“Focus, determination, and aggressiveness to win”

PREVIEW

Emphasizing that the focus is entirely on the Benfica-match, Bruno Lage promised a concentrated and committed team to win the 3 points in this Saturday's match, August 23, in Matchday 3 of the Liga Betclic.

Looking at the numbers, Benfica started the season with four wins without conceding a goal, and also with five official games without conceding a goal. How do you explain these numbers? How can Tondela challenge Benfica's defensive record?

We haven't spoken in a long time [smiles], we haven't spoken in 36 hours, let's see if we have a lot to talk about today. I'll start with a cliché: the most important game is the next one. And I say this with all sincerity. The Champions League is important, it brings prestige to the players, it brings prestige to the club, financially it's also very important, strategically it's very important... I have a few thoughts here about what we did last year: we reached the round of 16 in the Champions League, we were the Portuguese team that earned the most points for Portugal's ranking, we broke revenue records, but in the end we weren't champions, and what Benfica fans want is to be champions. So our focus has to be entirely on the Championship, on the game against Tondela. On the one hand, there are three points we want to win, on the other hand, we know that we also have a lot to lose in this type of game. So, the direction I want to take in this conference is focus, concentration, determination, commitment, and aggressiveness to beat Tondela. It's a team that has a very experienced coach, Ivo [Vieira], who has always done a good job. Tondela's two results are a bit misleading. The team has a very interesting style of play, is very strong in building up plays, has a player I know very well who used to play for me at Wolverhampton [Joe Hodge], three very interesting forwards who attack deep, and a striker with a very interesting goal record. Therefore, we have to be very focused and very committed to winning the game, which is the most important thing.

After the Fenerbahçe game, you said you preferred a good result to a good performance, given that Benfica is playing every three days. When the results don't come and the performances start to disappoint, how will you justify yourself to the fans?

We have to talk about each moment as it happens. Look, I'm going to use another cliché: Rome wasn't built in a day. Right now, we have to win, and then we'll have time to convince people. When we look at the five games, there have been games where we played very well, we were praised, even by you, for sharing certain collective moments of the team and scoring many goals. So, right now, the result comes first, and I have complete confidence. It's August, we've had a very positive start to the season, we're satisfied at the moment, but we know we all have to give much more. So, right now, first we have to win, and then we'll have time to convince.

Going back to numbers, you mentioned the strength of the defense, but to win games you need to score goals. In these first five games, Benfica's six goals scored are the worst record in the last 15 years. At the end of the game against Fenerbahçe, Pavlidis said that the team needs to be more aggressive and creative in attack. That said, do you still believe that Benfica doesn't need creative players and that it has internal solutions, or does it need other solutions to make its attack more effective?

Pavlidis actually said something that we had commented on right after the game, which was to give a preview of what the next game would be like: to be more aggressive in the final third. We started the game very well, in the first minute we had a great opportunity from [Richard] Ríos, and that's why he made that comment. But I wanted to look at what you said and also answer your questions, and your comment, with a question of my own. Do you remember the last season when Benfica started like this? Regardless of the goals, but with 4 games, 4 wins, and 0 goals conceded... It's the first time, that's why you don't remember. This is the first time. We are doing this, this group of players is doing this, and I repeat, without having holidays, without having a preseason, and they have already had 4 wins, without conceding any goals, 5 games in a row without conceding any goals and won the Super Cup. Then, if you want to look at the number of goals... You said that in the last 15 years it was the worst start... If you look at 60, 70 years, in 6 seasons that are at the top, two have a record of a Portuguese coach.

You said that Benfica fans really wanted Benfica to be champions. You also acknowledged that, at the end of the game against Estrela da Amadora, they were unhappy with the performance. Objectively speaking, knowing that Rome wasn't built in a day, what does the team need to improve right now?

The team has to keep working, look at the things it has done very well, continue and have the consistency that we need to have. So, as I say: it's August, we have five or six weeks of work, we have to give much more of ourselves to achieve our goals. Now, what I can assure you is that at this moment I feel the team is very motivated to continue to build on this start to the season, knowing that it can grow. Players who have arrived recently, there are players who only two or three days ago had their own homes, they were in hotels... In other words, we are doing everything at the same time, and at this moment with this record. We are satisfied, we want more, because we know very well what our fans demand.

I ask you if, with this competitive density, do you plan to change the team against Tondela?  

I hope to field the best starting eleven possible. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Besiktas for allowing us to train at their training center. Because it's a race against time, we ended up training yesterday [Thursday] in Istanbul at the Besiktas training center, where we were very well received. So, it's a matter of seeing how the players recover, and tomorrow [Saturday] morning, deciding on the best eleven to win the game.

Regarding Aktürkoğlu, can you guarantee that he will stay at Benfica?

I think I've answered that question several times... I'll repeat: Aktürkoğlu is very happy, he is fully committed to Benfica. If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have had the start to the season that he did and played the game he did against Fenerbahçe. On the other hand: there is an offer, it's in the hands of the President. Now, what I feel about the player is that he is fully committed to Benfica and wants to help the team win games, just as he did against Fenerbahçe.