"We're ready to start the season"

PREVIEW

This Sunday, August 11, Benfica kick off their Liga Betclic 2024/25 campaign with a visit to Famalicão. Speaking ahead of the first matchday, Roger Schmidt praised the team's mentality, focus, and commitment during the pre-season work, assuring that he sees the team ready to fight for all the titles. 

What can we expect from the first game against Famalicão? How do you describe this Benfica team for the new season? What are your impressions of the team?

My impressions, after a tough pre-season, are very good. The players have worked hard this pre-season, and we've had to integrate some new players. Overall, the mentality and focus in training and in the friendly matches have been very good. We also tested a few things in the pre-season games, so I think we're ready to start the season, and we're also very happy to start the season, because it's been a very long pre-season and, at some point, of course we need the competition games. JPlaying an away game in Famalicão is a difficult task, we know that from the last two years, and now it's up to us to transfer what we did in pre-season, in training and in the test games, to the pitch in Famalicão, but overall, in my opinion, the players did very well. Unfortunately, we had two injuries, to Andreas Schjelderup and Benjamín Rollheiser, who will be back in the next two or three weeks. All the other players are fit and in very good condition. Now it's up to us to show that on the pitch.

What does the team need without João Neves? And what can Renato Sanches offer?

Unfortunately, João Neves has left. We all loved him as a player and as a person, but that's football. It was expected that we would have to make a big transfer this summer between António [Silva] and João Neves. The moment and the market decided, and in the end João [Neves] wanted to leave, and it was a very good transfer for the club. We miss him, but that's part of football. The first positive point is that António [Silva] is still here. He's an excellent player, he's been decisive in the last two years and will continue to be so this season. The second positive point is the return of Renato Sanches. After eight years away from Benfica, he's back. We know his story over the last few years, but I have to say that my first impressions of Renato are very good. I like his attitude, and he's been working very well in training. Of course, our first task is to get him fit for the season, but in the first week he was in excellent physical and tactical shape. I think we did the best we could in this situation. We lost a player, but we took care of our budget and got back an excellent player for Benfica. That's the situation, and I'm happy with it.

Di María is staying at Benfica for another season. What does a player like Di María add to a team at the age of 36?

A lot of quality and a winning mentality. He was the last player to return after international matches. That means he was the one who played in the Copa America final and won it again. They [Argentina] won the Copa América twice and the World Cup in between. He was always on the pitch, and I think he showed his quality last season too. As I said at the end of last season, my wish was for him to stay for another year, and he did, and I'm very happy. His quality, experience and winning mentality all together make him a very important player for us, and it's a bit the same for him. He's just come in after a three-week vacation, he's done a lot of individual work, but he's not in his best shape at the moment, as are some of the other players who came back a little later in our pre-season, but the challenge over the next few weeks is to get these players fit and, of course, also to win our games. We have to start with that on Sunday [August 11]. 

Do you think the team is stronger now than it was a year ago? Who is the favorite to win the championship?

We'll find the evidence on the pitch. Saying that before the season starts doesn't make much sense. We feel prepared for a difficult season. It seems clear to me that we have the same title contenders, but overall I see a lot of balance in our team. We had some problems last season, because there wasn't as much balance, and we had some difficulties at the back. Now, with Álvaro [Carreras] and Niklas [Beste] on the left and Alex [Bah] back on the right, we have more options and more space. This allows Fredrik Aursnes to play as an attacking midfielder again, where he did very well in his first season. We have new players, like Pavlidis and Barreiro, and we have young players who have joined the squad and done very well during pre-season. I see positive energy, quality in training and commitment to our style of play. We want to play attacking football with a lot of intensity and, as we saw in the pre-season friendly games, the players like to play this way. It's something I recognize, but that was during pre-season. On Sunday [August 11] the season starts, pre-season is over, and nobody is interested in it anymore. What we have to do is bring all the hard work we've done out onto the pitch. Favorites? I think I've already answered that question, and now it's up to you to say who the favorite is. We want to win the title, but I don't care if we're the favorites or not.

Since you've been at Benfica, is this the season when you're under the most pressure to win?

Each new season is the one with the most pressure. Next year, you'll probably ask me the same question. That's how we are at Benfica, it's not an easy club, it's a very demanding club, because the aim and expectation is always that you win titles and lots of games, so there's pressure in every game, but we're used to it. We've already shown over the last two years that we can handle pressure and also focus on playing football. To deal with this situation in the best way, it's about using the 90 minutes to show that you're better than the opponent, playing intense football and having a clear idea of how you want to play. That's our focus. There's also an advantage if you play proactive football, because then you can't think too much about the pressure during the game, you have to think about what you have to do on the pitch. It's the best way to deal with the situation, and we're excited. We know our quality, we have a lot of self-confidence, we have a lot of respect for all our opponents, those competing for the title, but also in every game, like now against Famalicão, we know it's not easy to play against them. I think that respect, self-confidence, balance and the quality we have give us a lot of calm to deal with the pressure.

There's talk of selling Neres to Italy after losing João Neves to PSG, two players who were very important to you in your first two seasons. Does losing players like that make the coach's job more difficult?

Right now, he [Neres] is our player. It's mid-August and, while the transfer window is open, we have to manage these situations, where there are interests from clubs, players and businessmen. There are always rumors, and sometimes they come true, sometimes they don't. I don't think there's much point in thinking about it. What we need is a squad capable of competing for titles, and I think we have that. As I said, the balance is there, but we have to accept that there are desires and interests. I'm calm about that and, two days before the game, my focus is entirely on playing in it. These things happen behind the scenes. Maybe some players will leave by September 1st, maybe others will arrive. It's possible, but not 100 percent. Things aren't in my hands, because the decisions are made by different interpreters. I'm calm. At the moment, the squad is balanced and we'll see what happens.