Roger Schmidt: "What I've seen in the past few days has been very positive"

PREVIEW

Roger Schmidt assured that he was pleased with the players' physical condition after the international break, at the press conference ahead of the Liga Betclic matchday 5 clash at Vizela, scheduled for 8:30 pm on Saturday, September 16. 

How was the preparation for the match with Vizela? How are the players who have returned from international duty?

I'm very happy with the players' condition. They came back in good spirits, and they're all fit, that's the most important thing for me. Preparation is always different with the international break, because sometimes the players come back very late, have one training session, and have to be ready again. The last training session was very good, so we're excited. It's always difficult to play in Vizela. Aggressive opponents, a small stadium, and a long trip, so it's a challenge for us, but we're very well-prepared. We know that when we play at our best, we have a chance of winning the game, and that's our goal. 

What kind of atmosphere are you expecting?

It's a small stadium with enthusiastic fans. There will be fans of our opponents in the stadium, but I'm sure our fans will be there too. I hope it's a very good atmosphere, and we'll try to focus on what we want to do on the pitch.

Are you happy with the way you have been rotating the team?

If I wasn't happy, I'd change. My responsibility at Benfica is to win games. Our goals are very high, and I think all the players have the same opportunities to play. The best go out on the pitch and, if they play well, the chances of them playing again are very high. When they're not in the starting eleven, they need to have some patience, be good in training and, when they do come on, make the most of their minutes on the pitch. They have to wait for their chance and, in my opinion, we already had good examples of that last season. João Neves, Chiquinho and, at first, Aursnes and Bah remained focused on training until they were ready. They seized their moment and showed that there are opportunities for everyone. There's no obligation to rotate all the time. We're in professional soccer and, at Benfica, winning games is what counts.

Last season, Benfica had some difficulties after the international break. Have you worked on that specific issue for this season?

It's always a challenge because we don't have the chance to work all week with the full squad. Take our Argentinian internationals, for example. They played in Bolivia at an altitude of 3500 meters, traveled 25 hours to get to Lisbon, and then they have to sit on a bus all the way to Vizela and perform at a high level. It's not easy, especially mentally. That's why these games are difficult, but it was always going to be tricky playing there. I have a lot of respect for these matches, but what I've seen over the last few days has been very positive, and we're ready to win this game.

You said after the last match that the season really starts now. Do you feel the team is ready for this marathon?

When I say that, I mean that we play at the pace we're used to, with the Champions League and a game every three days. What we've done so far has been very good. We won a title at the start. We've played four games in the league, won three, lost one, unluckily, against Boavista. Furthermore, we've played good football, we've integrated the new players, so we're in a very good position at the moment. The fundamentals are there, so is the motivation and spirit. Now we have to confirm every three days that we can play successfully, always go for the win and work towards our goals this season in all competitions.