“The team's unity on the pitch is ample proof that there's no friction”

STATEMENTS

Rui Costa, President of Sport Lisboa e Benfica, spoke to the media in Turin after the match and the Eagles' 0-2 win against Juventus on matchday 8 of the of the Champions League league phase. A result that confirmed qualification for the play-off.

"Firstly, I'd like to thank the fans who were here, those who believed that we'd get through this stage of the Champions League and make it to the play-off, for the importance they played once again in the game, and it's clear that this game marked a lot of what was one of the objectives of the season, which was to get through this stage of the Champions League, to be in the play-off.Unfortunately, we had to do it on the last matchday, but we did it to our credit. It's a shame we lost a few points at home, especially in the last game. We would have been in a more comfortable position, perhaps even in the top eight, but the first objective of this competition has also been achieved," Rui Costa began by telling journalists, who then went on to ask more questions.

Yesterday [Tuesday, January 28] I said that I was going to clarify everything, because the tension has been growing a lot since Saturday. The first question I'd like to ask you to clarify is: why were there fans in a restricted area in the Estádio da Luz garage? Why were they allowed to be there, why are they also at the origin of all this tension?

It's been a difficult week, I'm not going to hide it here. When Benfica loses, it's a difficult week. There was this audio story, Bruno Lage has already explained the content, he has even explained everything he had to explain about that situation. Regarding your direct question, that was in a parking lot at the Estádio da Luz, which is open, and there were fans inside, and there's no need for anyone to hide. And it turned out to be a conversation that was then audio-recorded, as there have been many conversations in the past, it won't be a new situation, conversations with fans in a calm, peaceful way. The fact that it was in that tone of voice doesn't mean that it was a violent conversation, not least because, when they left, everyone left with the optimism that is expected at Benfica. I repeat, in an area that is a park that is open - the game was at 6pm, the team arrived at a time when the park is still open - it was a conversation within that space, it was not a situation in which certain people were allowed to enter there or whatever. Ocorreu essa conversa, apareceu um áudio, se não tivesse aparecido um áudio, nem sequer se sabia do conteúdo de uma conversa que foi feita depois de um jogo, de uma derrota, onde há adeptos que estão mais desiludidos, um treinador que está mais chateado também pelo resultado, e que causou todo este, digamos assim, embaraço no meio da semana, mas que, como foi prometido, quer por Bruno Lage, quando fez a conferência de Imprensa, quer ontem por mim à saída do aeroporto, não teria implicações naquilo que é o relacionamento entre o treinador e a equipa. E eu acho que a prova foi cabal hoje.

In your opinion, Bruno Lage's conversation, which was made public, was not serious?

I'm not saying that it hasn't created the fuss that it has, so it has created the fuss that it has, and the best thing is to avoid these fusses, of course. But the concern of many people and the assertion of many people that this would create a problem between the coach and the team, we know who we work with, we know the players we work with, we know the coach we work with, and we know the relationship that both have. And if there was any doubt about that... If Benfica didn't win today, a lot of people would probably have expected us to point that out, and I think the proof was clear of what we said.

Do you see yourself in Bruno Lage's statements?

I've spoken to Bruno Lage about these statements and what happened, I've spoken to the team, I've spoken to whoever I need to speak to, and what we want is for the team to behave in this way. And that I can absolutely guarantee, because if there's one thing that's been my life, it's been football dressing rooms. And so, if there's one thing I can guarantee Benfica fans, it's that there's no friction between coach and players. And, I repeat, if there was any doubt about that, the unity of the whole team on the pitch is ample proof of what I'm saying here..

Do you agree with this direct interaction between the coach and the fans, which has happened more than once? You said you didn't pinch the coach's relationship with the team, but did you pinch it with the Board? Were you pressured by the board to sack Bruno Lage these days?

I hear so much in the press, there are so many people trying to take advantage of any Benfica episode that's less positive, but we're the ones who live here, we're the ones who know what the relationships are here, we're the ones who know what we're doing, who we're doing it with, and in that respect I'm very comfortable answering everyone.

But this episode wasn't good... Or was it?

But I've already said that, I've already admitted that.

Mas concorda então com esta interação direta?

Is this the first time this has happened at Benfica or at other clubs? My question to you... I know you're the ones asking the questions, and I'm the one giving the answers, but is it as abnormal as that? Even on the road, many times, the President goes, the coach goes, the players go, even on the road there are these conversations with fans.

Yes, but if you were still a player, how would you react to this criticism? Would you want to hear them?

I've had a few. The criticism of the players... Point 1: Bruno has already explained all this. Point 2: I'll repeat it again: do you think that, if there had been this friction, the team would have responded the way they did on the pitch? If there had been this controversy that you want to cause, would the team have given this response on the pitch? No, it wouldn't. Was this something that benefited Benfica, that benefited the atmosphere? No. I said no. Now, we have to know how to overcome a less good episode as well. And what we have to do to overcome a less good episode is to respond on the pitch. And that's what the team did today.

Was this a test of Bruno Lage's continuity, this game here in Turin?

Let's see. I know, and nobody teaches me that part either - I don't want to teach all Benfiquistas either, who all live Benfica like I do - but I know how demanding it is to work at this club. Now, it seems very strange to me that every time Benfica loses a point, or every time Benfica has a less positive episode, let's call it less positive, the coach has to be sacked, the President has to be sacked, and in a while the gaffer has to be sacked for a situation like this. It's true, [Benfica] have lost nine points in the last four games, but let me remind you and all Benfica fans of one thing. Benfica entered this season to play in five competitions. Five competitions. And it's good that Benfica fans understand this, because a lot of people want to hide it, but Benfica entered this sporting year to compete in five competitions. One of them hasn't started yet, which is the Club World Cup, and it's worth remembering that Benfica will be in the Club World Cup with all due merit, because it was done with points. It entered the three Portuguese competitions it entered, won the one it could win. They've only finished one, but they won the one they could have won, which was the League Cup. They're in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup and six points off first place in the league. It's been an unpredictable league for us and, curiously, an unpredictable league for all the teams. Benfica haven't yet lost anything that they can play for, and they've already won what they could have won. Is that okay? No, it's not all right, because today we should be in a different position in the league, and I'm the first to make that demand of myself. And condemning myself, because Benfica should be in a different position. But have you already lost the championship? No, they haven't, and they're going to fight for it until the end. I repeat, it's a different year. It's a very different year. A different Champions League competition, with more games. Benfica in the last few... and what I'm about to say, let the Benfica fans understand this, is no excuse, because we always have to do much more, and, this is a slap in the face, Benfica's level of demand is always very high. But remember that in these 30 days, with the game they have to play at the weekend, Benfica have played nine games in 30 days. It's difficult to maintain regularity with so many games every three days, without being able to train, with enormous physical and mental fatigue. Do I mean that this is an excuse for all of Benfica's problems in the league or for not being at the top of the league? No, because we got off to a bad start. We got off to a bad start in the league. But I also mean that, in a league as irregular as this one - for example, I can't remember a league in Portugal where the big three, halfway through the league, have already had to change coaches.

There will be adjustments to the squad, as there have been every year, we'll try to get what we can right in the market, which is also a different market from other years, it's a market that has the Champions League in the middle, it's a completely different market from other years, but we'll...

Are you talking about sales, departures?

I'm talking about adjusting the squad to meet the demands of this season. One of them has already arrived, Manu, and there's no doubt that someone will come in and someone will leave by Monday. We'll see what comes. I'm not going to tell you anymore, because we have proposals in hand, we're working on those files, and you'll know by Monday.

Will there be reinforced security at Luz as soon as this audio is made public? Because we're talking about a man who has already been convicted of stoning Benfica's bus....

I appreciate that question. It also serves to answer that. Do you think Benfica doesn't have security at the Estádio da Luz? Do you think that if it was a controversial conversation, or a conversation that was aggressive, or that endangered the players or the coach, that the conversation would have taken place in that area, and that the security guards would have been there and done nothin?

Were you aware of this episode before or after the audios were released?

I found out about this episode at the end, I didn't even know about the audio, just as nobody knew about the audio.

Yes, but Otamendi and Di María also said they didn't know, but according to Bruno Lage, they were there.

Bruno explained that in the press conference.The players were there. What the players didn't know was that there was audio. That's probably what they said. I don't know, I'm saying, I don't know what happened.

Was Rui Costa also in that situation?

No, I was not.

Have you thought about running again? When will you decide?

Are you talking about the elections? I've told you more than once. I understand that a lot of people want to talk about elections. I understand that a lot of people want to talk about conflicts. To the Benfica fans, the only thing I have to say about the elections, I've already said it more than once: I'm focused, very focused, on what Benfica's sporting season is all about. I can't ask my team, my coaches, all the teams that work with me, to be focused on what the sporting season is about, and for me to be thinking about elections. I'm not going to be thinking about elections. A lot of people are already thinking about elections. I don't think it's the right time, but everyone is free to do that. Now, as far as I'm concerned, as Benfica's President at the moment, the only thing I'm worried about is doing my best to ensure that Benfica's season doesn't end with just the League Cup trophy. And that's my conviction, and that's what we're going to work towards.

After this week, what can you promise Benfica fans?

Maximum confidence. This is what I expect from Benfica fans. Because it's true that there are a lot of people trying to do everything they can to stop Benfica getting there. But Benfica knows what it's doing. Every time Benfica loses a point, every time there's an episode, there are a lot of people trying to destabilize what they won't be able to do here in the house. At the moment we're in four competitions, we have four competitions to play, one is already over, we've already won it. At national level we have two more, and we want to win those two, get as far as possible in the Champions League and have a great Club World Cup.

What are you leaving the Benfica fans?

The promises? The promises are of confidence, of extreme confidence, as was the case here today and as our fans reacted to us..

But if you're talking about confidence, unity and consistency in results, Benfica haven't had that consistency...

I've already explained that part about consistency. It's a year in which we haven't been regular, I said that earlier too. If you ask me if everything is fine, even though I've said that we're in every competition, which is a fact, if I'm happy, if everything is fine, of course it's not fine. We're not in first place, so it's not all good. Does the team need to be more consistent in certain games? Yes, sir. This is something we've all talked about internally and we've tried to solve this problem. It's a complicated year for all the teams, due to the sheer number of games for everyone. It's no coincidence what's happening in Portuguese football, and we have to know how to react to it, we have to be better than the others, and we're going to do everything we can to be better than the others.

Captain Otamendi said yesterday that there are a lot of problems to solve internally. This means that the team ends up being hampered by something at this point, right?

What Otamendi wants to say is exactly what I'm saying here. If we haven't been able to achieve that regularity in the league, we have to solve the problems in order to achieve that regularity. I think he touches on an aspect that we all touch on, all the fans touch on. And that's why Benfica has this problem every time it loses a point.

Does this squad and this coaching team give you any guarantees that Benfica will be champions this season?

This squad has given me guarantees that Benfica will fight for the title until the last matchday, that's for sure. And my conviction is that we're going to be national champions, of course. It would be bad if I were here with this speech and I didn't have the confidence, the hope, the desire and the conviction that we're going to be champions..

Why did you decide to speak here in Turin today and not with Bruno Lage on Sunday?

That's a question that I think is very easy to answer. If what was creating a certain fuss was an audio of Bruno Lage, it was only natural that Bruno Lage also had the need to explain a half-hour conversation that was truncated to one minute.

And why didn't the coach explain everything on Sunday?

On Sunday? The coach explained the day after. Unless he held a press conference at 3 am.

He explained a few things on Sunday, but yesterday he gave even more details than he had on Sunday.

It doesn't seem unusual to me. The audio came out one night, and the next day he held a press conference to explain a little about what the audio had been, and also to explain in what context it had happened. The President of Benfica didn't have to talk about the coach when it was something to do with the coach. The President of Benfica was there to support the coach. Period.l.

Apart from the win, what will Benfica take away from Turin?

It also brings with it the continued hope with which we've come this far. It's another demonstration that this team has a lot of strength, that it's a team with a lot of quality and that it can have a very good year for Sport Lisboa e Benfica. We still have a lot of competitions to play in. We're committed to them all and we're going to fight for them all. I have no doubt about that. I have every confidence in the work of this team, and I'm absolutely certain that the fans will be a fundamental part of getting us there, as they always are at this club.