“Benfica is a giant club”

MÍSTICA A DOIS

Rui Águas, one of the iconic forwards in Benfica's history - a descendant of the mythical José Águas - and Arthur Cabral, a forward in the professional football team, had a chat in the 6th episode of Mística a Dois, against the backdrop of the Brazilian player's 50 official games with an eagle on his chest.

RUI ÁGUAS: Fifty games, you've just completed in the last one. Any special significance? No?

ARTHUR CABRAL: Very special. Playing 50 games for a team like Benfica is something to celebrate. To be happy, to be proud, it's not for everyone. I know it's not a huge milestone, but it's a path to more. One hundred games, 150... And... with achievements, which is my goal.

RA: OK. Twelve goals. Did you expect more? Did the difficulty of the club's demands shock you in any way? What did you think…

AC: So I certainly expected more, didn't I? You know, you've played in the same position as me, so you know, we go into every game thinking not only about winning games, but also about trying to help, doing what we do best, which is scoring goals. So, of course, I really wanted to get to that moment and score more goals than I did in the teams I played for. And unfortunately there isn't a better record to be celebrating here, but it's not a reason to be - how can I put it? - disappointing myself here, but a reason, yes, to strive for more and to improve and evolve.

RA: Positive, looking ahead and believing that things can be better.

AC: What can happen.

RA: A special game, more special than the others? Do you remember any of these 50, or not so much?

AC: The game against SC Braga [SLB-SCB, 3-2, 10/01/2024] at the Estádio da Luz was very special. I think it was one of my best games here in a Benfica jersey.

RA: I don't remember anymore. Did you score?

AC: I scored a goal. I scored a goal, made an assist and had a good game too. We won a difficult game in which we were losing. And when I scored, I went to celebrate with the fans. And it's a very, very special day for me.

RA: Speaking of goals, what's your favorite of those you've scored for Benfica? Do you have any? You've scored some beautiful ones.

AC: The Champions League match in which I scored against...

RC: The goal with the back heel? That was very important.

AC: Yes, with my back heel, against Salzburg. It was an important goal, in a game in which I came on as a late substitute. How do you say it? Stoppage time?

RA: Yes, stoppage time.

AC: I came on in stoppage time, and it was a goal that got us into the Europa League. It's a very special goal for me too.

RA: I didn't have much of a flair for juggling, but there are some goals that you have that are very beautiful, different. You even look for it... sometimes you tend to dominate backwards rather than forwards...

AC: I often say that... how can I put it? The striker, the center-forward, needs to have resources, doesn't he? Resource to score the goal. Our goal is to get the ball in. So... the goal with a back heel, the goal with a bicycle kick is worth just as much as the goal with a sliding finish. So for me, what I try to have in my head is the ability to make the right decision at the moment, regardless of what it is. Sometimes the ball is a little behind me, so I put my heel down, sometimes the ball…

RA: It's a resource, it's a resource.

AC: Sometimes it's even due to a control that goes a bit wrong, so you have to find a way to fix it, to kick with your left leg, kick with your right leg, adjust your body, so often a bicycle kick comes out, sometimes a trivela comes out, a different shot comes out simply because you have to finish quickly.

RA: Yes, yes.

AC: Often we don't have the time inside the box to... oh, I've got it, I'll give it one more touch to get the perfect finish.

RA: And miss the window of opportunity..

AC: Yeah, you don't have that kind of time, so if the ball is here, you have to finish, if the ball is here, you have to finish. So a lot of the time you end up with different things..

RA: It's also good to change things up.

AC: [Laughs]

RA: You think that the question of numbers is too important for the forward in relation to the fans, in relation to the press. There's always a numerical relationship with the forward, and less value placed on what the forward does as a job. Do you agree?

AC: Yeah, I have to agree, don't I?

RA: The reality.

AC: It's the reality, not least because I believe that our position is one where you can't go unnoticed during matches. Whether the team wins or not, there are often other positions where you can go unnoticed...

AC: Taking advantage of the fact that we're here, you, who know your way around a goal much better than I do, have scored many more goals in your career, at Benfica, you know? If you have any tips, anything that can help me, I'd really appreciate it...

RA: [Laughs] I was top scorer once. We were champions, the team, well, you depend on the team, the production of the team, the atmosphere of the team, and I took advantage of that too... Technically, you have what I had too... I had a special flair for the aerial game, so I think the mental issue is very, very important... The way you don't score in a game, but then you still believe you're going to score. I think that's the best tip [laughs] I can give.

AC: Very welcome tip.

RA: The issue of understanding with your teammates naturally grows. It's difficult to train with the amount of games you have. For example, when I was younger, my winger knew better what I wanted from him. For example, I tended to rotate around the far post and then attack behind the center back...

AC: Yes...

RA: And I got a lot out of it... If this understanding is more complicated to achieve today…

AC: Yeah, it helps a lot, doesn't it? We have, for example, players who have been here since last season, I can already understand better, for example, when Di María has the ball, I can understand better what he can do, where he can give a ball, when Kökcü has the ball, or Florentino... who are players who have been here longer with me...

RA: They already know you, and you know them...

AC: É... So, with the newer players, we get to understand their style of play, what they can give me, what they're best at, so these are things that help a lot, don't they?

RA: Something I particularly like about you... I really value the way someone comes on, whether it's one minute, three minutes, six minutes, whatever it is... someone who comes off the bench in a mood that, regardless of the time they have, they come on 100 percent... It's something I admire, and something I tried to do when it happened to me. That's why our responsibility, yours and mine, is that, in the time we're given, nobody has anything to say about us. And I was very concerned about that, and I see in you what I felt... And that way of coming on has helped the team several times, even with goals, contributing. So it's a question that, I think, speaks well of your mind.

AC: It's like you said, isn't it? It's the mental part. For us, as football players, we have to be mentally well, mentally up to date, and I think that's very much part of the mental aspect. Of course, we always want to play, that's normal for footballers. It's about wanting to get more minutes, wanting to start games, but then there's the mental part of, even if you don't start games, even if you have less time, being able to keep motivated, keep focused and enjoy as many minutes as you can, three, five, ten, enjoy them in the best possible way and try to get more minutes, gain more confidence from...

RA: From the coach.

AC: From the coach, the staff, even from yourself

RA: That's a good - excellent - example for everyone. It's a demonstration of... humility, which we talked about at the beginning, in relation to the responsibility of this jersey, which you say... shirt?

AC: Shirt  [Laughs]…

RA: How do you feel after all this time? Whether it's in Portugal or wherever Benfica play, they're always in the majority, usually, and when you travel abroad you'll find Benfiquistas everywhere too…

AC: Yes…

RA: Just your opinion on the demand that you've realized exists since you arrived, and that it's difficult, isn't it?

AC: Yes, yes, Benfica is a giant. It's a giant. We play here in Portugal, every game we play, 90% of the games have more of our fans, our fans are louder than the others, so it's a pressure that you know exists. We've played abroad, we played a friendly in France, and there were a lot of people there, fans. Once, when I was in Switzerland, I sometimes go there to visit my son...

RA: Switzerland has a lot of Portuguese people.

AC: Yes, there are a lot of Portuguese people, and some people have stopped me, because they're Portuguese and because they're Benfica fans, to talk to me, to wish me good luck, in short, it's a pressure that you already know exists, because it's a club like Benfica, which is a giant club...

RA: But also support, you feel supported...

AC: That's right.

RA: You're at home a little bit all over the world.

AC: Exactly, exactly. It's very cool. It's every player's dream, there's no way you can be a footballer and not want to play for a club like Benfica, a giant club, a massive club, a club with titles, history, so it's an achievement to arrive at a club like this, to play 50 games, to be on top of the season, it's a great motivation, to want to mark history, and mark my name...

RA: Responsibility too, right?...

AC: Exactly.

RA: How are you and your teammates doing at this stage, how do you see the rest of the season? We already know that it's difficult, that the start wasn't good, but if you feel strong enough for things to keep getting better...

AC: Yes, yes. Unfortunately, we're coming off the back of a bad result, aren't we? But I don't think so, it's not a result that's going to take away the confidence of our group, we've shown that we have a strong group, we've played some excellent games before, unfortunately this defeat has happened now, but it's something that's going to strengthen us even more, to show us our mistakes, to be able to put them right and, with these corrections, we'll be pursuing our goals for the season, it's to win again in the next game on Sunday, anyone who wears the Benfica shirt knows that you always have to win, and try to recover the points lost in the Champions League, in the next game, too, and now the focus is also on our League, isn't it? On Sunday, we have a very difficult game against Rio Ave, and we'll try to turn things around in front of our fans, in our stadium.

RA: I've been Benfica fan since I was a little boy. My father captained Benfica many years ago, he was one of the most famous players, he was the player who lifted the European Cup twice, so Benfica has been part of my life for me from a very early age. Every professional wears the jersey in a serious way, if one day you're going to remember the great club you were at...

AC: That's for sure. Benfica will mark my history, that's for sure. I'll take Benfica into my life. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to wear the Benfica jersey.

RA: Your little boy will also have to be from Benfica [laughs]...

AC: My son for sure. My son probably has five Benfica jerseys already. I'm sure that affection will grow.