Coach Roger Schmidt took full responsibility this Saturday for the drop in Benfica’s performance, but reiterated that the stoppage of the national team’s matches was more damaging than the breaks granted to the players.
“My responsibility is 100%. I am the coach, I am responsible for everything,” admitted the coach of the ‘incarnated’, at a press conference in Seixal.
But, without stopping, Schmidt reinforced that “it is crucial to give players days off in this type of” competitive calendar, with “more games, more intense, with shorter intervals” and stressed that the question he was asked before had not been about his responsibility, but about “the break and the days off”.
“My answer was that the players sometimes go to the national team and some of them don’t play, they spend 10 or 12 days in the hotel, they practically don’t train and that’s why they lose some form and intensity. The problem is not ours. Alone, he’s one of all the coaches, and they still win games. I do not use that as an excuse, ”he stressed.
Earlier, the coach refused to take stock of the season before the end and recognized the importance of beating Estoril Praia on Saturday, because Benfica has not won “for four games”, but praised the performance of his players.
“So far they have been doing an excellent job, a fantastic season. But we have to go all the way, show that we are capable of having focus, mentality and concentration to win the last few games and be champions. it was an incredible season,” Schmidt said.
In this sense, he warned that Benfica had to be “very organized to avoid moments of transition” for Estoril Praia, a team that “still believes” that it can stay in the I Liga, but recalled that the ‘incarnated’ also have the tus goals.
“We play at home and we also have our goals. We want to be champions, we really want to play a great game and win”, assumed the German.
Benfica receives Estoril Praia on Sunday, in a match of the 29th day of the 1st Football League, starting at 6:00 p.m., at the Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, with the refereeing of Rui Costa (AF Porto).
The team led by Roger Schmidt leads the championship with just three points more than Sporting de Braga, who already beat Casa Pia (1-0) on this day, and four more than FC Porto, after two consecutive defeats, against the ‘Dragons’. ‘ and Desportivo de Chaves, in the two previous matches.
In total, Benfica has gone four games without winning, since, in addition to these two defeats, which cost them to lose 10 points of advantage, they lost at home against Inter Milan (2-0) and drew in Italy (3-3 ) in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Source: TSF
