Julian Draxler will be at Benfica’s match tomorrow, his debut in the Champions League, but he will not start.
Coach Roger Schmidt guarantees that the German international still needs time to train, but tomorrow he can enter during the match with Maccabi Haifa
“We are very happy to have Draxler in the team, but we also know that he needs a few weeks to prepare, get to know his teammates and the team… and then regain his confidence. But we also know that “He has a lot of experience, he is a player international. He is in the team for tomorrow, so he is ready to play, not at the beginning, but it is possible that he will make some minutes. Same with John Antony Brooks. They need to train, but also to add a few minutes. This is the best way.”
Benfica’s coach warns: the red players have to be prepared for tomorrow’s game because Maccabi Haifa has already shown that they have quality.
“If we look at the results of our opponents, we can see that they were champions last season in Israel. But they also beat the champion of Greece, the champion of Cyprus, the champion of Serbia. They have a lot of quality, especially forward, they have dangerous players, good shots, with physical ability. They deserve to play in the Champions League. Last season I faced an Israeli team, I know they are very emotional in the game and also very motivated. You have to be prepared for the match”.
Roger Schmidt who also assures that he trusts the eagles’ medical department. This summer Benfica signed central defender João Vítor from Corinthians, but the player has not played yet.
He has been injured since day one with the eagle on his chest.
“If you have any experience in football, you will understand that sometimes it is not easy to deal with some injuries. Prepare the players… We know that everyone in the team is trying to do things in the best way and bring back the three Brazilian central defenders in our team as soon as possible.”
The Benfica coach also explains that he does not know if André Almeida will continue to serve the eagles or will terminate his contract, the coming weeks are decisive. “Let’s see, it was always a discussion whether he would leave or not. I know what André Almeida did for Benfica, it is not yet decided if he will stay. Something that we have to see in the coming weeks. What I can say is that André always he is very focused on training. We will try to manage this situation in a positive way and then we will see what happens”, he explains, about one of the team captains.
Benfica and Maccabi Haifa meet tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. on the opening day of the Champions League group stage. It will be broadcast live on TSF.
Source: TSF
