"The team is playing good football, connected and ready to fight for titles"

PREVIEW

In the press conference ahead of the Arouca-Benfica match this Saturday, January 6, Roger Schmidt praised the team's response in training and was confident of continuing their good form in the Liga Betclic matchday 16 clash. 

What do you expect from the game against Arouca, a team that has won three of its last four league games?

It's always difficult to play there. A few weeks ago we were there for the League Cup. We won the game, we know the atmosphere, but they have a new coach, new energy and new self-confidence, because they've had a lot of success in recent weeks, so we expect a difficult game. But we're in great shape, training was great, Ángel [Di María] and Nico [Otamendi] are back, so we're ready to fight for the three points tomorrow [Saturday].

Marcos Leonardo has been officially signed by Benfica. What is different about him compared to the other strikers in the squad?

We're very happy that he's at Benfica, because he's a great talent in Brazilian football. In every transfer window, it's our duty to try and improve the squad, and Marcos Leonardo is a good example of that. He's the right age to make the step to Europe and, for these players, Benfica is the perfect club for them to come to. We know that he hasn't trained for four weeks, so he's not in ideal shape. But we want to integrate him into the team as quickly as possible, put him in the best possible conditions, and give him a clear idea of how we play. He's a striker with special characteristics. He scores goals, but he's strong in movement, asking for the ball. He's a top-class player, and we're happy to have him with us.

Benfica now have four strikers. Is there room for everyone?

At the moment, we have two strikers. Casper Tengstedt is injured, and Marcos Leonardo isn't ready yet, that's the situation. I'm very happy that Arthur [Cabral] and Petar [Musa] are in good shape, and in general too. If you look at our team, with the four injuries we have, Alex Bah, Casper Tengstedt, Juan Bernat and David Neres, we have 17 players. That's not a lot, with Marcos [Leonardo] there are 18 outfield players. At the moment, we're not thinking about losing any players. We always have to focus on the here and now. In four weeks' time, at the end of January, maybe the situation will be different, but right now my focus is on the players who are here. We need them, we have several very important games coming up in the next few weeks, some of them for titles, like the League Cup, so we're completely focused on this situation. We never know what's going to happen in the transfer window, as I've said a few times here, but we can't have big changes with players leaving, because our squad is balanced and there aren't too many players.

There's talk of the possibility of signing more players, like Prestianni. Will more additions arrive? Did you feel you needed to strengthen the squad to achieve the goals set for this season?

I can't confirm any players and, to be honest, that's not my focus. We have a very important game to win tomorrow [Saturday] and everything else happens behind the scenes. Maybe there will be more changes to the team, maybe it's just one... I don't know. We can only be sure when the player signs the contract and the transfer is confirmed. As I said at the beginning, we have the duty to try to improve the squad. We have a budget for that. We sell players, we buy players, and we need balance. We also need to make money to keep Benfica in good financial shape, and I think we can do that. At the moment it's not necessary to do that because, in my opinion, the players have done well over the last six months and I see clear progress after losing players in the summer. Now we have a team that is playing good football, that is connected and that is ready to fight for titles. But if there's an opportunity, as there was with Marcos Leonardo, it's smart to go for those deals. On the one hand, Benfica gains quality, and on the other, potential for a possible future transfer. He's 20 years old, he's got a lot of quality, and we hope he develops his full footballing potential.

To improve the team, did you ask the President for a new right-back? What is your biggest fear in this transfer window?

I've already answered this question a few times, I'll try to do it differently again. I haven't asked the President for anything. The President himself always tries to have the best players here to improve the team, because we all want to win titles with Benfica. The key to winning titles is always individual quality. With this individual quality, we have to build a team with good spirit and good football. That's our common goal, it's not as if the President wants something that I don't, we have the same goal. I've already answered the other question a few times.