"Being a family, a team, and a troop"

PREVIEW

Bruno Lage's total focus on winning the three points was his assurance ahead of Benfica's match against Gil Vicente, on matchday 24 (game in hand) of the Liga Betclic, scheduled for 8:15 pm on Friday, March 28, at the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos.

What kind of game do you expect and which Gil Vicente is it at the moment?

That's the question, we had the opportunity to analyze the two games that the team played under César [Peixoto], which were clearly identified, but we also had the opportunity to verify some ideas that he put into practice at Moreirense. The team in these two games showed some different dynamics to Moreirense, and the question we have is whether these are dynamics that César implements depending on the players he has at his disposal, or whether he has now taken advantage of this time to train and put his ideas into practice. However, they are a very interesting team, as I said in the first leg, with very good players in the attacking third, a team that creates a lot of diagonals between the defenses, an example of which was the goal they scored against us at the Estádio do Luz. So it's going to be a tough game, as we enter the final third of the league season, the teams are going to come together more and be more determined to fight for points. We know it's a difficult stadium to play in, but we have to be in maximum concentration, in maximum commitment, because we too are entering the final stretch. These are finals that we have to play for, and tomorrow's game is no exception, a final, very important for us, and we have to win the three points.

To ask Bruno [Lage] about three players: Di María, whether he's fit or not; the Otamendi situation, remembering what happened, for example, with Barcelona, who play today [Thursday, March 27], and Raphinha and [Ronald] Araujo are out due to travel and fatigue from their respective games; and also the question of Tomás Araújo, whether he's also [fit]. By the way, to close, is this a two-horse race until the end of the Championship?

What I can tell you about the players is that all three have been called up, and tomorrow [Friday, March 28], we'll make the best decisions depending on what it means to work hard and recover from the little ailments that the players have brought back. I'll repeat what I said a while ago. The league - and depending on the last few matches, the head-to-heads still to be played - is a four-way race. Although manager Carlos Carvalhal doesn't like it very much, I'd also put SC Braga in this race, because they're an exciting team, they've reinvented themselves despite the departures they had in December, and they play quality soccer, with players coming from the academy with enormous quality, so it's a four-way race, and we have to do our bit. This was the message we passed on to the players today [Thursday, March 27], we've talked a lot about being a family, being a team, being a troop, and that's what we have to do. As a family, to be together; as a team, to run for each other, to play as a team; and as a troop, to fight for each other, for the club, to win titles, which is our main objective.

Is Di María fit to return to competition? How important is this game in the final stretch of the season? There's been this little hiatus here for the national team games, some players haven't played. With this game to go, does that affect the players and what they have to do at this time of year?

Di María has been called up for tomorrow's game. He's trained well and as such he's called up. It's for us to continue in the same vein as before, because of the circumstances, because we were in the Champions League, it's to continue playing every three days. We have Gil Vicente, Farense and FC Porto, and the importance and total focus is on tomorrow's game, the work we have to do, the game we have to play, and the three points we have to win.

There's a demanding cycle coming up for Benfica, with three games in 10 days. In terms of the league, this is the most difficult cycle, not least because it ends with the derby? If Benfica win these three games, are they in an advantageous position to become national champions? Is it, in fact, the team that at this point has the most arguments to be national champion?

No, I think we've been through cycles that have also been extremely demanding, so what we have to do is get to the last two rounds, where we have to play Sporting and SC Braga in a very good position to win the title, and that's the most important thing. That's why tomorrow's game is crucial to winning the three points. 

Players like Samuel Dahl and Renato Sanches are on the rise at the moment: Samuel Dahl has even made his debut for the national team [he made his 2nd international appearance, following his debut on January 12, 2024 against Estonia], Renato Sanches has recovered and is on his best run of the season at Benfica, with 4 consecutive games. Have you given your technical opinion on trying to keep them both for next season?

There are people who are taking care of next season, because regardless of whether there are elections in October, next season has to be prepared. That's why we have the President, Rui Pedro Braz, Lourenço Coelho, who are preparing for next season, preparing for the Club World Cup, there are a number of things that have to be prepared in detail. What's up to me, and you know this as well as I do, is to win the league and the Portuguese Cup, because that's what guarantees that we look to the future with the eyes that need to be looked at. So what's up to me is to stay focused on the next game, win tomorrow, pick up three points, and in a month and a half, we can be playing in the league and the Portuguese Cup final. 

You've spent almost a month chasing the deficit, given that you have a game in hand. Given that this game could settle the score, and also in terms of points, does it take on a special importance? You've mentioned the word final many times, do you see this game almost as a first final, which could put everyone on the same level in terms of points and games?

Look, due to circumstances, we've been in this position several times. When we changed the date of the match with Nacional, we went into the game 11 points off top spot. We don't have to worry too much about that, about the points gap, we have to do our job. So we've got tomorrow's game, then we've got Wednesday's game, then we've got another game after that. Looking at the game, and with nine games to go until the end of the Championship, which in terms of time is roughly six weeks, plus the week of the Portuguese Cup, is seven weeks, is to focus all our energy on what we have to do at every moment. That's why tomorrow's game is important, it's a final, because it's nine games to go, but it's the importance of the three points that we want to win.