"Our focus must be on Farense, Farense, Farense"

PREVIEW

In his preview of Benfica-Farense, on matchday 27 of the Liga Betclic, Bruno Lage emphasized the importance of remaining fully focused on the present and securing three points against the Algarve side in the match scheduled for 8:15 pm on Wednesday, April 2.

What kind of game and opponent are you expecting on Wednesday?

First and foremost, our attitude and our focus must be completely on tomorrow's game. Tomorrow, our focus must be on Farense, Farense, Farense. We have to worry about what we have to do in the game and what we control. Then it's up to me, as coach, to make sure the team plays the game we envision, according to the quality of our players and our team. I feel that Farense, although they haven't scored as much in recent results, are a very dynamic team, with results that are always very tight - 1-1, 1-0, 2-1. So we have to be at our best. In recent games we've had a line of five, sometimes with three central midfielders, sometimes with two full-backs and a player I know very well, like Rony [Lopes], joining the defensive line and making up the line of five. So it's also a team with a very strong quality in transitions, the three men up front are very strong, they're technically very developed, there are people who shoot very well too. So, all in all, that's it: completely focused on what we control and on our game. Anticipating some of your questions - I know this is a speech that sometimes gets repeated - our focus has to be on tomorrow's game, on what Farense is. And I say it here as much as I say it in the dressing room: it's Farense, Farense, Farense.

Given this game and the situations of Di María and Florentino, players who are on the brink of suspension, as they say, and the question of Tomás Araújo, with the physical problems he's been having, are you going to do any management? His focus is on Farense, but then there's an important game, the derby, with FC Porto...

Yes, but choosing and deciding on the best eleven to win tomorrow [Wednesday]. It's not just Tomás, and nowadays, playing every three days, there's always one player or another who has to play with a knock, with an ailment. It's about understanding the best line-up to field tomorrow, to win the game. And over the last two months we've opted for that, making a few changes to what we see as our starting position, depending on the dynamic, and also depending on the spaces we want to find to create our chances. It's going to be based on that, looking at what I've described, at Farense's dynamics, looking at our team, at each player's moment, and making sure that the team plays a game according to its quality and the quality of our players.

You mentioned here last week that, in your opinion, there are 4 candidates for the title. Maybe I'd split those 4 in half, there are 4 contenders and 2 favorites, if you like. Looking at this weekend's matches, do you consider and recognize that Benfica is, at this point, of the top four, the one playing the best football?

No, it's not just looking at this weekend's matches, it's also looking at the matches at the end of the Championship. That's why I say the four teams that are contenders. Whether we're favorites or not, we have to do our job. We have to make the demand, which is: at our club, we have to be favorites, and, also in accordance with the demands of our fans, we have to play quality football. I've been talking about this for some time, about finding that consistency. The team has shown that consistency. IRegardless of who plays, the team has shown good dynamics and it's up to me, as coach, to ensure that our players always do. Sometimes that's our job, to get great players to play as a team and make sure that they're always on top, that they can do things, do them well, consistently. 

From an emotional point of view, what message are you sending out to the players at the moment, bearing in mind that it's a game against the second-to-last team in the table, and then there's the game against FC Porto? Do you feel that, even from the players' point of view, there can sometimes be a temptation to take your foot off the gas on a particular pitch, to manage the effort, bearing in mind next Sunday's match, which could be decisive in the fight for the title?

There isn't, because the way we coach, we don't allow that to happen. That's why I told you, and I'm sorry to repeat it, it's up to me as a coach to make sure they do things well, consistently. And the way we've been training is with that demand. In terms of consistency - which we were looking for - we've had two months in which the team is growing, it's showing dynamics, the players are understanding more and more what we want. At the last conference we also talked about what it's like, for example, for a player like Zeki [Amdouni] - who comes from Burnley, a team that plays for certain goals - to adapt to a team as big as Benfica, which plays for other goals. Anyway, there's a lot of time and quality of work that's leading us to this consistency, and my main job is to guarantee that level of demand. And that's guaranteed in the way we train, in the demand we want to have - regardless of who's playing - to play as a team, with the quality we're playing with. Regardless of whether you play 30 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes... The player who can deliver what I want in 10 minutes can be an option in the next game. That's how they have to live, and I mean it completely: this happens with this squad, with this wealth, with two quality players in each position, and they know they have to deliver, because they also have a player of enormous quality next to them. 

Still thinking about the right-back position, I'd ask you to comment on the return of Tiago Gouveia, who is back competing for the B team, and at right-back, and whether you're thinking of him for that position. I'd like to ask you another question. Di María is a distinctive player, of course: how does your idea of the game change - if it does, I suppose - with him on the pitch or without him?

I'll start with the second [question]. Our idea doesn't change. We have certain principles that have to be the basis of our positioning on the pitch, and what our idea is in terms of the game. What we have to do from the moment we leave the goalkeeper until we reach the attacking third. Then what changes are the characteristics and quality of the players. We've used Di Maria inside, behind the winger, more open... Depending on the full-back as well, Di María has different positions. The strikers, and the men on the opposite side, it's also important to realize that when you play someone on their left foot, at that moment, when they're looking for space inside, the crosses are made in one way, as opposed to the way they would be if they were right-footed. In short, it's more the characteristics and quality of the players that change than the idea of the game. As for Tiago [Gouveia], we were really pleased to see him play 45 minutes yesterday [Monday]. I've known him in the past, and from the first hour, from a distance, I could see, on the one hand, the player's sadness at being out of action for so long, then the relapse he had, but at the same time, his resilience, his frustration, and his desire to recover as quickly as possible to make a contribution to the team. He's been training with us for two weeks now, and he's brought a lot of good energy. He's a player with very good quality, he can play up front, he's played up front in the past, he's good at shooting, he's also played as a full-back, he's got something I really like, which is crossing, he crosses very well. That's why he was available to play in the B team, he did 45 minutes with quality. We want to have him as soon as possible and ready to help the team in this final stretch. 

I'm asking you very directly if Tomás Araújo has or doesn't have pubalgia, and if there's a risk that he'll have to undergo surgery.

No, there's no risk of surgery. Thirty years ago, pubalgia was taboo, and you had to have surgery and do lots of things. Today it's completely different. The way players work, prepare, things are completely different. So what's most important is that we know how we have to manage, not just Tomás, but a squad of this quality and value, playing every three days. We're just as worried about Tomás as we are about Nico [Otamendi], for example: 37 years old, and [playing] every three days, and tomorrow [Wednesday]... well, he's the first, he's staying, he's going to play [laughs].