“Very proud to be part of the history of the 1st Club World Cup”

Rui Costa, President of Sport Lisboa e Benfica, reacted to the draw of the group stage of the first Club World Cup that took place this Thursday, December 5, in Miami, United States. “The most important thing right now is that we can be part of this history, and we're very proud,” he said.

Knowing that the eagles will face Boca Juniors, Auckland City and Bayern Munich, Rui Costa, speaking to the press in the mixed zone, made it clear that his ambitions are to qualify for the next stage of the competition.

"It's a difficult group, a very difficult group. I think that for all of us, for all 32 teams, the most important thing right now is to be able to be part of this history of the 1st Club World Cup, and we're very proud to be part of this history. We played Boca [Juniors], one of the most historic teams in the world, on matchday 1. We have many traditions in Portugal of Argentinian players. At the moment we have four Argentinian players. We've had a lot of players who came from Boca, Boca has had players who came from Benfica. We have an interesting and beautiful symbiosis here. These are two teams that are absolutely going to be fighting to get through. It's a difficult group, but we all have the same ambitions, and we're all going to try to move forward in this historic moment for world football, which is the Club World Cup," he said.

Rui Costa was also asked about Di María's “superlative” moment and didn't hide his pride at being able to count on an athlete of the caliber of the Argentine world champion.

"Di María arrived in Europe, at Benfica, when he was 17 or 18. For us, he's like a player we've developed. We have great affection for Di María, just as Di María has great affection for the club, for Benfica.I also believe that's why he's in the condition he is today, with more enthusiasm. He looks like he's never won anything in football, and he's looking to win something. That's very important for us, he's a symbol. He came back to Benfica, today he's world champion, he's very dear to all of us. It's a long season. We signed a first one-year contract, we signed a second one-year contract... The relationship that I have with Di María and that Di María has with the club means that we can get closer to the end of the season and evaluate, and we can both talk.  The relationship between the President and the player and between the player and the club has always been very good, very sincere and honest, and so we all have time to assess all the situations, and right now what matters to us is that we're very happy and very proud that he's there with us, just like Otamendi," he claimed.

The President of Sport Lisboa e Benfica went on to highlight Otamendi's role in the team. "Nico is our captain. What I said about Di María, I also say about Nico. The difference is that Di María started very young with us, and Nico arrived and is now team captain, more than a symbol of the club, more than a reference point for all his teammates. There's an important match coming up [with Boca Juniors], because we know he's a River fan, but we'll see what happens between now and then. This World Cup is going to be a phase in which the contracts are finished, but we're convinced that we'll have both of them at the World Cup," he finished.