“Our ambition is to win the Portuguese Cup”

PREVIEW

Giving a “Benfica image” and winning is what coach Bruno Lage wants for the match against Pevidém, this Saturday, October 19, at 8:15 pm, at the Estadio Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas, in the 3rd round of the Portuguese Cup.

What do you know about this opponent? What kind of game do you expect tomorrow [Saturday, October 19] in Moreira de Cónegos?

We prepared for this game just as we prepared for the last two, both against Nacional and Atlético [Madrid]. We've had this period of time in which we've been able, even with only a few players, to take a look at ourselves and work a little on some of the dynamics we could work on. Then, in the last three days, with the squad, we prepared for a game that will be typical of the [Portuguese] Cup. In my opinion, it's a very well-organized and well-worked team, with good dynamics, interesting players, particularly the movement of Araki and Pedrinho, two players who give the team dynamics. As such, we're expecting a [Portuguese] Cup match, but the way we prepared for it, as I said, was similar to the way we prepared for the last two. The way we trained yesterday [Thursday] and today [Friday], with the whole group, makes us really confident that we can play a good game, win, continue what we've been doing for the last month, and keep going in a competition that we have the ambition to win.

A few days ago it emerged that Benfica is being accused of sporting corruption and tax fraud. As a coach, how have you seen all this? What impact does it have on you? Has President Rui Costa spoken to you or the team to reassure you?

The President [Rui Costa] talks to us about the team's day-to-day issues, and that's the most important thing. As coach, I have two obligations: to prepare the team in the best possible way, and for the team to go out on the pitch tomorrow [Saturday] giving the image of Benfica that we want. The other things... I understand your [journalists'] questions, but my concern and responsibility is what the team is doing, preparing the team and tomorrow [Saturday] presenting a good image on the pitch. 

Andreas Schjelderup has been nominated for Golden Boy 2024. He's coming off the back of two good games for Norway's U-21 team, scoring three goals, but he hasn't had many minutes in the Benfica team. He's seen as a very promising player, who cost Benfica a lot of money. He's very young, it's true, but what's missing for him to establish himself in Benfica's first team?

Almost all of them must have cost a lot of money, so at that level he's on a par with all his teammates. What Andreas [Schjelderup] and his colleagues who haven't played as much have lacked is opportunity. We got into this situation as the season was going on, and we had to sort things out and prepare a team to play a cycle. We didn't make many changes to the team, because the aim at that time was to win games and prepare the team to perform at the level I think it could. We're still in that process. The most important thing is that we're satisfied with the work the players are doing and that, at any given moment, as soon as they get a chance, they'll be able to match it. I don't want to mislead you, we can confirm this information later, because one of my assistants told me, and I've been in doubt for some time, I think Andreas will make his league debut at the Estádio da Luz with us, so it's all a question of them preparing in training, and when the opportunity arises for them to play, they'll perform. We've been pleased with the team that has been playing, we've been very pleased with the players who have come in and helped the team to put in good performances, to score goals, to continue with the record that we want to have during the 90 minutes, so it's up to him and everyone else to remain focused and prepared so that, at every opportunity, they can match it.

You've said that your focus is on preparing the team in the best possible way, not just for this game, but for any game that comes up. Does the fact that there is an issue with potentially serious consequences for what is the Benfica institution make that preparation more difficult? Is there a need to shield the group because Benfica could be suspended from competitions if anything is proven?

Well, that's what you've touched on. If anything is proven... There's a process that will have to take place, because it's ongoing, so, as I'm neither a lawyer nor a judge... What I am is a coach, and my focus is on preparing the team. The best way for us to focus the players or shield them is for them to look to me and my coaching staff as examples. That's why everything we talk about between us is about training, the game, which way the team can go, what kind of dynamics it can have, getting to know the players better, because we have interesting players who can play in more than one position. You [journalists] have seen that over the last month. Then there's the way we've prepared for tomorrow's game [Saturday], similar to the one against Nacional and the one against Atlético [Madrid]. The players looking at us in that sense is the best example to keep the team focused on giving Benfica an image tomorrow [Saturday].

He said that the team is still in a process of evolution and growth since he arrived. Kökcü himself, in the national team, said that the team has shown good results and performances, but that they can still do better. What do you want the team to do to reach that even higher level, not least in view of the cycle of seven games coming up, some more difficult, the Champions League, and even a clássico with FC Porto?

It's always important for the players to have that idea, because it shows the ambition we want, us as a coaching staff and them as players. It's basically what you do in pre-season, consolidate processes, have solid dynamics, relationships between them on the pitch. That takes time. At the end of the day, it's about understanding the team at every moment. How the team can play, in what systems it can play, which players can offer us certain solutions in certain positions. That's one point. And also preparing the team to play against different systems. The team has taken those sure steps, now we need time to consolidate. We're taking advantage of all the time we have to work on our dynamics and understand the best way for our team to play against certain systems. Tomorrow [Saturday], we have another very interesting challenge. Our opponents play in a line of five, with two midfielders, with Pedrinho, who moves inside, coming down to link up with the midfielder, playing as a third midfielder. That's a very interesting test, it's a challenge for us to see how the team can respond, because in the future we'll certainly come up against teams with that system.

Is Renato Sanches fit enough to play? Another question: after leading the team to the semi-final of the Portuguese Cup in 2018/19 and qualifying for the final in 2019/20 (but not being in that final), is this competition in any way more special to you?

Regarding Renato [Sanches], he already trained with the team yesterday [Thursday] and today [Friday], and the most important thing is to have the player on the pitch and feel that he's happy to be back training with the team, but we're going to do things calmly so that we don't take any steps backwards. Renato understands very well the work that is being done with him, and what we want is for him to return to the competition at the full capacity of his abilities and skills, and to be able to help the team. About the competition: it's a fact, we're going on a seven-game journey tomorrow [Saturday] and our ambition is to get Benfica back into the final and win, if possible, which is our ambition, the 27th Portuguese Cup.

The postponement of the match with Nacional has left Benfica eight points off the top of the league, albeit with a game in hand. Does that put Benfica under more pressure for this seven-game run, which ends precisely with a clássico against FC Porto?

We're always under pressure, because we have no margin for error. Our determination has to be the same, you can see it in the little habits. And the little habits can be seen in what we've done in the last two weeks. We had a rest day after the trip to Nacional, we did three training sessions and we played a training match against 1.º de Dezembro to prepare the team for the Portuguese Cup. Then, this week, as I said, we prepared for the game in the same way we prepared for the games against Nacional and Atlético [Madrid]. And it's these little habits that make us look at things this way: prepare the team, play well, we want to create more chances, we want to score more goals. We do that every day. For now, the focus is on tomorrow [Saturday], starting with a win, then three more days to prepare for another game that we want to win, and game by game we'll go with this mentality. But you don't change your mentality overnight, you gain it every day through small habits of work, training and focusing on what's most important for a football team: maximum concentration in training and in the game.