"We have a squad with a lot of quality and different options"

PREVIEW

With their sights set on the top spot in the Liga Betclic, Benfica faces Famalicão this Friday, December 29. Speaking ahead of matchday 15 of the competition, which will take place at the Estádio da Luz at 6:45 pm, Roger Schmidt said that the team's mood was "good". 

After the Christmas break, what do you expect from the last game of the year against Famalicão?

We want to play a good game, we want to win, that's our goal. We played Famalicão a few weeks ago in the Portuguese Cup, so we know perfectly well that we're going to be playing an extremely organized, compact team with a lot of quality, both collectively and individually, particularly in attack. We know that, just as we needed patience to decide the Cup match, tomorrow will be the same. We're expecting a tough game, but we're well-prepared. The spirit of the team is good. We're ready to put in a good performance.

What difficulties do you expect against Famalicão? Do Benfica's absences, including Otamendi's suspension and the injured players, worry you for this game?

In my opinion, Famalicão are playing very good football, not just because they're well-placed in the league. They play good football tactically and have a clear plan of how they want to behave with and without the ball. They play football from the back, and have special things like lots of crosses, interchanges of players and players on the wings who can speed up the attacking moments. They have a very strong striker in the center of attack, who is very good when it comes to crosses, so you have to be careful. They always challenge you to play an intense game, they're prepared for that. We're expecting a tough game. Physically and tactically, we have to be at the top of our game. We have a few problems to solve for tomorrow [Friday], but right now I'm completely focused on the players who are available. I see a team that in training is very good, in very good shape, and when we lose some players, it's always an opportunity for others to show themselves. Sometimes these moments are necessary. It can be an advantage for the weeks ahead. If some players do a very good job tomorrow [Friday], they could be more than just an option on the bench.

You can't count on Otamendi and Di María. As for Tengstedt, can you count on him?

Nico [Otamendi] is suspended and is out of the game. The decision to give Angel [Di María] a few extra days was made a long time ago, for personal reasons, but also because he's had a lot of games for Benfica and his national team. Given the games we have coming up in the next few weeks and months, with a difficult schedule, it was smart to give him a few extra days' rest. As for Casper [Tengstedt], he got injured yesterday [Wednesday] and is out of tomorrow's game [Friday] and probably the next few games in January. We have to find solutions, but we have a squad with a lot of quality and different options. We'll have a very good team on the pitch tomorrow [Friday].

Can you confirm that David Neres is back at Seixal? And how important could he be for the rest of the season?

Yes, he's back, I can confirm that. He's back in individual training, doing the final stages of his recovery on the pitch with personalized individual programs. Let's hope he can join the team in January and be ready for competition. We know he has the ability to change the course of a game when he's in good shape. He's already shown this season that he's at a high level. Unfortunately, he had some injury problems at the start of the season, and now too, but I hope he'll be as good as new. He's extremely motivated, I know he'll come back in good physical shape. He's one of Benfica's top players, and we're extremely pleased that he's back.

With the market approaching, what do you think might happen to players like António Silva and João Neves?

I talk to the players every day. We're halfway through the season and, of course, we have big goals for Benfica. We don't want to let any of these players leave, because we need them to achieve them. Nobody wants to leave, I do not doubt that.