João Félix: "There's no pressure, only responsibility"

Everyone is talking about João Félix. At the age of just 19, he established himself in Benfica's first squad and has already racked up close to 2000 minutes in official competitions this season. In an interview with "Marca", he defined himself as a player and praised the best on academy players.

"I define myself as a smart player who likes to have the ball and to score goals– like all players. It’s basically that", he started by saying in the interview with the Spanish "Marca".

"Off the pitch, I am a little shy when I do not have much confidence, but as soon as I have this confidence I am fun and like to joke around ", he described.

Despite the popularity gained in a few months, João Félix keeps with his feet on the ground.

"At first it was difficult to manage, but over time I learned to manage in the best way, with the help of some people as well. There's no pressure, it's more a sense of responsibility. Seeing me as an example and trying to do the best I can so that people can continue to see me that way. It's more a sense of responsibility and to pressure", he explained.

"I always try to have fun, do what I love and, from the moment we do the things we love, everything turns out well", he claimed.

Promoted to the first squad in the start of the season, João Félix has been an ongoing bet on Bruno Lage's team and, in 32 matches played, he has scored 12 goals, 8 of which in the last 11 matches of the Liga NOS, all under the new coach of the eagles.

"Sometimes I have the feeling that the last two months have gone by very quickly. I didn't even have time to stop and think about what happened. Sometimes I see but I have to forget because there will be the next match, I have to be focused on the next match and I end up forgetting what has already happened", he confessed.

The 19-year-old striker, who has been breaking records after records, has Kaká as a reference. In Portuguese football, the big idol is Rui Costa.

"I do not remember much about how he played, but I have seen many videos and I identify with him", he revealed.

Against Sporting, at Estádio da Luz, in a match of the Liga NOS, he had one of the best moments of his still short career. "It was my first team debut and my first goal for Benfica, against Sporting", he remembered.

Inaugurated on September 22, 2006, Caixa Futebol Campus has already promoted dozens of players to the first team. At the moment, there are eight players nurtured in Seixal under Bruno Lage, and João Félix is part of the batch that still has Rúben Dias, Gedson, Florentino, Ferro, Yuri Ribeiro, Jota, and Zlobin.

"We're used to playing together, I've been playing with Rúben Dias for two years, with Gedson and Florentino I've been playing for longer – they are from my generation – and we already know each other perfectly as players", he explained.

"We have a good Youth Training system, we're getting better and better, the infrastructure is allowing us to do that, the President is providing great conditions for the evolution of Youth Training and from now on there will emerge a lot of players with great quality in the first team", he claimed.

Text: Filipa Fernandes Garcia

Pics: Tânia Paulo / SL Benfica