"Give our fans another great European night"

PREVIEW

Winning and "playing good football" are the Eagles' goals for the Benfica-Qarabag match, corresponding to Matchday 1 of the Champions League (league phase), scheduled for this Tuesday, September 16, at 8 pm, at Estádio da Luz. This was confirmed by coach Bruno Lage in his preview of the European clash.

What will Benfica's approach be against Qarabag? Do you feel the team is ready to respond in this game?

I feel the team is motivated to repeat the performance we showed in the four international games we played this year. The team is extremely eager to repeat the good performances we had last year in the Champions League. That is the main goal for tomorrow's game [Tuesday]: to win the game, get the three points, play good football, and once again give our fans a great European night.

How is the team doing after the last game, which ended in a draw, with some criticism? Did that affect Benfica in any way? What can't you do in this game, or you'll be punished with a negative result?

Anyone who trains Benfica knows that we have sky-high demands. We have to play well; it's not enough just to win titles, we have to play well. So, after a bad result, the players and the team can't afford to look back; we have to look forward. We have a long way to go in terms of developing our game. We looked at what we were talking about last year – and I can go down that road from the coach's perspective... And speaking only in offensive terms, because in defensive terms, we quickly returned to last year's levels. We are a very strong team, perhaps one of the best in Europe, pressing the ball out of the goalkeeper's build-up. In defensive transition, and we talked a lot about this, we are much more aggressive than we used to be. Offensively – this is my opinion – we are working hard and trying to resolve an issue we had last year, which we have discussed here several times: building play from the goalkeeper, building from the center backs, our connection through the midfielders, controlling the game more with the ball, and we have enormous room for improvement, fundamentally in the offensive end. We have to create more dynamics, we have to create more movement, we have to put our best players in scoring positions, we have to create more scoring opportunities, and we have to score more goals. We are aware of this and we have a long way to go. As we get the opportunity to train and work, we talk to the players, we work in that direction, and tomorrow [Tuesday], I believe that the team can come back, as it has done this year, to play a good game, get a good result, win the 3 points, and once again give our fans a great European night.

Focusing on the question of aggressiveness and intensity, are you close to what you want, or still far away? In the last game, there seemed to be a lack of ideas for putting players in scoring positions. From the little time you've seen Sudakov at work, can this player bring that kind of novelty?

I notice that – even from the way we look at our yellow card record, we see that. What I ask, and make a point of reinforcing to my players, is that we need to have much aggressiveness. That was a fundamental point, we started the season with that in mind, and we are on that path. It's about continuing to evolve. The offensive third is something we need to improve. So, when I look at the game, I think we are pragmatic in what we have built, our evolution in building, our control of the game, and we clearly need to make a big improvement in our dynamics. A little while ago, a colleague of yours from Sport TV asked me to look at how we started the season. It was nine games, 13 goals [scored], which is representative of this season. I prefer to look at my record as Benfica's coach, 140 or 141 games and 330-odd goals scored. So, I believe that good football and goals will come, because I know this club very well. Last year, we had moments when that good football appeared, so it's a matter of time and hard work, and it will surely appear again.

Regarding what you just said: sitting on the other side of the bench, if you weren't Benfica's coach, would you be satisfied with the team's performances?

I said after the last game that we weren't satisfied with what we did. I'm the first to identify what we lacked last season and what we're building now, and what we have to do. It's also important – Pavlidis touched on this subject, I'm not going to talk about the weather – to look at what we brought from last season, some issues, fundamentally, in defensive transition, where I felt the team needed to be more aggressive, and I think we're on the right track. In terms of building, mainly by our center backs, and controlling the game with the ball, I think we are on the right track. We really need to work much more on the offensive. But there was a big goal at the beginning of the season, which was divided into other goals: to attack this and then, in 20-odd days, win a Super Cup. We were very pragmatic about that, in terms of immediate results, as I said. Super Cup, securing access to the Champions League – which is why we are here – and winning as many points as possible until the end of the first cycle. We did that, sometimes playing well, sometimes playing not so well. We are starting a new cycle, and after what I told you, realizing that we were not satisfied with what happened in the last game, realizing where we need to make the team grow and continue to work.

For this game, do you expect to face a team like Santa Clara, with a low block, defensive? Considering Benfica's performance against Santa Clara, does that cause you any concern?

That's an excellent question, but you don't change the characteristics and quality of your squad based on what you see. Santa Clara knows how to play this game very well. Vasco [Matos] is doing a very good job, fantastic. Just look at their record in terms of results against the big three and the way they play. He does this very well. If I ask my players to take that position, they won't do it. I watched our opponent [Qarabag] play against Ferencváros, Lyon, and Olympiacos... They are a team with a different positioning. That's why I believe the strategy and the game will be completely different.

About the game and the Champions League, which is starting now. Looking at the league phase, what is Benfica's goal for this season in the Champions League? Is it to repeat what was achieved last year, to try to surpass that record? And, while we're at it, regarding the game, I know you're not going to reveal anything about the starting eleven, but is there any chance of a surprise, as happened with Samu [Samuel Soares] in Alverca?

Samu has played more often this year [smiles]. What is important for us to be aware of, and fundamentally for our fans, is that we always prepare for the game in the best way possible and choose the best starting eleven for each moment and each game. We know our opponent very well, and we had the opportunity to work with the players on that. Tomorrow [Tuesday] we have one more day, which will allow us to see how everyone is doing and choose the best starting eleven. Our goals must always be to win, so we know what our fans expect. As a coach, I know what it means to be Benfica's coach, and the players – they had a good example here [Pavlidis]—know what it means to play for Benfica. We have a very clear goal, and that's what I said when we played the Super Cup: regardless of the time and place of the game, and the days between games, we have to go there and win the game, with lots of goals, and play good football. That's what we demand of ourselves, and we know it.

So, the goal is to be European champions, is that it?

It's to win the next game.