"It's a trophy we want to win"

PREVIEW

The group's determination to advance to the next round is high, as Bruno Lage said in the preview of Benfica's match against SC Braga in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, scheduled for 8:45 pm on Wednesday, February 26, at Estádio da Luz.

Benfica have already faced SC Braga on two occasions [Liga Betclic and League Cup], with different histories. Two teams that are in a great moment. What do you expect from Braga tomorrow [Wednesday] in Luz?

I expect a very competent Braga, in the image of its coach. And allow me to compliment him, because only a coach like Carlos Carvalhal can reinvent himself after the market he's had and build the team he's building. He's lost several players, and he's been making good progress since January. So the team is going through a good moment, with a very interesting dynamic, and tomorrow is a final. It's a final to reach the semi-finals of a trophy we want to win. Benfica haven't won it since 2017, and we have that goal. We know it's a game, anything can happen in a game, and we have to be ready to put in a great display. I also know how important it is and how much manager Carlos Carvalhal values winning for Sporting de Braga, winning trophies for Sporting de Braga, so we have to be at our best. We're really going to face a beautiful team, going through a good moment. We're looking forward to a great game of football and I hope that, in the end, we'll go through to the next round.

A few weeks ago, you said that you were sure Benfica would be able to return to the top [of the league]. I know this game is for the Cup, but how does it feel to be back in first place? Given your recent results, do you have extra confidence for this competition? It's a competition that, as you've said, Benfica hasn't won for several years, but it's a special competition for you, as you've never managed to win it. I imagine it's a big goal for this season, on a personal level.

Yes, but the most important thing is that we manage to do what we did with the League Cup, which is to change the number on the wall, in other words, that the objectives are always collective and not individual. That's our concern, to always increase the number of titles the club has won. Regarding the Championship... it's a fact that our main objective is the Championship. We won't be playing in the league for a few days, so our full focus is on tomorrow's game [Wednesday], because we're really going to be playing a beautiful team, so we're 100 percent committed to tomorrow's game. We're totally focused on that game because, as I said, we really want to reach the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup, get to the final and win the trophy.

I'm going to talk to you about Sporting de Braga and Carlos Carvalhal, who, even before today's conference, said that Benfica have two sides at the moment, also because of the signings and the substitutions they make throughout the game. If Bruno Lage can present a third side to Sporting Braga tomorrow... And already today at the conference, Carlos Carvalhal praised your work, said you're doing a good job and, indirectly, also said that, more or less, the favoritism would be 50%-50%. Since Benfica are coming off the back of a good season, and Sporting de Braga too, do you really think the odds are 50-50, or is it more in Benfica's favor.

I have no problem sharing the 50-50, because I know both the manager and the coaching staff very well, I know how they prepare for matches. Then it's a knockout game, anything can happen. And the way he answered the question shows that he knows us very well. That's why we also have to have that strategic side of hiding what could be our eleven, our strategy. Although I feel, from experience, that he has some idea of how we might play. The most important thing for us is always what we do at each moment. Analyzing the games well, analyzing the team's moments and preparing ourselves in the best way for the next game. That's what we're going to do tomorrow.

I've already said that Samuel Soares will play. It's a cup game, but the opponent is Braga. Is there room to rotate more?

It's like I said, I don't call it rotation. Regarding the goalkeeper, we agreed that Samuel would play, that this was Samu's competition, that he would play in the Portuguese Cup. And that's why it was our intention to give him a few more minutes in the last game [against Boavista, in the league]. Because it's good for a player who trains and works as hard as he does to have periods of playing two games in a row. As for rotation or not rotating, it's up to us to understand what's best at each moment and according to our strategy for the game. 

I'd like to ask you about Samuel Dahl, whom you praised a lot, especially in the last game. When you started looking at Dahl, did you also consider his versatility, or was he a pleasant surprise, as Bruno Lage said in the last game?

It can't be a pleasant surprise for us, we're not out here shooting to see if we've hit the right duck. What's important, and even interesting, is that it's only been two or three weeks since the four players have been here - our winter signings - and it's no coincidence that we got the signings right. There is the invisible work of a lot of people filtering to understand the target players, but fundamentally, or at the same time, of looking at the squad and making the necessary adjustments. Then, having the financial capacity to go ahead with those signings. Anyway, there are a number of situations that have allowed us to reach this moment, to look and feel that we've managed to make the right adjustments, and we're very pleased with the four of them, regardless of the fact that Manu is now out through injury. We're very pleased with the performance of the four of them.