“We're excited to play good football”

PREVIEW

Benfica return to the Estádio da Luz this Saturday, August 24, to face Estrela da Amadora in matchday 3 of the Liga Betclic, scheduled for 20:30 pm. Roger Schmidt pointed to a team motivated by returning to play at the Cathedral, aiming to get the three points. 

Benfica will face Estrela da Amadora, a team that managed to get a draw in Braga. What do you see as their biggest threats?

First of all, we're happy to be playing again, and again in our own stadium. As you said, they've already played two games, the first a difficult away game in Braga, and if you look at them and analyze them, of course you see that they're a new team, lots of new players, lots of individual weapons. We also see the great quality in transition and offensive moments, in counter-attacks, a very physical team. It wasn't an easy challenge last season and, of course, tomorrow [August 24] will be a tough game too, but we're in very good shape, we've had another very good week of training, so we're excited to play good football tomorrow [August 24], and of course we want to get the three points.

I'd like to ask you if Di María and Trubin are both fit for this game, and if you think Renato Sanches is in good shape to play at a top level for Benfica?

Yes, it looks like they're back. At the moment, only Niklas Beste, Andreas Schjelderup and André Gomes are out. Everyone else is back, back to training with the team, and I'm very happy about that. Renato [Sanches], every training session is very important for him. He's been with us for three weeks or so. Of course you can see the quality in training. I think it was very important for him to have this kind of training. In fact, the plan was to give him some minutes in the last game [Casa Pia], but in the end I had to make other decisions. I hope that tomorrow [August 24] I'll have the chance to let him play for Benfica again. He's looking forward to it, he's very motivated, and I'm convinced he's ready.

Tiago Gouveia and Orkun Kökcü were important in the last game [against Casa Pia]. Are you planning to put them in the starting eleven tomorrow [Saturday, August 24]?

It would be the first time announcing the starting eleven, today, at a press conference. I was very pleased with the substitutions in the last game, we needed them because we played a very good game, but we missed some chances and at some point we needed renewed energy and a different type of players up front. The players who came on, like Marcos [Leonardo], Orkun [Kökcü] and Tiago [Gouveia] brought that renewed energy, and of course they're always good arguments to have the option of starting the game. We'll see. They did very well, they're in good shape. I'll have to think about tomorrow, about the starting eleven, but it'll be like this all season. We have to rely on our substitutes on the bench. We'll see. Tomorrow, maybe other players will play this role, and they'll have to show the same performance and the same spirit.

You said you liked the response of the players who came on in the last game. Which team will choose next game? Closer to the starting eleven of the last two games, or the team that finished the game and managed to give that response at the end against Casa Pia?

As a coach, I have a different perspective of the game. In my opinion, of course it's important to score goals, but in the end, the first 60 minutes also had a very good performance from the players. It's not as if I was disappointed with the players who started the last game, so I always have to see what condition the players are in. We still have a squad in which not all the players are at the same level. We have players who have had a full pre-season with six weeks of training, we have some players who came back from the Copa America, the Euro, we have some players who came back from injuries. Of course, I always have to consider these facts and, in the end, I have to make a decision about which is the best starting eleven and which players have the best potential to maybe come off the bench. These are always my thoughts. In the end, I make a decision, we see how the game goes and we also need the right choices for substitutes.

Is it a priority for you to keep hold of Tomás Araújo? Do Benfica have the priority of signing a right-back as well as a second striker?

Tomás Araújo will stay, 100%. He did very well last season as the third center-back, he's already had a few minutes, but of course we were excited about this season too so that he'd have a different status in the team. He had a top pre-season and, at the start of the season, he was always in the starting eleven. In my opinion, he's a very talented player and I think it's also very important for him to play for Benfica instead of leaving before he starts playing, so I think that's very clear. Our situation at center-back is very good, because we have a lot of quality there and we'll see what happens. Of course, at the moment we have a clear right-back in the team, with Alex Bah. We're very happy that he's fit again and in very good shape, but of course we've also tried to find solutions in pre-season to compensate if he can't play. Tiago [Gouveia] played a few friendlies in this position and also got used to it in training. In the last game, he also showed his quality again as an attacking midfielder. Of course, the best thing would be to have a clear situation and competition in this position, but we'll only think about it when we're convinced about the player and the transfer. We're looking at it and, if there's an opportunity, of course we can do it. If there isn't, I think we can also compensate it with our current squad. We know that Fredrik Aursnes can also be a fantastic right and left-back. In the first two games, you've already seen that this season we've seen him more as an attacking midfielder, but it's still an opportunity. You always have to find solutions during the season. We have solutions and, if there's a good solution for us in the transfer market, we'll do it. If not, we can carry on as we are.

Is there any chance that Arthur Cabral will leave the club on loan or on a permanent transfer? If he leaves, will Benfica have to look for another striker, or are Pavlidis and Marcos Leonardo enough to attack all competitions?

We'll see. As you said, at the moment we have three strikers. We have Pavlidis, Marcos Leonardo and Arthur [Cabral]. In the end, it's also a bit of a decision for the players. It's not just our decision. Signing Pavlidis also means that we saw that we needed a new profile in this position. He's the first choice at the moment. He's doing very well, he's working hard for the team, he's making a good impression, he's scoring goals... He was very important in the 1-0 in the last game [against Casa Pia], in pre-season he showed his quality straight away, and that he can play this type of football. This is the situation at the moment. Arthur [Cabral] is doing well, he played some good games last season, this week in training he was very good and, in the end, the situation for him and Marcos [Leonardo] is to be ready as substitutes and then to show good performances, as Marcos [Leonardo] did. He was unlucky with his chances, he could have scored two or three goals in the last 30 minutes of the game, but he can be very effective. We saw it last season, he scored seven or eight goals in a few minutes when he came on, mostly. At the moment, I'm happy with the situation, we have this set-up with the forwards, three strikers, who may be thinking of leaving the club. Of course, I can understand that, but in the end we'll see what happens. I can't talk about offers or rumors. That's not my job. If there's something to announce, if there are closed transfers, we can talk about it. The transfer market is complicated enough. I can't talk about every rumor.

One of the moments that marked the game with Casa Pia was when you replaced João Mário, and there were whistles. I wanted to ask you about the player's state of mind. Did you have a chance to talk to him?

I always talk to my players, especially to my key players, who have a lot of responsibility for our performance and are very important to the team. I don't want to comment too much on these things, because I did it many times last season. The only thing I can say is that we're talking about a player who has been very important to me over the last two years. He's been a key player, he was co-captain after Nico Otamendi, he's played almost everything, he's got around 50 goals and assists in the last two years. Not only that, his character on the pitch, his responsibility for tactical things on the pitch has always been top level. We're talking about a player who has played two fantastic years, in my opinion. In the end, this is a fact, so there's no need to discuss these facts. Of course things were as you described, I noticed that too, but I don't want to leave a comment on that. I see the facts, I see a fantastic footballer and a fantastic person.