President Rui Costa in a big interview

FULL INTERVIEW

Rui Costa, President of Sport Lisboa e Benfica, took stock of the 2023/24 sporting season and projected the new season, in a big interview that BTV broadcast from 7:04 pm this Thursday, May 23, and that you can watch in full on the Official Site. 

ROGER SCHMIDT WILL REMAIN COACH

"I think the conditions are right for Roger Schmidt to continue as Benfica's coach, and he will. We've never heard any news to the contrary, and if I thought he wasn't qualified, the decision would have been different. It would be easier and more populist, but I believe in stability. He's already shown his quality, and last season [2022/23] can't be a fluke. This year hasn't gone as well as I'd hoped, but I don't make the coach a scapegoat. We all share responsibility. We have the internal conditions to do the same job and the utmost conviction that we're going to win titles. We've been working for a long time to put right the wrongs of this year."

PRESS BOYCOTTING THE COACH

"If we look at the media, I can give you a glaring case of Roger Schmidt. How many foreign coaches have passed through Portugal who didn't speak Portuguese and were condemned for it? There was even a press boycott of Roger Schmidt's press conference. It's not nice to think that because he's from Benfica he has to be extremely demanding. That's even what he went through, and I don't agree with it in the slightest. It's natural that the fans would like to hear the coach speak Portuguese, but we're talking about a German man who doesn't yet speak Portuguese. However, there has never been a war like this in Portugal because a coach doesn't speak the country's language."

CALL FOR UNITY FOR 2024/25

"Knowing the club as I do, I think this year has been very frustrating because of the high expectations. We started off by winning the Super Cup, and we had big additions that made us think that the season would be more successful than the previous one. There was a lot of frustration on the part of the fans, given the demands of this club. There were also performances that didn't please and that raised criticism, which I respect. But the important thing is that the club is united. Towards the end, when the title was already a mirage and there was the disappointment of being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, we had to accept the fans' opposition. We're going into a new season and I don't believe this division will continue, because only together can we achieve anything, and we know what we're all worth together. I accept and respect the protest, but I believe there is a limit and that it harms those on the pitch."

QUALIFICATION FOR THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AND SURROUNDING STABILITY

"There's an immediate route, which is if Atalanta finish as high as 4th in the Italian league, and there's a route where it's up to us. In the last three years, we've reached the quarter-finals of European competitions three times. Our goal is to be in the Champions League, that's our ambition, and we'll do everything we can to be in the Champions League. [Criticism] I have to accept and respect it. Although it hasn't been a positive season for Benfica, we can't turn this season into total chaos that leads to so many situations like the ones we've experienced this year. We need that stability and maturity, and that's what I'm calling for. We have a lot of work ahead of us and that's what I want to focus on, while respecting our fans."

CORRECT THE LACK OF EFFICIENCY

"One of the team's mortal sins was the overall performance of the forwards. In a team like Benfica, it's not normal for a striker not to score more than 10 goals in a season [Championship], and that's why there were rotations up front in search of the best solution. It's very demanding to play for this club, and that was one of the problems we had. We even had four strikers, including Musa, and the lack of efficiency was a weakness we had in the team. That hindered the goals we had for the season."

MARKET AND DECISIVE MEETING WITH DI MARÍA

"Di María signed for one year because in his mind he wanted to finish his career in Argentina. For reasons that have been made public, that position may not be so clear. Next week we'll have a decisive meeting with Di María's agent, and we'll see if he'll continue or not."

ÁLVARO CARRERAS AND LEANDRO BARREIRO CONFIRMED

"Álvaro Carreras is confirmed. We're exercising the option, and he's one of the talents we're really hoping will have a great career. Leandro Barreiro is a Benfica player. He's a very rotational midfielder, very dynamic and fills a midfield space that was lacking. He has a high physical capacity and a reliable technical quality to play for Benfica, and we hope he'll be a big part of the team next season. As for Di María, I hope he stays for another year. He's 36 years old, but he has undeniable quality and is a starter for the world champions."

KÖKCÜ'S BRIGHT FUTURE

"I like him [Kökcü] more today than I did a year ago when I saw him. He's a player with fantastic characteristics who hasn't been able to express his full potential. But it's clear that he's a player of the highest standard. The team's dynamism and way of playing didn't benefit his main characteristics, but that's also part of a player's life. And we mustn't forget that there was a kid who ended up making a name for himself, and his name is João Neves. But this is a player [Kökcü] with fantastic characteristics and a bright future, who has quality and charisma. We're very proud that he's a Benfica asset."

WITH NO FULL-BACKS, THERE WAS IMPROVISATION

"We started the season with two left-backs and a right-back, but with a wild card in the squad. Although there's so much discussion about why Fred [Aursnes] plays here or there, Fred's position really is that of a wild card. We had an immediate adaptation problem with Jurásek, but we went and got a player who was fully accredited, like [Juan] Bernat. Bernat has been hit harder than anyone by injuries, and he ended up with a serious injury here. At a certain point in the season we found ourselves without a left-back and, by fate or misfortune, Bah played almost half the season.  It's happened that we've been without our full-backs for most of the season. It's an obvious mistake and one we'll have to change. We've had a lot of problems and our coach has had to improvise in many circumstances to balance the team, and he's even been criticized for it."

ALL THE EFFORT TO KEEP RAFA

"We did everything we could to keep him, just as we did with Grimaldo. They were two big players with great performances, and it would have been a mistake not to do everything we could to keep them. If that wasn't enough, what we can do is respect Rafa's decision and everything he's given Benfica. He has a contract to do outside Portugal, which is more important. I wish him all the best."

INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE

"Benfica didn't take 100 million euros and throw it away. The assets are here and, as I said, the priority of my mandate is the sports side. I had the opportunity to say in January that Benfica has future capital gains. Part of that money that is being valued comes from the January market, where we anticipated signing players of the future on the international market, such as Marcos Leonardo, who will definitely make a name for himself. For those outside the club, we invested 100 million euros and didn't win, but that investment wasn't for months. It was directed towards club assets that we had to attack now. And many of them, which didn't produce immediate results, will be assets in the future."

SELL AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE

"Fortunately, in the space where we are [Benfica Campus], we have created the best talent Portugal has seen in years. António [Silva] and João [Neves] are examples of this, and I'm sure there will be more to come. There's been a lot of talk about these two players, but there's nothing concrete because the market hasn't started to move yet. No Portuguese club can survive without sales. What I'm trying to do is make the most of it financially with as few sales as possible. We will do everything we can not to breach financial fair play, and I will never put the club in that position."