"Huge ambition to win"

PREVIEW

A "huge ambition to win" and the "best version of the players" is what coach Bruno Lage wants to see from his team in the match on Wednesday, October 2, when Benfica hosts Atlético de Madrid, on matchday 2 of the Champions League, scheduled for 8 pm, at Estádio da Luz.

If we want to draw a comparison from the point of view of experience, Benfica are in a phase of acquiring routines, while Atlético Madrid are one of the most established teams in Europe. What is the best way to dilute this difference in practice, on the pitch?

That's what it's all about, proving it on the pitch. There are three things that are fundamental: being a team, having the best version of each of our players on the pitch, and with a huge ambition to win. Those three things are fundamental for tomorrow [Wednesday, October 2].

Since he arrived, there have been four wins, two comebacks and three thrashings, but I think I said two press conferences ago that Benfica hadn't done anything special yet. Would beating Atlético Madrid in Luz tomorrow [Wednesday, October 2] be something special? Is this the opponent that can somehow show your work, what you've done at Benfica, also show any weaknesses that may exist? Is this the biggest test since you returned to Benfica?

They've all been tests, because at the moment there's no margin for error in any of the competitions we're in. That doesn't mean not recognizing that Atlético de Madrid really are a great team, with a history of having kept their coach for 13/14 years, with two Premier League signings, players like Gallagher from Chelsea and the Manchester City striker [Julián Alvarez]. That in itself shows the potential of the club and also of the team. For us, for the group, what I want is for the players to maintain the same collective sense, the same ambition to win, and that's what we want: to get the three points. For the group, it would be something special to add another win to the four we've had, but for the size of Benfica, everything would remain the same, because Benfica has already achieved many more victories and achievements than just winning tomorrow's game [Wednesday], so we have to make that growth in a sustained way, and the most important thing - regardless of who it is, whether we're playing at home or away, and in this case the Estádio da Luz will be full to support us - is to go in with the ambition to win, and that can never be lacking.

You talked about bringing people together and aggregating. One of the big missions you brought to the start of your work at Benfica was to unite the fans around the team. With these four victories, do you feel you've won that battle? Do you feel that the team and the fans are completely united?

I emphasize aggregating because I don't believe that a team can be successful if the players don't work as a team. That's fundamental. That's where we waste a lot of time. We have to be a team that attacks and a team that defends. It's as a team that we can achieve success. The next step... We have to get closer to those who support us, and those who support us will definitely support us if they identify with the team. If they see that the team represents the values of the club they support. That's fundamental. So it's about passing that on to the older players. That it's not just me, but everyone who works around the players, and even the players with some history and time at the club. That they can pass on the Club's values to the younger players.

In your first spell at Benfica, you weren't so happy in the Champions League, but the truth is that you've already won one, and away from home. I ask you if one of your goals now is to leave a different image in the competition, even as a coach. In that sense, what would a good Champions League be for your Benfica?

When you say we've already won... yes, this year. But do you know how many we won the first time? The aim is to continue this record, regardless of whether it's a league game, any of the cups or the Champions League. At the moment, we have no margin for error in any of the competitions, so what we've promised is to go out onto the pitch with that ambition to win and win the game, and that's what we're always going to do. Then, whether we manage to do it or not also depends on the game, what happens in the game, and if tomorrow [Wednesday]... What I feel is that we'll be a competitive team, we'll have the best version of our players, and that makes it easier to achieve goals. Moving on to the second part of the question, the Champions League, for me, for the players, are those games that can transform careers, because we're competing against teams at another level, so it's important for me, as for any other coach, to win Champions League games, to win competitions, but, for now, that's not my focus. What I want most is for the team tomorrow [Wednesday] to be a team, the best version of each player on the pitch, and with one certainty: that we will play to win, and that has to be our ambition.

In his interview with Sport TV before the press conference, you revealed a little about the possibility of putting Di María on the left. It's something that isn't very common at Benfica, at least in his second spell at the club, and also in his career - he usually plays on the right side of the pitch. Is that also a way of wanting to attack verticality and depth? Do you think it's from there, from the side corridors, that you'll be able to hurt Atlético Madrid?

Di María has played on both the right and the left. It's true that recently here he's been playing on the right, but I'll remind you that in the World Cup final he played on the left and scored a goal. What I feel is that he's a player who is very strong in one-on-one situations, and his teammates who play for Atlético Madrid know that. My only question is where we can put him, whether it's on the right or the left, so that we can make the most of those characteristics and create more chances to score goals.