The emotions of dreams in the first person

BPLAY INTERVIEW

They will never forget what they felt, what they thought and what they went through to make their “dream” come true. Playing for Sport Lisboa e Benfica's first team in the 2023/24 season, launched by Roger Schmidt, was another fact that united Diogo Spencer, João Rego and Varela, youngsters from the Club's youth academy who expressed their emotions in an interview with BPlay.

Memories of different journeys to the same end persist. The first steps among the Club's top footballers, those who “watched on TV since they were little”, as João Rego confessed, gave way to work and recognition.

The trail was walked daily under the watchful eye of Roger Schmidt, and when the coach asked how they felt or if they were happy, the answer was always ready, as Diogo Spencer said.

The families, who make huge sacrifices, are examples of an unconditional love mirrored in the way they, too, felt their debuts and the “fulfillment of a dream”, as Varela points out, who, on May 17, 2024, played in the Liga Betclic, at the same level as his father, Fernando Varela, still is. "He left his game [after Famalicão-Casa Pia] and went straight to mine. He got to see me on the pitch,” said the striker about the match in Vila do Conde, against Rio Ave, on matchday 34 of the competition.

Diogo Spencer, 20, who has been with the club for eight seasons, was the first to live his dream, on April 14, against Moreirense, on matchday 29 of the Championship. He was followed by João Rego, 18, against Arouca, on May 12, on matchday 33, both at the Estádio da Luz. “When I walked into the dressing room and saw my jersey, it was a moment that really marked me,” recalled João Rego, who joined Benfica at the age of 12.

And the hugs from President Rui Costa after the debuts will never be forgotten. “He asked me if I was happy, and I said yes [smiling],” recalled Varela, the 19-year-old forward who has been wearing the Sacred Mantle for three seasons. "I couldn't believe it, hearing my name... it was a dream I'd had since I was a child. An inexplicable sensation", said Diogo Spencer, in a feeling shared by the three youngsters nurtured at Benfica Campus.