Everything José Mourinho said ahead of Benfica v Rio Ave | OneFootball

Confirmed the presence of Lukebakio at Benfica - Rio Ave, and spoke about his arrival at Luz after the dismissal of Bruno Lage. The red coach was present at a press conference previewing the match of the first (postponed) round of the Liga Portugal Betclic.

What kind of opponent do you expect to encounter?

"I expect an opponent that is better than the points they have earned so far. We observed Rio Ave in previous games and especially in the first 3, we saw that they are better than the points suggest. They have a coach, organization, they know what they want, they have good quality players... It's worth what it's worth but they have 24 hours more than us to prepare the game. I expect a tough game, we need the home factor, it's important. The team is growing, from an emotional point of view a connection with the fans, at home, can be an important empathy to face a tough opponent."

Was there anything in these four training sessions that surprised you?

"As an opponent, I was honest with myself in assuming that I was playing against a good team. If I compare the playoff games with the last two or three games there is a little contradiction, but Benfica has good things that came from the past. It is not my intention to go looking for negative things from the past. There is good work done by those who were here before. But we coaches are different, it's important that the players embrace the new ideas. The players who stay and transition also have to adapt to the new coach, so I always said that we would introduce things slowly. I have the feeling that they are embracing my way of working and leading. We are not a group of best friends, but we are building something important from a human point of view. From a tactical point of view, it has to be little by little."

Biggest difficulty you encountered? Arrival at Benfica?

"The time that does not exist. Today and yesterday I freed myself a little more, but it's not just the field work with the players, it's people getting to know me, things to change. Not exaggerating the information is important. Regarding the second question, if you want to believe me, great, if not I can't do anything. There is the truth of other people, but I will repeat so that there are no doubts. In the summer I had no contact with Benfica, with the president, or mandated agent. Director Mário Branco was not even at Benfica. I had a contract with Fenerbahçe and wanted to fulfill it until the end. In my head I was far from thinking about returning to Portugal as a club coach. But I had no contact with the Federation. I had zero contacts with Benfica. A few years ago I had contacts with Benfica but things did not happen at that time. After the entry of the general director, this type and connection that they try to make... To become a great friend of a person in football, it's difficult. If in a year we became friends it's because on the other side was a serious professional, who when he came to Benfica and there was a 25% chance of Benfica playing with Fenerbahçe, our contact ended. There were zero contacts. When Benfica lost to Qarabag I was in Barcelona with my wife and the next day the president called me to ask 'mister, is it worth talking, I would like you to come coach Benfica. Can we talk?' I said yes. And the story ended. If you want to believe me I appreciate it. If you want to feed a story that has no story, I can't do anything."

The duo Ivanovic and Pavdlidis?

"Each game has a strategy. If 20 years ago we had a strategy for each game, imagine now... I didn't want to distort much what they are as a team, but there were things... I like different things and, without wanting to distort much, some things were introduced. Timings of the pressure, offensive movements, transition after recovery... These are normal things, if Bruno went to Fenerbahçe he would also change some things. I tried to give a different offensive dynamic to the team. I didn't feel them very comfortable playing a 4x4x2 'flat'. Sudakov also fit well in that dynamic."

Did you make a financial effort on your part?

"If I stayed at home until the end of the season I would earn more than working at Benfica. Visiting family, going to the Algarve, taking a few turns around... You can't even say that I'm here for free, I'm here negative. Why? Because I really like to work, I missed playing for the title, for what Benfica plays. Great opportunity for me as a coach and as a person. I want to put myself to the test, take risks, be subject to winning, losing, these are things that feed me, take me out of my comfort zone. If I stayed at home until June I would earn more than working at Benfica. About the reception, I went to the Luz Stadium several times, in the good moments, and I was in a box where António Silva's father, João Neves, calm people were. I am familiar with the stadium. You learn the songs, beautiful, rhythmic, with meaning. This has to be the atmosphere. Maybe I'm a purist, but I don't believe there's a Benfiquista who doesn't want to win, there has to be a party at the beginning, support during and at the end, Benfica either wins, because if it doesn't win it leaves dead. From exhaustion and from trying. Losing as we lost with Qarabag, people don't identify with that. At the end of the game it will be a party or respect for those who gave everything."

Have you been surprised by any player with weight in the locker room?

"This is a team of kids with a man who is a World Champion, who is the captain. There are clubs where the armband is not on the right arm, it has happened to me, but in this case it is on the arm of someone who is truly a captain and assumes himself as such. What pleasantly surprised me is that those who come from the academy, whether older or younger, these people come with a vocabulary... They are not loose words, they are felt words, they come with Benfica school, with responsibility. They are kids that you love, they grew up together. They are very strong in the locker room. Even those who have not played. I send a message to the academy, I have to thank them, it's from there that it comes."

How long from now will the team be playing with your ideas?

"The voice (hoarse) is a work voice. It's like a tan, only on the face and hands. It's still in a phase where the assistants also have to grow with the team, I have to get to know Ricardo Rocha... I'm taking everything into my own hands for now. I talk a lot, but in two or three days I recover. About the ideas? Never, this is always evolving, it's not a static thing. Pre-season is where you train twice a day, where you build the bases. But the evolution is progressive. We prepared this game with things that come from the previous one, but Rio Ave plays differently from AVS... We have to adapt. The empathy that we are creating between us, they are accepting it very well and it can speed up the process."

Is Lukebakio recoverable?

"Benfica lost Aktürkoglu and Bruma, needed a winger who was chosen because he can play on the right or left, has a balanced age and experience. He is a player with great potential, we were not expecting him to be able to play tomorrow, we were preparing him only for Gil Vicente, but this opening that allows him to go to the game, we delayed his recovery process to play tomorrow. He is on the bench and if he has to go to the game, he will go to the game."

You have said that you did not come for wars, if the invitation had come from Villas Boas or Varandas would you accept? Fenerbahçe elections...

"The elections are beside me, I have no kind of relationship. If you ask me if I'm happy with the non-reelection, I'm not. My life there was short time, with little intensity, little empathy and little passion. For the players who stayed there, I hope everything goes well for them. About the conversation with presidents Varandas and Villas-Boas, it was very simple. It was like 'good luck but may you finish second'. If I had been invited, honestly I don't know if I would have accepted, but with the speed that I said yes to Benfica, no."

Have you been contacted by any of the Benfica candidates?

"I have not talked nor, I think I should. The coach of Benfica has the focus on Benfica, on my nation. The presidents, the boards are the representatives of the millions of fans of the clubs and it is for these millions that a coach should work. If you ask me if I was pleased that candidates have uttered words of respect for me, I say yes. But I am isolated from that context. I want to give my best every day, and it is president Rui Costa who is here, it was he who took the big step of inviting me to work at Benfica. I am not important. As the days go by the focus is Benfica, that's what matters."

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