Rui Costa: “Eriksson will be forever in our history”

STATEMENTS BY THE PRESIDENT

At the entrance to the Liga Portugal Awards ceremony, Rui Costa, President of Sport Lisboa e Benfica, remembered Sven-Göran Eriksson. “It was an enormous pride to have had such an important and good man in our home,” he said.

Reacting to the news of the Swedish coach's death this Monday, August 26, Rui Costa spoke of a very sad day for the Benfica family and evoked the memory of a man who carried Benfica in his heart.

“It's a very sad day for all Benfiquistas. From here, I would like to send a tight hug to the entire family of the legendary Eriksson and tell them that it was a great source of pride for us, and it will always be a great source of pride to have had such an important and good man as Sven-Göran Eriksson in our home. At a good time, we were also able to pay a heartfelt tribute to a person who we knew had Benfica in his heart and who also took Benfica in his heart,” said the President of Benfica at the Alfândega do Porto, where the event organized by Liga Portugal is taking place.

Extolling Sven-Göran Eriksson's impact on Benfica, but also on Portuguese and world football, Rui Costa also recalled the special affection he had for the Swedish coach, who was responsible for his debut as a player in the Eagles' first team.

"Direi que ele não marcou só a história do Benfica – uma parte da história do Benfica –, acho que marcou, também, uma parte da história do futebol português e do futebol internacional. É um homem querido em todos os sítios onde passou. Não só pelos clubes que representou, mas pelos países onde trabalhou. Isso mostra a qualidade humana que este senhor tinha. Eu, particularmente, tenho um carinho ainda mais especial, porque foi ele que me meteu a primeira vez a titular no Benfica. Guardei para toda a minha carreira todos os ensinamentos que ele me deu e tenho uma ligação muito forte a ele, pessoalmente, por isso mesmo. Enquanto Benfiquista, estou no mesmo patamar de todos os Benfiquistas, no sentido de que para nós era uma pessoa que marcou muito e que era uma pessoa extremamente querida para todos nós", salientou.

“I would say that he didn't just mark Benfica's history – a part of Benfica's history – I think he also marked a part of the history of Portuguese and international football. He's a beloved man everywhere he has been. Not just for the clubs he represented, but for the countries where he worked. This shows the human quality this gentleman had. I, particularly, have an even more special affection for him, because it was him who gave me my first start at Benfica. I've kept all the lessons he taught me for my entire career and I have a very strong connection to him personally for that very reason. As a Benfiquista, I'm on the same level as all Benfiquistas, in the sense that for us he was a person who made a big impression and who was extremely important to all of us”, he said.