Success: the other name of Caixa Futebol Campus

Luís Filipe Vieira, in an interview with the program "Bola Branca", from Rádio Renascença, was proud to see more and more players nurtured in Seixal in the Portuguese national teams and stressed that Benfica's sporting success lies in Caixa Futebol Campus.

One Ballon d'Or winner nurtured at Benfica, in the future, is that possible?

"Why not? João Félix is symptomatic of what might happen. He is 19 years old, he is a very well-structured young man. He has a long future in front of him and he will be a world-class player. I don't know if he will be Cristiano Ronaldo's successor, but he has the quality to be a reference in world football, like Bernardo Silva already is."

What does it mean to have so many academy players as starters?

"It's the proof I was right. For the players, it's huge happiness, because in Portugal there's a club that gives them space to compete and succeed. This was the championship I enjoyed winning the most, for everything we've been through this year and for the coach, Bruno Lage, who was also nurtured at Sport Lisboa e Benfica."

Is it better to develop than to buy?

"Benfica always has to buy, because there position for which we are not able to produce players at the moment. The club will not buy full-backs. The future full-backs are already at the Club. We also don't see the need to buy players for the midfield. Benfica doesn't have strikers, it's true. We believe there's a lot of competence in Seixal."

Nations League: Benfica's academy players heavily present in Portugal's triumph

"It give great joy, and it will probably increase soon because there are other player emerging and others that haven't been called up yet, but that will surely have a spot in the National team,  I don't see any other option. One of the things I said six years ago was that, in the future, most of the players in the Portuguese national teams would be Benfica graduates. That's what's happening."

The fight for hegemony in Portuguese football

"It's not easy to win, it is hard to win and the next season will be much harder for us. We must understand that there are other contenders in Portugal, they also long to win. We want hegemony, but that doesn't mean we'll always get it. We want to have the hegemony based on players nurtured at Caixa Futebol Campus."

Text: Diogo Nascimento and João Sanches

Pics: Archive / SL Benfica