Schmidt admits his desire to win the title but refuses to comment on favouritism.

Benfica coach Roger Schmidt admitted on Saturday that he wants to win the Football League I title but refused to say whether the Reds are favourites to lift the trophy at the end of the season.

“It’s up to you [jornalistas] “Tell me who is the favorite. I don’t know. We want to be champions, that’s very clear. Whether we are favorites or not, it doesn’t matter to me,” the coach said in Seixal at a press conference and announcing the visit to Famalicao, counting the first round.

For the German, there is “no point” in picking favourites before the season starts as “you have to prove it on the pitch”, but the Reds now have a team with “more balance” despite the changes in midfield, with the departure of Joao Neves and the return of Renato Sanches.

“We miss him [João Neves]but the best thing is that Antonio [Silva] continues. He is a great player, he has been a key player in our team for the last two years and will remain so next season. And the second good thing is that Renato Sanchez is back,” he recalled.

Even on the midfielder’s return from training in Seixal, eight years after leaving for Bayern Munich, Schmidt said he knew the Paris Saint-Germain player’s “history” of injuries in recent years but took “a little risk”.

“If he could always play at the best level, perhaps the move to Benfica would not have been possible,” the coach admitted.

Without holding back, he showed complete confidence in “the club’s medical department and physiotherapists,” but above all in “the player and his motivation.”

“We now have to look after him, not overload him, get him on the pitch at the right time and get him back into top physical condition so he can confidently play his best football again. We will see week by week how that happens.” His condition and when he can join the team. It will not be tomorrow. [domingo]It would be unwise, but I really believe he will become a very important player for us,” the coach said.

Finally, despite Renato Sanchez not yet playing in the opening round of the championship, Schmidt refused to promote “the squad and the team”, but admitted that the starting line-up will be close to the one used in the last two games of pre-season training against Feyenoord and Fulham.

“I can’t reveal the lineup and I can’t reveal the team. But if we look at our pre-season, we’ve played a lot of games with a similar eleven and we’ve done well. There’s always potential for some changes, but it won’t be a completely new eleven,” he said.

Benfica will visit Famalicao on Saturday in the first match of Matchday 1 of the 2024/25 Portuguese Football League, scheduled to kick off at 18:00 at the Municipal Stadium of Famalicao and will be refereed by Fabio Veríssimo (Leiria).

Roger Schmidt’s side head into the new season aiming to reclaim the domestic title they lost to Sporting last season, a year after the German coach celebrated the achievement in his debut season at Luz.