“We want to play a great Champions League match again”

PREVIEW

In his preview of Benfica's match against Feyenoord on October 23, on matchday 3 of the Champions League, Bruno Lage guaranteed that the team has the determination and ambition to deliver another great European night for the Benfica fans.

The tactical and strategic side that Benfica showed against Atlético de Madrid in their last Champions League match has received a lot of attention and praise. What I'm asking is how you analyzed and worked on this game against Feyenoord beforehand. What can you say about this team and this opponent?

It's important to note that the work we did wasn't just against Atlético de Madrid. We always prepare for matches in the same way. First, we understand what we did well in the previous game and get to know the next opponent in detail. Define the strategy between us, propose the strategy, practice it on the pitch and then feel the players' confidence. That's what we've done in all our matches, both in the league and the Champions League, including the Portuguese Cup, and that's what we did today [Tuesday, October 22]. We're confident, I think we've prepared the game very well. Our confidence comes from the fact that when we pass on our ideas to the players, they also feel confident and [feel] sure that according to a certain strategy they can play a good game. That's our goal: tomorrow [Wednesday], in front of our fans, to play a great Champions League game again.

We already know your philosophy, you like to go game by game, training by training, and you have also said that there is no margin for error for the team at the moment. With Benfica's record in the Champions League, and also with the obligations they'll have domestically, is finishing in the top eight or at least securing a play-off place in this Champions League a must for you?

You've just seen a good example here, I'm almost speechless after Fredrik's [Aursnes] excellent conference, the player is completely focused on tomorrow's game [Wednesday], and that's our ambition, to go into the game with enormous determination and ambition, to play a great game again, create chances, score goals and win the three points. Especially when we're in a different Champions League format... There is at least a theory, but what we want to make sure of is in practice: we have six points, it doesn't guarantee us anything, and we want to add another three points tomorrow [Wednesday] to the six we already have.

The result and, above all, the great display against Atlético de Madrid has made Europe look at Benfica a lot. Does the fact that the fans come to the stadium, feel that the team is developing and expect another win give you more responsibility or more confidence?

Responsibility and trust. Responsibility lies in the daily work we do. What we did in the two weeks following the game with Atlético de Madrid was a good example of this, creating the habit of how we want to work over the weeks and how to prepare for games. Then, as well as the confidence of good performances, it's the way we pass the message on to the players, and they can interpret it. We feel the players are confident, as we've just seen Fredrik [Aursnes]. If we look at the players and see that they're confident, secure and that they're going out onto the pitch, as he just said, aware of what they have to do at every moment, we as a staff go into the game with confidence.

Taking what Aursnes said, his ideas fit perfectly with the way the players work. Was your secret to this initial success putting exactly the right pieces in the right places? Was that what you wanted to do most at this early stage?

It's our way of working that's important. Not making comparisons with the past, our way of working is to look at certain players and understand what contribution they can make to the team in certain positions. We have a good example here [Aursnes]. There are several examples here - as you've noticed - of players who can play more than one role. That's the starting point, there's a great understanding on our part of what the players' performance is. Then we have to be assertive with them. It's our way of working, and as Fredrik [Aursnes] just said, they go out onto the pitch with a very clear idea of what we want. That's what we've prepared so far, and tomorrow [Wednesday] we're going to have two talks with the players. From the start of the game, it's their game. They're the ones who have to put into practice all our work as coaches, and all their quality as players and as a team.

Are you pleased with Kökcü's progress?

I'm very happy with the contribution of all the players. There are players who have been playing more, like Fredrik [Aursnes], who we had here, and Kökcü. They've played a great role, but other players who haven't had the chance to play have also done a great job. The big difference is that some have played, and the others haven't had a chance yet. As for Kökcü, we're very happy with him. That's why Benfica picked him up, and I'm happy to have a player of his ability in the squad and working for the team.

Can you give an update on the injured players? Regarding Renato Sanches, what is the plan for the player, when will he be able to return to the pitch?

Let's be very clear about this, because we have nothing to hide. Renato [Sanches] has been working hard, we were expecting him to return, first slightly earlier, then slightly later, and what I can confirm to you is that Renato [Sanches] has been called up for tomorrow's game [Wednesday]. However, we had another casualty, Leandro [Barreiro].