Benfica president Rui Costa admitted this Thursday that the Champions League title is “getting harder” in the face of the power of a financial giant like City, but believes “nothing can be utopian”.
After a European campaign culminating in the quarter-finals of the main European club competition against Inter Milan, in the 2022/2023 season, the red team again faces the Italian emblem in Group E of the tournament, along with Salzburg and Real Sociedad in the tournament. edition that will make Rui Costa dream again.
“In this club, nothing can be considered a utopia. We know the difficulties, we have to be realistic, people have to interpret it correctly, in the current model, it’s getting harder for Benfica to qualify or win the Champions League final. Look at the big financial giants across Europe who are struggling to win the trophy. Manchester City won their first trophy last year, so you can see how difficult it is to reach the final. Fueling the dream in a club of this size and scope would be foolish. Difficult, but not impossible,” he repeated during his videotaped participation at the Thinking Football Summit.
Although a third European title after 1961 and 1962 may not be in the immediate plans of the President of Benfica, the confirmation of the national title is a specific goal, although Rui Costa considers it “extremely difficult”.
“The day I sit in this chair and don’t say Benfica is a title contender, get me out of it because something is wrong. Obviously, we are looking forward to the second championship in a row, in a year. it will be extremely difficult, but we have ambition. Apart from the case when we won four championships in a row. [de 2013 a 2017]we haven’t done “bi” for a long time,” he recalls.
Nearly three years since he was elected 34th president of the club, Rui Costa still showed his willingness to be an agent of change, however, not wanting to “clash” with the “embodied” structure.
“The management model will be adapted to the current reality, just as it should be adapted to my model of work and functioning, so it will undergo changes, but this is part of the change, and the only thing I want is that they be guided by responsibility and dynamism within club, without major upheavals,” he explained.
The leader also expressed doubts about the centralization of audiovisual rights, which, according to the Portuguese Professional Football League, should be completed by 2028/2029 at the latest, in order to reduce the asymmetry between the “big” and other clubs and thus offer a higher level of competitiveness in the I League.
“We can only have a fully informed opinion when we are sure of what might happen. The only thing we know is that, firstly, this is a government law, and secondly, the League has given a guarantee that all clubs will benefit from this. Given that Benfica is always in favor of the growth of Portuguese football, it must be part of this process, but always with these premises,” he repeated.
Despite all of his past as a Benfica player and a club fan, Rui Costa still came naturally to the label of “presidential fan”, which was attributed to him several times.
“I don’t know what it’s like to be a ‘fan president’. If the president doesn’t have feelings for the club, I don’t know what he’s doing there. Responsible President.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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