Schmidt says his role is “what mattered was Benfica”

Roger Schmidt stressed this Friday that his role as Benfica football coach is to ensure that “what matters is Benfica” and that the team is ready to “win the game” against Gil Vicente.

At the press conference for the third round game against Gil Vicente, the Benfica manager chose to ignore the usual “hustle and bustle” associated with the last days of the transfer market, noting that his job is to “completely focus on the team” “. “.

“Some agents want their players to leave to make money, there is always a lot of confusion these weeks, but my role as Benfica coach is to focus completely on the team, what we have to do and the only thing that matters. Benfica, emphasized the German coach of the Benfica campus in Seixal.

Roger Schmidt makes it clear that the only goal on his mind is “to win tomorrow’s game (Saturday)” at Barcelos and that his focus is on the “22 players and three goalkeepers” he commands. not expecting to have to change lineup frequently with the team. there are so few transfer market days left [o período de inscrições fecha dentro de uma semana].

“We have to win tomorrow’s game (Saturday) and the current situation in our team is that we have 22 players and three goalkeepers, which is good, but it’s a minimum and we can’t lose many players, it’s impossible, especially a week before this.” market closure.

At this moment, something is always happening behind the scenes and some adjustments are still possible,” he admitted.

The coach addressed the current dispute over the Benfica goal and downplayed the controversy surrounding the situation of goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachimos, pointing out that his stance was to “be as honest as possible” with the Greek, as he intends to be towards any of the their players, regardless of their position on the field.

“I try to be honest, very honest in my opinions about players and games. As far as I can be honest, I don’t think he was at his best. It does not matter what position the player is in, whether he is a goalkeeper, midfielder, center or striker, it is not a problem to talk about it. It was not a criticism of a person, just what happened in the game,” he justified.

With Vlachimos in the group, Roger Schmidt was pleased with the number and quality of players at his disposal and noted that the usual market “rumors” and some of the usual noise during the week did not interfere with the team’s preparation.

“What I see at the moment is very good, I am satisfied with them, their attributes. There are always rumors and noise around the club, but not in our team,” assured the German, who showed confidence in the entire squad. . Unable to count on David Jurasek, who is recovering from an ankle ligament injury, Schmidt defended his choice to adapt midfielder Fredrik Orsnes to the left-back position, showing that the player is also accustomed to playing this role.

“He [Aursnes] he is used to playing in attacking midfield, on the left flank, and last season he changed many times and was often responsible for the left-back position, not only attacking, but also defending. So, he was already used to it, and we had to make a decision, ”the coach explained.

Roger Schmidt justified the choice of Orsnes on the left flank by the need to “find spaces” and have the ball to do so, which led to the entry of another midfielder.

“That day I chose Fredrik and another player in attacking midfield. We have a lot of possession in these games and we need to find solutions and a few more spaces, as we saw last week against Estrela da Amador. “, he concluded.

Benfica will face Gil Vicente on Saturday in the third round of the First Football League, due to start at 20:30 at the Cidade de Barcelos stadium, where João Pinheiro of the Braga Football Association will referee.