“We really want to play and we're ready”

PREVIEW

Benfica “really want to play the game” this Thursday, December 19, at 5 pm, against Nacional, a game in hand from matchday 8 of the Liga Betclic, to be played at the Estádio da Madeira. Bruno Lage, the eagles' coach, underlined the team's determination to win the three points.

Bearing in mind that this game has already started, but that more than two months have passed in the meantime, I ask you: is Nacional a different team?

Yes. It's the evolution of two months, I believe that with time and training, and particularly a team playing once a week, I've had time to train and consolidate processes. The fact that you won the last game, for example, which always brings a very positive energy to the team... From the start, the eleven is set, and we've looked a lot at what the first three or four minutes [of the game] were like, and we've also looked a lot at what Nacional have done recently. So, what's important to note is that they're a team that usually plays in 4x4x2, with a good dynamic, both in the long and short exits, with different dynamics in the lateral corridors. A deeper left-back, a not-so-deep right-back, but always with the ability to cross in the middle of midfield, trying to cross and put balls into the box for either the winger or the striker. I think it's going to be a difficult game, it's always difficult to play at Choupana, but what's most important to say right now is that we really want to play the game, we're prepared to play the game, and we really want to play the game.

I asked you about the reason for the postponement of this game, the heavy fog at Choupana, which is also forecast for tomorrow [Thursday, December 19] by the IPMA. How is Benfica taking care of this? Do you foresee this possibility? Is anything being considered in terms of a possible postponement?

Look, what we and the players thought about was playing the game. That's why we didn't put any other option on the table, we prepared for the game the way we have been doing, and we're very determined to play. What we want right now is to play. There are regulations about these situations, it's a fact that this is the second time it's been repeated, the information we've had is that in the last two months nothing special has happened, and today we find ourselves in the same situation as two months ago. I don't want to say anything that isn't true, but I think that what the regulations say is that if the match doesn't take place tomorrow it could have to take place the next day, but we haven't put that into consideration. What we have in mind is to play, we have a lot of desire and ambition to play the next game as soon as possible.

Playing the next day?

It's one thing at a time. First, that the plane has the conditions to leave here, land in Funchal, and then get to the stadium, see if [the match] can take place and then, yes, I'll be happy to answer your question at that time.

Benfica are coming off the back of two consecutive draws, and that hasn't happened under Bruno Lage. I'd like to ask you if the team is somewhat shaken, and if you also feel that it's going through a period of lesser display. Do you sense any decline in the team's display?

Look, I'm going to take your last question from the [press] conference here, where you talked about the last three months. And I've said it a few times, which is: there are moments in the game that we haven't controlled as well as we'd like. So do you remember the question you asked about the three months? When I look at what the three months have been like - and I've had a chance to think about it - I feel that we've reorganized the team, we know the real position of some players, we've promoted the attacking play we want, and we've created lots of goal-scoring opportunities. We're averaging around three goals a game. These are real facts about what we've done in the last three months, and I'm answering the question you asked earlier, but I still feel that there are moments in the game where we need to evolve. And one of them is the way we still don't control the game in certain moments with the ball. There are times when we win the ball back and in one or two touches we lose the ball, and that forces us to transition defensively and run around in ways we didn't want to, which puts even more strain on the team. The evolution of these moments is in search... it's searched for in training, it's searched for with training time, and training time is repetition, it's repetition, it's making the players believe that they can evolve. That's why we have the opportunity to train some moments of the game that we haven't yet controlled, like the one I've just mentioned.

The President said: “May we spend Christmas in first place.” Can those words put any pressure on the team? The next result was a draw.

Yes, but it's not a consequence of the President's words. The ambition of this club is enormous. After the game with Monaco... It was even that challenge for me to start looking ahead... I felt we could win 2nd place, get closer to 1st, and those goals remain. There's always pressure, we're always under pressure, especially when we're here in this position, as Benfica's coach, as Benfica's players, so our pressure is daily, it's to win every game. Our demands are maximum, and my assessment of the moments must also be maximum. Of course, as a coach, I can't be satisfied with the 2nd half we played. I was pleased with the five changes we made in the first half and the chances we created, and we really could have had a different result at half-time; I wasn't happy with our second half. Now, none of that means that our objective won't be achieved, and our objective is to finish in 1st place. What I believe is that today, in the last three months, we're better, we're in a position where it's only up to us to be champions; and I really believe, from the response the players are giving - even today, the desire to get the next game done as soon as possible - that it's with this squad that the team will be national champions or win titles for Benfica.

Luisão worked directly with Jorge Jesus and Roger Schmidt as Benfica's technical director and has just announced his return to Brazil to take on a new career project. There is still no position from Benfica regarding the position of technical director. Are you already thinking about a successor for Luisão, or is there, on the other hand, a chance that he'll remain in office?

Look, I think that's a topic that doesn't come up in our daily lives. Luisão was a reference as a player, he was captain, he was a leader, he worked directly with the previous technical teams, we didn't have that opportunity. I believe that, with time, Benfica will eventually communicate, if they do, someone for that position. What I wish Luisão, because we've met several times, is great success in this new project.