"Winning is the requirement of those who represent the Club"

PREVIEW

It is with the firm intention of advancing to the final of the League Cup that Benfica will take to the Estádio Municipal de Leiria - Dr. Magalhães Pessoa to face SC Braga in the semi-final of the competition, at 7:45 pm on Wednesday, January 8.

Given that it's a knockout game, do you think this match could be different tactically from last Saturday's game [in the Liga Betclic]?

Eventually, it won't be very different, but I'm sure both sides will be looking for surprises in terms of positioning and pressing. That's why we're expecting a great game, it's a semi-final, and we, because it's the nature of the club and the fact that we've gone two games without a win... we're very determined to go into the game and win a title that Benfica hasn't won since 2016. That's why we're going with great motivation to win tomorrow's game [Wednesday, January 8], to play a great game and be in the final. 

You said after the Braga game that one of the problems was a lack of finishing. I assume you've naturally practiced drills to make sure that doesn't happen again. But there was also another problem, which was the first half, not only in the game with Sporting, but especially, according to you, with Braga. In terms of the first half, what work have you done over the last few days to make sure that doesn't happen again tomorrow [Wednesday] against Braga?

The most important thing is that we look at the game, understand what happened in the game, and prepare for it in the best possible way. There are situations in the game that we have to do better, I've been saying that all along, they've been perfectly identified, the players have been working hard, and we're going to have to give that response of going into games strong, pressing hard and having greater control of the game with the ball. That's our concern, but much more than that, it's the demand that we have to win, because that's the demand of those who represent this club.

You said earlier that you're not abandoning any players, but that they have to work to their limits. Are you referring to anyone in particular? And if you don't win tomorrow [Wednesday], will you become a problem, or will you still be a solution for Benfica?

No, no, no, it's not a reference to anything. It's a reference to what we've been talking about over the last four months. I'll repeat what I said: I felt we had no margin in the league, the Champions League, the League Cup and the Portuguese Cup, and in the first phase, as I've said several times, that was the first step. We started to play very well, we played football of enormous quality, we got 1st place. So far, we've been competent. When we got to 1st place, and in the next two games, we weren't competent and we lost that position. That's why I had to hold on to those players who I felt, depending on the time they had, their performance and the fact that they played as a team and had team dynamics, gave me more guarantees. So I'd just like to mention that situation, that they were players who were used more because of that situation. In the first phase, we did well, we got to 1st place; after being in 1st place, unfortunately we didn't do well. I have total confidence in myself, in the players who are with me, because for a good period of time we've played football of enormous quality. So it's up to us to understand what's going on, to work on it, to keep giving the players motivation and confidence, to have the enormous responsibility that being in charge of this team means, to make people believe, both our fans and our players, that we have all the conditions to get back to playing the football we've played this season.

Yesterday [Monday, January 6], A Bola headlined “Benfica in a state of alert” and Record “Lage under fire”. I ask him if he feels under fire after the last two results, and if he's spoken to anyone in the Board, if he's received any criticism for something not going as expected from the Board.

Any Benfica coach who doesn't win two games is under enormous pressure, because that's how demanding we are. I joined this club 20 years ago, I've played almost 100 games as head coach of this team, I know Benfica's demands very well. We win five, we have to win seven, and when we win one it's not enough. And when you lose two games, the pressure and criticism increase. It's not Bruno Lage, it's any other coach, it's like that, this is part of the history, the nature, it's the demand of the Club, of our fans. So it's normal. We just have to be able to keep working, keep believing and make people believe. That's fundamental to our work, because there's only one way forward, and that's to win, win, win. Win with quality, win with lots of goals. It's ingrained, and we've experienced it, so any Benfica coach who loses two games is subject to that pressure, because that pressure comes from our nature. I talk to the President every day.

In this absence of margin for error, which you said you haven't had since you came here, even in terms of what the players don't give and what Bruno Lage expected some of them to give, what added importance does this League Cup have at this time of some instability in the Benfica team?

No, winning at Benfica is stability. And even then, it's about winning and winning with quality. That's why our conversation with the players was to look at what we did in the last game, to look at it, to understand it, but also not to focus too much on what happened, but to worry about the next game. We can't look too far ahead, whether we win or lose... we can't look too far back, we have to look forward, and the way forward is tomorrow [Wednesday]. Winning, playing a great game, winning, winning with quality, with all the players available, with the energy to play a great game, because that's the only way I, as coach, and the players can believe in the work we're doing and make people believe that we're the solutions to make the team play and win titles.

On the one hand, at the last press conference, or a few days ago, he said that the solution to Kaboré's departure would be inside, which was his market, Benfica's market: Leandro Santos. The truth is that he finished the last game, against Braga, with another Leandro at right-back, Leandro Barreiro, playing a position very similar to that. Is the decision [to sign] Leandro Santos already final, or are Benfica still in the market to see what might happen, as is the case with the news that has emerged about Alberto, from Vitória SC? Are you interested, has there really been an offer from Benfica? Then, on the other hand, those players who give less guarantees than the others, from what I said earlier in one of the last answers, if that lot includes players like Prestianni, Rollheiser, or Schjelderup, who have been demanding more minutes, from what has been said, but haven't had them that much, at least the ones who want them...

No, I'll reinforce it... If it wasn't clear, I'll repeat it. What I said was that, when I arrived - and the way I restructured and organized the team, because some players played in different positions to the ones they're playing with me now; some didn't - I felt that we were playing with quality, and, because there was no margin, either in the league, in the cups or in the Champions League, I felt that those players, because of the game we were playing, there wasn't much need to change, because they gave me the confidence to continue with this record. That's what I said. As for the lesser-used players, what they have to do is, at every moment, at every opportunity, deliver the performance that I demand, that the club demands and that, fundamentally, playing for Benfica demands. Regarding the market, what I can tell you, and you know this: Benfica, as a great club, is always attentive to the market, both to strengthen the team and in the event of a player leaving. I'm sure you'll ask about one name or another... What can happen? It's up to us to listen to offers, analyze the player's performance, analyze what's best for the player, the team and Benfica's future, so it will always be based on these things I've just mentioned.