Roger Schmidt: "We trained well and we are looking forward to playing again at home"

PREVIEW

Roger Schmidt made this Thursday, January 5, in a press conference, the preview of the Benfica-Portimonense game, from matchday 15 of the Liga Bwin, which takes place this Friday, at 7 pm, at Estádio da Luz. 

How do you analyze Portimonense's team? How is Benfica after the result of the last matchday?

It will be a difficult match. Portimonense is a good team, very difficult, physical, and intense. They play with many players behind the ball, it is not easy to create opportunities against them and we need an excellent performance. We were all disappointed with the result in Braga because we didn't play at the level we usually play at. We have already analyzed everything, the players had a good reaction in training, we trained well, and we are looking forward to playing again at home, in front of our fans, because we haven't done it for some time. We want to play a good match in front of our fans and fight for the three points.

Will Enzo play against Portimonense, or is he suspended for traveling without permission to Argentina and missing two team training sessions?

First, Enzo is a very good guy and a fantastic player. I like him a lot, we all do and of course, we want him to stay at Benfica. His situation is not easy. He played in the World Cup, became a world champion, and received proposals. There's a lot of money on the table, and in this situation, as a young player, you get a little confused when you think about it. I think it's something that people can understand. He was not well last week. He went to Argentina without permission, missed training, and that's not acceptable. This will have consequences, but I won't announce them now. The second point of this thread is that we don't want to sell him. Nobody in this Club wants to sell him. Not me, not the President, nobody. The third point is that there is a club that wants our player. They know we don't want to sell him. They have tried to entice the player, knowing that they can only have him when they pay the release clause. The situation is very clear. That club is disrespecting all of us, Benfica, and it is unacceptable.

What did Benfica lack in the match they lost against SC Braga in the previous round?

We lacked a lot, unfortunately. We were playing for a long time at a very high pace, with very tactical football, and the players were all very focused on what they had to do on the pitch. If there are several players who are not completely focused on the game, we end up playing a less tactical football, we open spaces, we arrive late and we no longer have control of the game, we can't dominate it. Against SC Braga, we had players back, the eleven in this match was the one we used against Juventus [at Estádio da Luz], the differences have to do with the tactical behavior. It's obvious that this is not the level we want to play at. It is my job and the team's job to remember what we have done, to play, and to develop ourselves again to reach the highest level. Tomorrow [Friday], we will certainly do better than last week and have a chance to win.