"A high-quality tie between two great teams"

STATEMENTS

Simão Sabrosa, Benfica's director of international relations, sees the clash against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League as a clash between “two great teams”. The Eagles' opponents were determined in the draw held in Nyon on Friday morning, February 21.

With the Champions League group stage clash still fresh in his mind, in which Benfica lost 4-5, at the Estadio da Luz, Simão Sabrosa recalled that “two great teams” will now face each other in the round of 16. 

"I expect a high quality tie between two great teams, as we saw in the Champions League group game. It was undoubtedly a high-quality, intense game, and Benfica lost unfairly. But this will be a different context, as it's a two-legged play-off. But the quality and difficulty will be the same," said the Benfica director, speaking to BTV.

Simão Sabrosa refuses to describe Barcelona's current team as being on a par with the best at the Blaugrana club, but he stresses that, like Benfica, they are fighting to win all the competitions they are involved in. "As we know, only time will tell in football. Barcelona are in the process of overhauling their squad, with many young players of great quality. And these are two teams that are fighting for every competition and are showing their quality well. But only time will tell if this Barcelona team really is on a par with Barcelona's best teams", he said.

The last time the two teams met in a knockout stage in European competition was in 2005/06, when Benfica and Barcelona met in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Eagles were captained by Simão Sabrosa, who recalled that clash.

"Even though we were eliminated, I have fond memories. They were two great games, starting with the first, in our stadium, where we drew 0-0. Then there [in Barcelona], we were 1-0 down. I even had a chance to equalize the game, but I didn't score. But they were two great games, between two great teams, in which we elevated our clubs to the maximum. In this case, I, for Benfica, and the rest of the team, defended our club to the full, represented it in the best way. That's what we're also hoping for in this knockout stage. May our Benfica manage to play two great games and may we continue to dream. Because it's possible, we have a good team that's ready for this match, " he said.