"There has been a clear exploitation to attack the team"

PREVIEW

The determination to “play a game of enormous quality” was stressed by Bruno Lage in his preview of the match between Benfica and Estrela da Amadora, on matchday 20 of the Liga Betclic, scheduled for 8:30 pm on Sunday, February 2, at the Estádio José Gomes.

What kind of game and opponent are you expecting tomorrow [Sunday, February 2] in Amadora?

I expect a game at our best. That's the message we've given the players. We played a very good game against Juventus, and we want to play another top quality game against a difficult opponent at home. And also, of course, with an opponent who will demonstrate and want to give another image of what the Portuguese Cup game was like. We're aware of that, so we have to be strong, we have to be determined to play a great game. Estrela da Amadora really are a team with a huge organization, with players of enormous quality and, as such, we have to be at our best to win the game, which is our goal.

At the end of the last game, there was a strong image when you gathered in the stands to celebrate the victory. I'd like to ask you if that image brings you closer to the connection you've been fostering with the fans and why you've been doing it? Does it have anything to do with what happened at the end of your first spell at Benfica? And do you think that the closer this proximity is, the greater the level of pressure when things don't go so well?

You know, I said from the first day I was here that this was going to be a difficult year, and it will be until the end. And what I see is that there's been a clear exploitation to attack the team. It's up to me, as coach, to have the ability, and we've had that ability, to shield the dressing room. And this unity that we've created from the start between the players and our fans has been very important. They were decisive and important, for example in our first game, in the way they supported the team. And it's up to me, as coach, to appeal to our fans to armor our stadium. That's how I feel. In the game with Monaco, the fans were there, they supported the team, and the team played a fantastic game to win. That's why I want to shield the dressing room, for the fans to shield the stadium. 

At the end of the game in Turin, the President of Benfica [Rui Costa] said that there were people who wanted to destabilize you. I ask you, after the audio controversy, did you feel internally that there were people who wanted you to leave? And then you're also criticized for a certain amount of protagonism, an excess of populism. I ask you if you don't fear that, from now on, an alleged private conversation could be leaked? Talk to the fans...

No, I'm not afraid of anything. Next question, please.

Speaking of the market, and knowing that you only confirm what is official, to what extent can these hours until the market closes influence the dynamics of the squad and the whole atmosphere around the team?

Nothing, because the work has been done. For our part, the analysis has been done, the President now knows what we want, to make the team evolve, so the total focus is on the game. Coaches focused on the game, players focused on the game, the President is working.

In the game against Casa Pia, the four defenders who played in that game were the players who made the most misplaced passes. Do you think you'll change the way Benfica play in any way, change the strategy for these games where teams lower the block a little, because the team is making a lot of mistakes when passing the ball out from the back? Are you going to change anything in these types of games?

No, we just have to keep working. We have to be aware of the criticisms, they're more than fair, but that's due to a number of factors that have been duly identified among us, so what we have to realize is that, at every moment, we always have to give the best response.

How have you personally dealt with the carousel of emotions that has been the last week, from the audio controversy to the show of strength in Turin?

Look, with the greatest of tranquility.

The audio controversy has died down a little, but after Rui Costa admitted that the situation had created some embarrassment, some unnecessary fuss, what kind of Bruno Lage will we have from now on? In other words, in a game that might go badly, in a game in which the fans might again challenge the team, will Bruno Lage once again have those conversations he had with the fans, which he has already admitted were quite long?

It's going to be the same Bruno Lage as always. Very aware of what's going on. And at every moment he'll give an answer to defend the team.