Roger Schmidt: "We're back, we're a very strong team again"

PREVIEW

Benfica heads into matchday 12 of the Liga Betclic, where it travels to Moreirense this Sunday, December 3, at 6 pm in the lead of the competition, a fact that makes coach Roger Schmidt happy, even if he doesn't overvalue it at the moment. 

It's the return to the League. What can you expect from the game against Moreirense, knowing that this opponent has a strong defense?

We're expecting a very difficult away game, the opposition has had an excellent season. Last season we played Moreirense in the League Cup, and it was a very hard game in a small stadium. It wasn't a surprise that they were promoted to the Premier League, and now they're having a very good season. It's the consequence of the way they've been playing football. They're a tactically very well-organized team, they have individual quality, they're very dangerous in attack and they have a very compact defense. That means the game won't be easy, but we're in good shape, we've been playing good football in recent weeks. That's the next task to overcome. We've already recovered from Wednesday's game [in the Champions League against Inter Milan], it's up to us tomorrow [Sunday] to put in a good performance, because we need that to win the game.

It's the first time Benfica is in first place in this edition of the league. Is the team prepared to maintain and defend its position until the end of the season?

We've been very close [to first place] all season. We lost the first game, then won the rest, apart from the game against Casa Pia. We won on the last matchday against the first-placed team, we moved ahead, and it's going to be a fight until the last matchday. The important thing is to finish in first place, we don't need to be first all season. But for those in this position, like us, every matchday is an opportunity to stay in first place. In my opinion, we've played very well in the last three matches, excellent, even on Wednesday [in the Champions League against Inter Milan]. We've played very good football, we've shown tactical quality, in pressing, in counter-pressing, with the ball we've been fantastic, we've found solutions, in attacking transition we've also been very good. That's what we're focused on. We're not focused on whether we've been in first place all season. I like what the players are doing. Everyone can see that we're improving as a team, and the form of the individual players is also improving. Some players were injured and are now getting back into shape, others needed a bit more time at the start of the season and are back in good shape. That's what I'm seeing at the moment. That's very important. It means we're back, we're a very strong team again, and we have every chance of winning. As for the standings, that's a consequence of what we do.

Alexander Bah is still out through injury. Can Tiago Gouveia be an option for the right side of defense? If not, does that mean you're obliged to sign another player in January?

I think Alexander Bah will be out until the end of the year, he'll be back in January. Tiago Gouveia is not an option as a right-back. As for the transfer market, I'm not focused on that at the moment.

There's been a lot of talk about Di María possibly leaving at the end of the season. Are you already preparing for that scenario? What role will he play in the team?

We're prepared for anything! It's something that happens during transfer windows, the buying and selling of players happens behind the scenes, and it also depends on them. I'm very pleased to have Di María in the team. I really liked his decision to come and play for Benfica, a club where he grew up in Europe after coming from South America. Many other players have made different decisions in similar situations, for example choosing clubs in Saudi Arabia, where he could have gone. He chose something different, he wanted to return to Benfica, and I was delighted that he made that decision. Of course, I knew him very well, because he had and still has a great career. But I was surprised by his quality and, above all, his mentality. He's an extraordinary player, very good for us, a key player. We're very happy that you're with us, and we're going to enjoy every training session and match. Then, at the end of the season, we'll see. We'll see if he's happy enough and wants to stay at Benfica for another year, or if he wants to go elsewhere. For now, we're very happy to have him.