Roger Schmidt is now speaking to journalists, less than 24 hours after Benfica became national soccer champion.
asked by TSF Regarding Otamendi’s continuity at Benfica, Roger Schmidt speaks of a “great captain” with “immense experience” and who had an “extraordinary season”.
“Before Christmas we started talking to him, but he wanted to wait until the end of the season. The season has come to an end, we did everything possible to keep him as captain next season,” he said and underlined: “I hope he will stays at Benfica”.
The coach also recognized that João Neves had a crucial role for Benfica to win after Enzo went to Chelsea and revealed that the Argentine congratulated him on the championship.
Regarding his own renewal, Schmidt confessed that, when he renewed with the club, he still did not feel like a champion, but he already considered that he had quality for Benfica.
“That was my attitude. They showed that trust in me and I started to think about it. For me it is a great honor to be part of Benfica. For this reason, with conviction, I signed”, recalled Roger Schmidt.
In the opinion of Sérgio Conceição, who continues to defend that FC Porto was the best team in the I Liga this season, Schmidt only says that it is “his opinion” and that he has not seen all the games of the dragons.
“In the end, after 34 games, we are the team that has scored the most goals and conceded the fewest”, underlined the Benfica coach.
Among the family, the son of Roger Schmidt revealed that the family has a special connection with Benfica. Something in which the coach agrees, adding that football has always been part of family life.
“My children also like football very much, but Benfica is of course a special club. The atmosphere, the support. Everything is very special and what my son says is that we feel very welcome in Lisbon and at Benfica”, confessed the red coach.
Looking ahead to next season, Roger Schmidt points out that, despite the fact that the team is trying to do its best to win the title, it will also be focused “on the other cups and the Champions League”. During this season, the coach acknowledges that the team lost “some points”, but managed to maintain concentration.
“We haven’t had so many moments in the season where the dynamics have changed. We always stayed true to our high level and that was only possible because we were always focused on one game at a time. When we lost a few points it was very important to come back to have the concentration to be able to show that we were up to the pressure. In the second part of the season it was crucial to keep going”, defended the German.
Asked what the Portuguese championship will have to change to make it even more competitive, the coach stressed that there are always differences from one country to another, but that the quality of Portuguese football is “very positive”.
“Portuguese teams in international football are beyond reproach. Sporting were sometimes not in the best phase of the season, but they managed to beat great teams on other occasions. This discussion also happens in Germany and the Netherlands. In my opinion, the quality “Football in Portugal is very positive. There are many teams at the same level, that’s why it’s so difficult to win,” he recalled.
Benfica was crowned national soccer champion on Saturday for the 38th time in history. The eagles beat Santa Clara 3-0 on the last day and added 87 points in the championship.
in update
Source: TSF
