"We are working very hard"

PREVIEW

Without showing favoritism and demonstrating ambition, José Mourinho emphasized the Eagles' purpose in the preview of the FC Porto-Benfica game, on matchday 8 of the Liga Betclic, which will take place at 9:15 pm on Sunday, October 5, at Estádio do Dragão.

I would like to ask you for an update on the health of the team. I would also like to ask you: what does the Benfica team that played in London have to add to the Benfica team that will play tomorrow [Sunday] in Porto, in order to really talk about a turning point?

We are all in good health. We all trained today [Saturday]. Everything is fine. No one is unable to travel or play. Hopefully, between today and tomorrow, things will only get better and no one will get worse, but at the moment, no one is staying behind. We're all going. We played well in London, yes. We didn't score, and we could have scored with the score at 0-0, we could have scored with the score at 1-0.didn't have any defensive difficulties in controlling a high-quality opponent and we were able to control the game, especially in the second half, and create chances. We didn't score any goals. If you don't score, you can only draw, and if you don't score and concede, you lose. But basically, I would say that no two games are the same, but if we could have the same kind of control at different moments of the game, scoring and not conceding, that would obviously be the ideal situation.

I insist on this issue of the virus. I said that two days ago the situation was complicated. Will this cause changes to the starting eleven? Could Francesco Farioli spring some kind of surprise here?

No, no, no. Nothing that happened had any implications at that level. Obviously, we thought about if, if, if... but it was nothing more than ifs. As I said, today was very important for us, it was very important to know how the players were feeling. I myself—there was never any question of me not playing—wanted to see how I was feeling today. I don't want to compare myself to the players, because they are much younger than me and are much better prepared physically than I am. But I also wanted to get a feel for how I was feeling today. Today I felt perfectly normal, the players are fine. So, as long as there are no setbacks in any of the developments—everyone is fine—I can make my decisions, regardless of these two days when we had some fears. [Surprise in the starting eleven?] I can't answer that, but nothing directly related to more coughing, less coughing, more vomiting, less vomiting.

The two teams are in completely different situations: FC Porto is brimming with confidence, thanks to a remarkable winning streak; Benfica is trying to regain that same level of confidence, while the team attempts to assimilate its ideas. Do you feel that, for this reason too, added to the virus situation, you are at a disadvantage for the clássico?

No, I'm forgetting about the virus. The virus, for me, is not a factor, and tomorrow [Sunday], after the game, I don't even want to talk about the virus at all, unless, between today and tomorrow, I lose two or three key players, or the players have to perform in a difficult situation. I repeat: today's training session went completely normally at all levels, there wasn't a single player who had symptoms or who felt any different from normal. We are in different times, and we are in obviously different times. FC Porto has a lot of work behind it, OK? The coach joined on the first day of the season, they had a preseason, they didn't play in the playoffs, they qualified directly for European competitions, they had a lot of time, they had many weeks, they had many hours of work, and anyone who analyzes the team like me and my colleagues did can see that there is a lot of work there. There is a lot of work there, the team is doing well, the team has an obvious structure, the team has already acquired very good dynamics, the results, although one could say: OK, they scored there in the last minute; OK, they had a bit of luck here and there... I think it's all a result of the great moment they're having, and, I repeat, a lot of hard work behind the scenes. A lot of work that we don't have. A lot of work that we don't have. Although I've been here for about two weeks, today was one of the few training sessions where I had the whole team, so I could work with them a little, obviously with the handicap that there's a game tomorrow and I can't work on the big issues. There is no work on our part. The work is very much based on analysis, it is very much based on analyzing the opponent, it is very much based on analyzing our performance in the previous game, and, feedback after feedback, trying to make the team grow. This, for me, is a fundamental difference. FC Porto has an excellent team, an excellent, very solid team, the coach's ideas, a very clear and very objective fingerprint, and we don't have that yet. Now, if any of you ask me if FC Porto is the favorite because of this, I say no.

Let's take a quick look at the game and FC Porto. You mentioned precisely that cohesion, Porto's ability, and you also talked about aggressiveness and a lot about one player, Victor Froholdt. I wonder if Benfica also has a strategy to try to influence this player.

A very good player, a very good player, a player I knew, I won't say I knew him very well, but he was a player who had caught my eye and my computer's eye. He is a player with fantastic physical ability, he works hard, he gets into the box, he is dangerous at all levels, whether in open play or from set pieces. I think he is a very happy signing for FC Porto. He is very well integrated into the dynamic that the coach instills in the team, which allows him to project himself well into space. He is a player we will have to watch out for, but FC Porto has a very good structure, very good players, and we have to be concerned about all of them.

What has this Benfica team been lacking to become what José Mourinho wants it to be? I would also like to ask you to comment on the statements made by the Norwegian national team coach, who said that Schjelderup will never be a 90-minute player if he doesn't play 90 minutes – José Mourinho knows that. What do you have to say to him after that?

For me, the situation is simple, and I think that... if we look at it with a little bit of ethics, we will all agree. He may not agree, but I think most coaches will be happy with the way I look at this situation: club player, national team player. When Benfica players go to the national teams, I won't make a single comment: whether they play a lot, whether they play a little, whether the coach is happy, whether he's not happy, whether they should have played more, whether they should have played less. I won't make a single comment about a Benfica player when he enters the national team space. The coach is sovereign, the federation is sovereign. May everything go well, may God help them not to return injured, but I will not make any comments. I would appreciate it if, on the other hand, when Benfica players are at Benfica, they don't interfere and just sit quietly at their workplace. I think it's a very ethical situation, and I honestly can't understand how a coach dares to make any kind of comment about a player, or about a comment that a coach made about a player who belongs to a club. The situation for me is very simple, and I am convinced that the overwhelming majority of the other coaches will be happy with this type of relationship that I want to establish. It does not mean that we cannot communicate. I will always be available to any coach who wants to contact me, my staff, the physical trainer, or the science support team. We will always be available for any national team. But I would appreciate it, to simplify things, if there were this respect when the player belongs to the club or when the player is on loan to national teams. [What has the team been lacking? ] Work. Time to work.

You have already praised FC Porto for their work. Do you see FC Porto as stronger as a team? Also praising Froholdt: is there any player you think is fundamental in Farioli's starting eleven? Taking advantage of the election issue: João Diogo Manteigas says that José Mourinho was also hired as Benfica's communications director. Do you have any comments on that?

No, I don't comment on statements made by the President of Benfica, nor on statements made by presidential candidates. I don't think it's right to do either. But, obviously, I'm a coach, and that's the only thing I want to be, nothing more than that. Regarding FC Porto: they have some very good individual players. There are no great teams without great individual players, but I think they are truly a strong team. A strong team, with a coach who has very clear ideas, who must have made the most of every minute of the preseason, every minute he had to work. I think the team is very well prepared. I really like their team.

You said earlier that Benfica needed time and hard work to start playing better and winning. But let's be clear, José Mourinho: José Mourinho did not come cheap to Benfica, you do not come cheap, you have an enviable track record—everyone knows your track record. Aren't you afraid that there won't be enough time to achieve your goal? What is Benfica really missing to start winning, considering that, especially at the domestic level—you know better than I do, for sure—not winning 95% of the games can be the deal breaker.

earn. How much do you earn? Are you going to tell me, or not? Oh, you're not going to tell me? Then don't talk about mine. You're saying I'm too expensive, I'm too cheap, how much you earned, how much you didn't earn, how much you earn... Ríos has the 25 million they paid him, 30 million... You guys are a bit obsessed with numbers. You're not being disrespectful, nor am I being disrespectful to you, but it seems to me that it's incredibly curious to want to know how much your neighbor earns. Isn't it? Yes, but the question starts with “how much do you earn,” “how much does it cost,” “is it expensive, is it expensive.” [When will you get Benfica to win regularly?] Look, maybe we'll start winning tomorrow. That's how soccer is, and sometimes the results are taken out of context from the work that is done. Other times, they are a consequence of the work that is done, other times they are a bit out of context. What I can guarantee you is that we are working very hard. I'm not even worried about myself, I'm not thinking about myself, I'm worried about the players, I'm thinking about them. I think the players deserve joy, they don't deserve, sometimes, the label that is put on them: “Hey, man, these guys earn good money, they lose today and tomorrow they're happy, nothing happens, life is good.” Life isn't good, life isn't good. If life isn't good for the fans when you lose, imagine what it's like for those who live off this, for those who are professionals, for those who feel responsible. When a player loses, he feels responsible for that defeat; when a coach loses, he also feels responsible. If it's hard for the fans, imagine what it's like for us as professionals. I'm not too worried about myself—you kindly mentioned my resume. I think more important than my resume are my years of experience, winning and losing. But I am more concerned about the players: they deserve happiness, they deserve joy, and right now they are not getting it. I came in at a difficult time for them, we felt that immediately when we played at home against Rio Ave. Then, even after beating Gil Vicente, we continued to feel it. It's not an easy time, and my concern is not about myself. I'm thinking about them, and consequently about the fans who love the Club, the fans who are the real Club, because the real Club is the fans. Those are the people I'm thinking about. I'm not thinking about myself. Now, I consider myself a great coach—excuse my lack of modesty—and I believe I have a very well-prepared staff. We are working, we are working hard. Now, it's like I said: this is soccer. And you're right: when will we start to see real results? Look, maybe tomorrow, as I told you. But that's something we can't predict. I think that against Chelsea, the result could have been completely different and a little more in line with the team's performance, which was, in my opinion, quite acceptable. We'll see. But we're working hard.