Everything Bruno Lage said ahead of Benfica v Tondela | OneFootball

In anticipation of the duel between Benfica and Tondela, which marks the return of the Eagles to Estádio da Luz, Bruno Lage was present in the press room, where he previewed the match against the Beirões, where he spoke about topics related to the team selection.

Benfica started the season with five games without conceding a goal. How do you explain these numbers? Can Tondela challenge this record?

"We haven't spoken in a long time, it's been 36 hours... Let's see if there's much to talk about. I'll start with a cliché. It's the most important game. The next one. I say this with complete sincerity. The Champions League is important, it brings prestige to the players and the club, and it's also very important financially. I even have some notes here from last year. We reached the round of 16, broke revenue records, and were the club that scored the most points in Portugal."

You already spoke about Aktürkoglu. In this start, except for the Super Cup, the first option was Schjelderup. Now, it seems Kerem will stay and meanwhile he has become a starter. As a coach, how do you manage this?

"The most important thing is to be clear about one thing: I am the one who makes the decisions about the team, and I have to look at the players' performance both on and off the field. It's about understanding everything around, the context, the team's dynamics. And there's something else that's very important, which is the strategy for the game, choosing the best eleven. In five games, Kerem played two, Schjelderup three. Let them be competitive so I can make the best decisions."

When the results don't come and when the performances aren't to your liking, how will you justify it?

"What we have to talk about is each moment. I'll use another cliché. Rome and Pavia weren't built in a day. We have to convince, and then we'll have time. We were even praised by you at certain moments. Right now, the result comes first and I have total confidence. We had a very positive start and now we are satisfied. We know we all have to give much more. First win, then we'll have time to convince."

That said, do you still believe you don't need creative players?

"Pavlidis even said something we had commented on after the game, which was to project the next one: to be more aggressive. We started the game very well and immediately had a good chance. That's what he meant with that comment. Do you remember the last season when Benfica started like this? Four games, four wins, and zero goals conceded? It's the first time, that's why you don't remember. This group of players is doing this without a break, without a preseason... Four wins without conceding, five in a row without conceding, and won the Super Cup. If you want to look at the number of goals... If you look back 60, 70 years, in two seasons there's a Portuguese coach."

What do you need to improve right now?

"The team has to keep working. Look at what we've been doing very well and keep it up, have the consistency we need. It's August, we've had five or six weeks of work and we all have to give much more to achieve our goals. What I can guarantee is that I feel the team is very motivated. They know they can grow. There are players who only found a house two or three days ago, some were staying in hotels. We're doing everything at once and we're satisfied. We know the fans' expectations."

At a time like this, would it be easier if you already had the squad finalized? Do you still want that player?

"As I said, we'll analyze the market at the end. What I can guarantee is that no squad is finalized until the market closes."

Luís Filipe Vieira said you have changed your essence as a coach... Do you want to respond?

"I have no intention of responding to any candidate, as long as that red line we talked about here the first time isn't crossed. That line hasn't been crossed and I have no intention of talking about it."

With this competitive density, do you expect to rotate the team against Tondela?

"I hope to present the eleven in the best condition. I'll take this opportunity to publicly thank Besiktas, because they gave us the chance to train at their training center. It's a race against time, we ended up training yesterday in Istanbul, we were very well received. It's about seeing how the players recover and, tomorrow morning, deciding."

Aktürkoglu started against Fenerbahçe. Will he start against Tondela?

"It's a possibility. Him or someone else. As long as they train properly, they can be an option for any game."

Regarding Aktürkoglu, can you guarantee he will stay at Benfica?

"I think I've answered that question several times... He's very happy, he's at Benfica with his head, body, and soul. If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have had the start to the season he had or played the game he did against Fenerbahçe. There's an offer and it's in the president's hands. What I feel is that the player is at Benfica with his head, body, and soul and wants to help win games."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.