“Confidence and responsibility to extend the momentum”

PREVIEW

Following Benfica's great European triumph in Monaco (2-3), Bruno Lage said that the positive lessons learned from that match, but also from the work carried out over the last three months, give the eagles optimism for this Sunday's match against Arouca (6:00 pm, at the Estádio Municipal de Arouca), on matchday 12 of the Liga Betclic. "That's what gives us the confidence and responsibility to extend our momentum", he stressed.

How did the comeback in the last game [a 2-3 win at Monaco] affect Benfica's morale? Do you hope that this confidence and these positive feelings can be reflected in the game at Arouca?

It's not just the feeling we bring back from the last game. It's the feeling we bring back from the last three months, and that's the most important thing. It's about looking back, and at every moment having the opportunity to evolve and grow. We made another comeback, in Monaco, it was three precious points, and it gave us that momentary happiness of winning that game. I'd like to take advantage of your question to look back a little on these three months. It's been three months, but it's been three months of hard work. Just so you have an idea, in the last three months we've had 58 training sessions; of those 58, we've had 23 with the full squad; and of those 23, we've had 9 training sessions, either after the game, or training sessions like the one today, before the game, to practice what our dynamics are. That's nine training sessions in three months. So it's not just about looking at the good things that happened in Monaco, it's about looking at the good things we've been doing over the last three months. That's what gives us the confidence and also the responsibility to continue and extend our momentum tomorrow [Sunday, December 1].

Di María's increase in performance has been noticeable since Bruno Lage arrived at Benfica, and much has been associated with his management of the player. Is Di María the key player in this Benfica team? Is he the player in the squad who needs the most management from you in order to keep up this good performance?

What's worth highlighting is the team's performance, because we're really pleased with everyone. Speaking of Di María, we're very happy with him because he really is a great player. I've now had the pleasure of working with him and realizing that he's also a great man, and the example of this is seeing him, in the last few minutes [of Monaco-Benfica], sitting on the bench and suffering so much, almost as if it were a World Cup final. The way he suffered and then celebrated the victory with his teammates... Management is about looking at each player individually and understanding the best way to get the best out of them, so it's like I said before. He doesn't get special treatment, we just have to look at each of them as individuals, how they recover, because there are players who recover better than others, particularly with three or four days between games, and then make the best decisions based on that.

In less than a month, Benfica will have seven games. The way you've managed Di María has made all the difference. Can you spare the player, leaving him out of some games, so that he's stronger, fitter, for decisive Champions League games, for the game with Sporting, too, for example? And also the purpose of that team reunion at the end of the game: was it an inward message, or an outward one, to the fans?

I'll start with the team circle. It wasn't a message, either inward or outward. In my opinion, what happened was simply an act of leadership. When the game was over, I greeted the 4th official, went towards midfield to greet him, and I really felt a great sense of joy and a great sense of accomplishment. And that's exactly what I did, I complimented him on his efforts to win, I conveyed my belief in the process, in the work, in the training, and then my vision. We're happy with that win, but there's a future ahead of us, as you said, of 7/8 games until the end of the year, which are very important for us. More than communicating, I think it was an act of leadership that I felt I should have done at that moment. Because that has to be our nature, we were happy with the win we had in Monaco, but we can't be satisfied. Anyone who coaches Benfica can't be satisfied with that, and our vision has to be more. That's why I've been saying recently that our goal in terms of the league, by the end of this year, with the games we have ahead of us, is to reach 2nd place and reduce the gap to 1st. On the first question, everyone has to manage, because we have to have this vision, but at the same time we have to have our eyes on the ball, and our eyes on the ball is tomorrow's game [matchday 12 of the Liga Betclic, against Arouca]. That's the most important thing, so we have to manage on a daily basis. Di María didn't play against Bayern Munich, not to be spared for the following games, but because I believed that was the best strategy and the best eleven for that game. That's how I decide, at every moment, the performance of the players, to understand how they [the players] recover. Because we have no margin for error in the competitions we play. That's why management has to be daily, and the commitment has to be to tomorrow's game [Sunday, December 1]. And tomorrow's game is against a very competent opponent who likes to have the ball. I've just watched several Arouca games, at least now with Vasco [Seabra]. I saw the game with SC Braga [1-2, in favor of the Arsenalistas], in which Braga played a good game and beat Arouca, but Arouca also played a great game and had more possession. Vasco proved last year that he's a very competent coach and that he can beat the big teams. So tomorrow [Sunday], our Champions League game and our long-term vision has to be in those 90 minutes, to play with quality and win the game. I'd also like to say that, as far as squad management is concerned, I think the only player who hasn't played for us in the last three months is Tiago [Gouveia], due to injury. They've all had the chance to play..

Regarding the management you have to do, I look at another player, another Argentine, Otamendi, who is one of the most veteran players in the team. He travels a lot, he plays 90 minutes for the national team, he plays 90 minutes for Benfica, I imagine he's a player who takes a lot of care, but don't you see the need for some rotation due to this immense competitive density, where players can be on the verge of injury?

You're talking about Nico [Otamendi], and Nico really has been a champion. I'll even take this opportunity to reinforce your point, in the sense that he's been nominated for FIFA's best eleven. It's a privilege to have players of this caliber in our squad. Nico came back from the Argentina national team with a bit of a knock - maybe he was thinking of recovering well for Monaco - and when he realized that Tomás [Araújo] wasn't available for the game, he took two steps forward to play the game with Estrela da Amadora. So it's a bit of everything, but mainly mentality. There's another thing that helps recovery, which is results. Positive results, positive displays, help. Nico has performed well. I think that in the defensive line - I congratulated the players today, because all four [Bah, Tomás Araújo, Otamendi and Álvaro Carreras] did very well - everyone has worked well, both those who have played more and those who have played less, because it's a job that we take very seriously. It really had to be as a unit: running the runs together, and running the horizontal and vertical runs. And they were very good at it, because only a cohesive defensive line like ours could stop Monaco's vertical attacks and speed. Playing every three or four days, there's always the risk of injury. That's why I said: we have to look at each of them and, regardless of age, there are players who recover better than others. Two good examples of two players who recover very well: one is Nico, the other is Fredrik [Aursnes]. They recover well and by the second, third day, you can already see signs of a very good recovery. It basically has to do with the way they treat each other off the pitch. 

You've already said in this conference that one of your goals until the end of the year is to win back points from Sporting and take 2nd place in the table. For that to happen, your rivals need to drop points. Is this just a matter of faith, or do you believe that Sporting and FC Porto will have to drop points for Benfica to get closer?

It's a question of believing in our work. That's what I said at the end of the [Monaco-Benfica] game, because if we manage to win our games between now and the end of the year, we'll win 2nd place, and we'll close the gap to 1st place. So it's belief in what we're doing, which is the most important thing.