Europa League semis, ex-Benfica man speaks to Barreiro and Pavlidis | OneFootball

Previewing Braga - Freiburg, the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals, Jan-Niklas Beste spoke about his expectations for the match and admitted he still keeps in touch with some current Benfica players.

"Of course I follow Benfica, I keep in touch with Leandro Barreiro, we exchanged messages, and I also speak regularly with Pavlidis. I know several Benfica players and it is always good to hear positive things," said the German full-back, who was at Luz during the first half of last season.

Speaking about the match, the former Clube da Luz player highlighted Braga’s quality, and as a result predicted a difficult game: "They are a very technical team, with many options and a good mentality, we have seen that against Betis."

Asked about the atmosphere at Pedreira, Jan-Niklas Beste acknowledged its impact: “It is a huge stadium and the stands create a great atmosphere during matches. It is a semi-final and I believe it will be a great atmosphere. These are the games I love and it is a dream to be in the Europa League semi-finals, a very positive feeling, and we are very motivated because we work to play in these games.”

As a final word, the Freiburg winger highlighted the luck and hard work needed to reach that level: "It is a big challenge for me and this is not a normal game, because it is a tie that gives you access to the final. We lost the last game, but we just have to improve and look at the details, make good decisions. It is a mix of luck and good play.”

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