Benfica was received this Monday at the Lisbon City Hall, after having won the 38th title of national soccer champion in history. At the ceremony, Rui Costa left a promise.
“President of the Municipality of Lisbon, here is the promise that we will do everything possible to return next season. Long live the national champion!”, said the president of Benfica.
During the speech, Rui Costa dedicated the national title to the “friend and idol” Fernando Chalana. The Benfica manager was full of praise for the coaching staff and the coach Roger Schmidt who, from the first day, “understood what Benfica was with the historic phrase: ‘Whoever loves football, loves Benfica'”.
“To the person I consider the great worker of this feat. Thank you, Roger, ”he thanked.
Afterwards, he thanked the players, “all without exception”: “We started the season with 39 players, all without exception for having played for Benfica throughout the year”.
An achievement that he dedicates to “all the fans”.
“This title belongs to you, to all of us, to all the Benfica fans. It is the title of regaining pride. I know well what it is to feel this red wave that pushes us towards victory”, concluded Rui Costa.
The Benfica president sees the club he leads as “mythical”, made of the passion and glory of so many Benfica fans in almost 120 years of history, and underlines that it was a fully deserved achievement.
“We won 38, we live up to our scrolls, our history. With attacking, vibrant and winning football, in a strategy aligned with the values and identity of the club, always focused on us, on our ambitions. at the top of the ranking from day one. This championship is fully deserved. We are the champions of Benfica”, he said.
Rui Costa recalled that, on April 28 of last year, he promised that they would return to the Lisbon City Hall to celebrate.
“We conquered the 38 that we wanted so much. It is with great honor and great pride that we are here, representing our beloved Sport Lisboa e Benfica. It is a huge honor what we feel every day for Sport Lisboa e Benfica. popular and beloved, the more winner. A club, as our people sing, bigger than Portugal”, said the red president.
Moedas says that Rui Costa “is a simple man and it is that simplicity that makes him a great leader”
At the beginning of the speech at the Lisbon City Hall, the mayor, Carlos Moedas, praised Benfica’s national title.
“Today, the national champions are Lisbon champions. Nobody is champion alone. All the glory of your achievements is only possible because the other clubs fought,” he said.
Thus, Coins greeted the “other clubs in Lisbon”. The mayor of Lisbon began by thanking Rui Costa, who, for the mayor, “he is a simple man and it is this simplicity that makes him a great leader”.
“Football owes him a lot, Lisbon owes him a lot and Benfica owes him a lot”, he considers.
The mayor approached Roger Schmidt and, in English, said it was “very emotional” to see him with his family, before thanking him.
Finally, Carlos Moedas thanked the players.
“Being a glorious team is not just about winning, it is a team that endures every day, believes, dreams and never loses hope,” he said.
Source: TSF
