"Giving my all for Benfica and winning titles"

PREVIEW

On the eve of the derby, captain Otamendi was the voice of the Reds at the launch of Sporting-Benfica, in the final of the League Cup, which takes place this Saturday, January 11, at 7:45 pm in the Estádio Municipal de Leiria.

Benfica are the most prolific team in this League Cup. What do you expect from the final against Sporting? How important is winning this trophy - which could be your first in the League Cup - for the rest of the season?

With a lot of ambition, thinking that tomorrow [Saturday, January 11] is a title game, a game we want to win. At the start of the season we prepared ourselves to start a cycle of clear objectives, which are to win titles, and tomorrow [Saturday] is an opportunity for us to achieve that, and we'll try our best to be able to win the title.

There was a change in the way Benfica played against SC Braga, from the game at the Estádio da Luz to the one in Leiria. How important was the psychological aspect, and how important will it be for tomorrow's game [Saturday]? As captain, how is the team?

Actually, yes. Every game is different, it's a learning experience, and I think we took it as a responsibility to improve. It was a game against SC Braga, a first league game, perhaps different from what happened in the League Cup game, and we learned that you have to start with a strong initiative, an initiative with a winning mentality, the winning mentality that it's important to start with. Tomorrow's game [Saturday] is a final, the most important thing is to play football and try to do it well, in general terms, and hopefully it will be victorious for us, who have the ambition to be able to win it.

You've already faced Sporting this season, and it wasn't long ago. What do you think are the strengths of this Sporting team, now under Rui Borges? What do you have to watch out for?

It's a change of coach, a different system, but the players are the same, Sporting have a great team. Above all, we have to focus on our game and try to do it in the best possible way. In general terms, everything we learned in the league game we have to transfer to the League Cup final. It's a final we're really looking forward to, we'll try to do everything in the best possible way and be ready for the big final.

After the last Sporting-Benfica match, you said that Benfica had given Sporting the first half. I wonder if you were criticizing the team or the coach. Tomorrow [Saturday] could be another title in your career... This season, in addition to the title, do you also want to renew your contract with Benfica?

I want to make it clear that it's not that we played badly in the first half, it's just that we weren't that confident team, that aggressive in pressing, that aggressive in passing. In the 2nd half we gave a different image, which is what we're used to doing: pressing high up the pitch, always trying to win the ball back. If the ball had gone in, it would have been a different game. We had chances to score in the first half, and even more in the second. It's not a criticism of the team. We're a squad, whoever is at Benfica has to have a winning mentality and try, every season, to fight for titles. The truth is that Benfica gets talked about a lot because it's a big club in Portugal. We focus on sorting things out within the squad so that, on the weekend or during the week, we can do it in the best possible way. When the result is negative, you have to work harder to improve on the mistakes. The subject of my renewal... my clear objective is to try to win titles with the club, we'll see at the end of the season, but my clear objective, as of today, is to give my all for Benfica and try to win titles this season.