Schmidt responds to Conceição: ″Whoever has the most points deserves to be champion″

Benfica’s coach, Roger Schmidt, responded this Sunday to Sérgio Conceição, who considered that FC Porto “was the best team” despite having been the reds to win the title. Among other topics, he also addressed the mid-season renewal and the departure of Grimaldo.

Hours after being crowned national champion at the helm of Benfica, Roger Schmidt spoke to the journalists and addressed various themes of the time in the reds. The German, who took over the technical command of the Luz club at the beginning of the season, could not have had a better debut and does not hide his pride, guarantees that he had never experienced anything like what he experienced at Marquês. “I’m a coach, of course I’m proud. At the beginning of the season we talked about our goals, when you’re at Benfica, you have to keep your goals in mind. At the end of a long season, when the work is done, of course you have to be proud. Honestly, I had never seen anything like it yesterday. I think it was unique, it is one of the best celebrations that exist in European football. I had seen photos of other parties in the Marquês de Pombal in the locker room, but I had never experienced something like this Photographs are one thing, reality is another. Everything was fantastic, the atmosphere in the stadium, the journey to Marquês and there, what we felt was absolutely fantastic, with so many people. As a member of the team, I felt this responsibility to leave so many happy people”, began by saying the coach, highlighting the difficulty of winning the title.

“It was very difficult, it was until the last second to be champions, so now we are happy, aware that we had to apply a lot of effort and fight a lot to get here. It was a very tough competition, with other teams, we had to win the last game , it was very demanding, not only in physical terms, but also in mental terms”, he stressed.

The red club had ten points more than FC Porto, but defeats against the blue and whites and Desportivo de Chaves reduced the advantage at the top. Schmidt does not hide that, at that moment, the squad had to have a “very great” mental strength. “We had to show great mental and soul strength. After the games with FC Porto and Chaves, the momentum changed, we had to change to return to good games and good performances. I believe that under that pressure we recovered our good football and, in the end, I think this title is totally fair”, explained

Reply to Sergio Conceicao

In the aftermath of the match against Vitória de Guimarães, and with Benfica celebrating for winning their 38th title of national champion, Sérgio Conceição considered that the blue and whites “continued to be the strongest team”. “This is justice… We have to see many situations that have occurred during this year, I think this is not the time for that. Without taking the merit of Benfica and its coach, as well as all the people who are part of the club, I think that in important moments for us, there were some demerits on our part but also situations that hurt us a lot throughout the season, refereeing and some injuries we had. It was never an excuse for me. I trust everyone who works fantastically. The accounts they are what they are. There is great frustration in the entire locker room because I still think we were the strongest team. But that alone is not enough”, said the coach.

This Sunday, Roger Schmidt addressed the issue of the merits of the title, ensuring that he respects Sérgio Conceição’s opinion.

“It’s his opinion, respect. In my opinion, I didn’t see all of FC Porto’s games, but I saw Benfica playing and I think we played very well. In the conference before the game with Santa Clara, I gave my opinion. team that after 34 games ends up with more points, scores more goals and concedes fewer goals, I believe it deserves to be champion.

“I said that first I had to prove that I was good enough to be here. When you’re in a club like Benfica, the coach has to understand the responsibility he has, he has to achieve goals and he has to win titles. Then, the club’s conviction was that it made sense to extend the contract. I saw the trust the club had in me, it was a great honor to be part of Benfica and to renew it during the first season. I was waiting to win the title first, but it was a little different,” he explained.

Future of Otamendi and departures of Grimaldo and Enzo

The Argentine centre-back was one of the most cherished players by the fans. With the future undefined, since Otamendi ends his contract with the reds at the end of the season, it is not yet known whether the athlete will stay at Luz. But Roger Schmidt liked to be able to continue to count on the player. “Nico was a great captain for Benfica, he gave us a lot of experience. In the middle of the season he ended up becoming world champion, he came even more motivated for that. Not only Otamendi, João Mãrio, Rafa, Grimaldo There were four players who played a very important role throughout the season. They are all different, but everyone has this responsibility to captain, to show their face. This is very important”, he shared, also addressing the departure of Grimaldo and Enzo Fernandez.

“Did the fans forgive him? I think so. You have to see what the player did for the club. He was here for seven and a half years, was champion four times. He gave everything for the club. He was always at the top. He has all my respect, but I think he also has all the respect of the fans. The fans supported him until the last second. Enzo? When we played with Arouca, I didn’t know if at the end of the game he would still be our player. It was difficult to prepare for his departure and arrange a alternative. He was a very important player, especially in game building. It wasn’t a coincidence the amount they paid for him, he will show all the quality he has in the future. He congratulated us on the championship and I told him that this title belonged to him too”, he concluded.