games in pre-season, in the league and also in the Champions League. We did well, so my first impression of the fans was fantastic. I was very impressed with everything, the atmosphere in the stadium and everything else. But then, of course, in the first season, we also had some moments when we struggled, and in one week we lost three games, against Inter Milan, a game against FC Porto at home, and then in Chaves, we were very unlucky. And then I got my first impression of what it means to lose games and, to be honest, I was very surprised, perhaps shocked by all the reaction, because we'd won everything before. We'd had a great season, in the Champions League too, we lost one game. They were very unhappy with us, they protested and booed, but I think the start was important for me to know that they can act differently. At the end of the day, this is Benfica. I feel that, as a coach or player, we have to deal with this. The fans' expectations are always there and they won't accept any less quality. Or, as I said, when you pass a ball to the opponent, maybe they accept it the first time, but the second time it's dangerous. I think I've had good times at Benfica, but it's the difficult times that make you understand the club and the fans. Sometimes the atmosphere in the stadium is very particular, but I think that's part of it. I deal with it well. Just like the players have to deal with it too. We have to concentrate on our work. The only thing we can do to create a positive atmosphere is to win games and play good football. That's what we have to do. We're going to work hard in pre-season, because we're going to have a very tough season. Then we're going to give everything in every game and, game by game, we have to fight for titles. We know that our fans can make a difference. And of course, I hope that all the Benfica fans can be here next season, with the team, so that we can fight for titles together.

T: Coach, it's been a great pleasure for me to talk a little about what you are and what your career has been like here at Benfica. I hope you have a successful season, because your success will be mine and the success of thousands and thousands of fans. So good luck. I know you have a lot of work ahead of you, and I hope you achieve your goals, which are our goals. Thank you very much.

RS: Thank you very much. It was a pleasure for me too. And it helped me a lot, Toni, because if the fans also booed you sometimes because of a failed pass, then none of the other players can complain. And I'm not going to complain either.