"Total focus on this game"

PREVIEW

On Benfica's return to Liga Betclic action, Bruno Lage guaranteed “total focus” on the match against Nacional, the Eagles' opponents on matchday 25 of the competition, this Saturday, March 8, at 6:00 pm at Estádio da Luz.

How are you preparing for this match, given that Benfica are in the middle of a European match with Barcelona? Are you going to manage it in any way?

Prepare in the best possible way. First, we'll look at Nacional and see that it's a slightly different Nacional to the one we faced a while ago. It's worth noting that they've doubled the number of points they had at the time, and with different dynamics. To praise the work of their coach more and more. So our total focus has to be on that game, looking at the team and figuring out the best eleven to play tomorrow [Saturday], depending on the number of hours we've had to recover. And I can already tell you that, within the best eleven, António Silva will be one of the best for tomorrow.

Given that and that, for example, you've had to replace Tomás Araújo, I'd like to ask you - and because you've just said that the next game is the most important - if, in fact, you're going to be able to manage the rest of the season. And, correct me if I'm wrong, because Benfica is at a crucial point in the season, are you or are you not considering doing some management for the rest of the season as well?

Benfica's crucial moment is every game, because we've been playing practically every three days since September, so every game and competition is important. Right now, as I said, we depend on ourselves in the league, so tomorrow's game [Saturday] is very important, and we have to choose the best eleven. The best eleven is a function of... I don't like to call it management, but looking at the players and understanding which ones are available, because we have a lot of factors that force us to look at choosing the best eleven. We have players doing, for example... four players doing Ramadan, an eleven recovering, understanding very well how each player recovers, the younger ones, the older ones, what kind of touches they have during games, some muscular issues, traumatic, you name it. There are always a number of situations that lead us to consider and then, at each moment, choose the best eleven, and also, of course, the strategic side and the moment of each player.

You've already mentioned that you have four players doing Ramadan. Are you worried that the performance of these players will be a little affected, especially that of Kökcü and Aktürkoğlu, who are regular starters? What is being done to ensure that these players perform to the best of their ability?

We're not worried about their performance, not least because of the past... Alexandre Silva, a member of the coaching staff, has been concerned about how the players behaved in Ramadan in previous seasons, and the players' records are fascinating in terms of performance. That's why we've taken care to understand, and the only change we've made is a slight adjustment to the arrival time, so that the players aren't here so long in the early morning, they arrive at a time closer to the training session.

You said at the end of the Barcelona game that you didn't need any words for António Silva. Have you spoken to him yet? And if not, what does he need?

You need to be calm and keep playing. There's one place where nobody fails, and that's on the sofa. I have a very clear example of this, because it's nice... After every game I always talk to my father, who was a coach, a player, a striker, who played in the old Third Division. And he always scores three goals in every game. I keep count, and at the end of the season he always scores between 90 and 100 goals. So that's the only place where he's at ease, on the sofa, no one fails.  Within the game, everyone fails. We miss passes, we miss receptions, we miss dribbles, we miss shots on goal. Who do we penalize the most? Those in the defensive line, those in goal, because there the mistakes are more visible and penalize us more. So here we need to be calm. I haven't spoken to António, and he already knows that tomorrow [Saturday], out of the 11, he's chosen to play.

Returning to the subject of António Silva: you told us that you didn't speak to the player, you even normalized the mistake that happened in the game with Barcelona. Why did you make a point of coming here and saying that António Silva will start tomorrow [Saturday]? Is it a message to the outside world?

No, I've done it several times. I've already said that Samu [Samuel Soares] was going to start, that António was going to start. It's about valuing our players, and we value them a lot. Here... we always look at the small detail of the mistake and never at what we do well. We, as coaches and football agents, have to look at the two measures and realize that we have a squad in front of us, that we have players in front of us and that we have young people in front of us, who have to grow, evolve and respond at every moment. I'll give you an example. António is a young man who has already proved his worth and continues to prove that he is a great player. On the other side, there was also a young player [Cubarsí] who, in the last 16 of the Champions League, after 20 minutes, commits a foul and is sent off. We have to look at the player, the man, and really value what we have. As a coach, I always have a lot of faith in my players, and my attitude is always to get the best out of each one of them at every moment.

What did you think of the moment when Benfica's claques launched pyrotechnics at the Estádio da Luz? Also, will you be voting at the General Assembly tomorrow [Saturday]? Is Di María's return essential for the team to turn the tie around in Barcelona?

We still don't know if Di María will be available for that game. What's important about the fans is tomorrow. Tomorrow is Benfica day, it's Casas do Benfica day, and what I want is for there to be a voice inside the stadium pulling for the team and supporting it.