Prestianni, Banjaqui ready, Amorim: Marco Silva before Milan-Benfica | OneFootball

Benfica travel to Milan this Wednesday for a match counting towards the first matchday of the Europa League league phase. In the build-up to the clash, Marco Silva, the Eagles' coach, and Alessandro Circati, the Australian centre-back, gave the traditional pre-match preview of the encounter.

Assessment of the team and Prestianni?

"I keep saying that we are still a long way off. I believe that and I want to convince our players of the same: it is a good starting point. That does not mean we are not happy with what we have been doing and with the team's progress — I would be lying if I said that. We are evolving and we are satisfied. You only have to look at our first matches. Not just at the first game of the season, where I know that, partly because of the result, we did not show a sign of what we are and what we can do, but, in general, the team's evolution has been clear: it has been improving and building the identity with which we want to see Benfica play. In that respect, we are better, happy with the players' attitude, with their development and with the focus they bring every day in training to improve. That has been reflected in the matches. Now, I keep saying — because it is the only approach that makes sense to me — that we have a lot to improve as a team, individually and collectively. If we improve every day, even if only a little, naturally that progress will become evident over the weeks and months, which is what we want. As for Prestianni, the start of the season has shown that he has been working very well on the left. There is no doubt about it and I would be lying if I said otherwise, especially because the data is there to see and you also analyse the matches. The reality is that he is more than ready to help the team in other positions. With us, he has not started any game on the right this season, although last year he played there almost all the time. His performances have been excellent, he has been improving every day and from game to game. He can play inside, as he has done in the last two or three matches and in many moments with me this season. It is a decision for us to make and one that often becomes advantageous: having him on the pitch allows us to change the structure and place him in a different position. That is what we did last weekend: we wanted a more creative player inside when we brought on Cláudio in the last 20 or 25 minutes, while keeping that creativity in the space where Prestianni had been, and we ended up moving him to the left, where he had a very strong impact. The numbers are clear and speak for themselves. He is fully ready to play in the three positions behind the striker — on either wing or as an attacking midfielder. To be honest, he has not worked much on the right wing in training so far, although he has had some spells there with us, also because we have used Rafa and Lukebakio more in that area."

What do you expect from the game? You are two coaches who know each other well from English football too...

"A very difficult match, without a doubt. They are two teams used to being in another competition and not in the Europa League, because of their history and what the last few years have been like in European competitions. The reality is that both are in the Europa League. We had to come through an even tougher path, with six games to be here, for different reasons. It is a very complicated game. Any team that plays here, whether domestically or in European competitions, always has great difficulties. It is a difficult ground to play at, because of the quality of the opposition — just as Milan would have those same difficulties if they played at the Estádio da Luz. As you rightly mentioned, he is a coach who knows us well, knows Benfica well and knows Portuguese football well. There is mutual knowledge between me and Ruben, because of the number of times we faced each other in the short time he was in England. Nowadays there are no secrets anymore either. Even if that mutual knowledge and Ruben's connection to Portuguese football did not exist, preparation is made easier by access to all the available tools. It will be a very complicated game in which we hope to rise to the occasion..."

"I do not know whether Ruben spoke to João on the phone, I have no idea. But for Sunday, he certainly does not know whether he will play; João does not even know if he will play tomorrow, let alone on Sunday. That is Ruben's prediction. To answer directly: about Sunday I cannot confirm anything; about tomorrow, just look at our last game and realise that we managed one player, and that player was João, because of the load and the number of matches he has had since arriving, without many games in his legs because of the situation you know about at Bayern. It ends up being a conclusion Ruben draws; tomorrow you will see whether he is right or not. As for rotation: I do not know what Porto did last year because I was not in Portugal. Sorry for my ignorance in that regard, but I did not have the time or the ability to follow it then; I was competing in another league. Porto played against English teams and I ended up watching one or two matches, but I do not know the extent of the rotation, so I cannot comment. As for what we may field tomorrow, it has to do with us and with the run of matches we have been playing. Whether you believe it or not — I know you will not believe it — it is not only about Sunday's game. It is linked to the fact that, from the trip to Amadora to tomorrow's game, we have had four matches in 11 days, three of them away from home. It is almost humanly impossible for the same starting eleven to play four games with less than three days in between. We have to be smart in how we manage things. Today I had data on the players and their physical condition; tomorrow I will have other data to make the best decision for the match and safeguard the physical condition of the squad. We have managed some players as best we can, but others are already close to ten matches at this early stage. Not so much because of the total number of games, but because of the rhythm of the last four. You can say it was Benfica's decision to schedule the Moreirense match for this period — we did not want to place it in the middle of the playoff, it was our choice — but the Europa League draw had not yet taken place, and it gave us another away trip. These are decisions taken in advance that we do not regret at all. Tomorrow is a new challenge, we will analyse the team's condition and take the best options in strategic and physical terms."

Daniel Banjaqui

"Banjaqui, I told you: he is in the squad, we have to believe in him. Obviously, he is an 18-year-old youngster, and much of what is happening in his career are first-time feelings for him. It was not the first time this year that he played in a Benfica shirt, but he has had different feelings: feelings that it is important to feel the weight of always having to win, of working every day knowing that, when he steps onto the pitch, there is no other option but to always play to win. All of this creates demands on an 18-year-old, and some, because of their maturity — not only footballing quality, but maturity and the way they have grown up — have more ability, others do not. It is then up to us to help them and prepare them in the best way we can. He had, as I told you, in the game against Moreirense, some doubts at the start of the game; he grew as the match went on, and the result, his teammates and the crowd itself — as I also mentioned — helped him in that respect. The last game was an experience at the Estádio da Luz, once again a match of maximum demand for us, which is always that we have to win, with the Estádio da Luz full, sold out. And he has been taking steps. We did not expect him to be completely ready in every moment; that is part of it. At this level and with young players, we have to give them space for us to see some things that, the next day, we have to correct immediately. That is part of a process. He has been playing, he has given his response. What I want is that, whenever he has the chance to play and to do what was his dream, he has absolutely no doubts in his head, goes into the game completely clear-minded and then, regardless of whether he plays well or less well, gives everything for the shirt and stays focused, because that is what we demand of him."

Midfield strategy and the Modric-Rabiot pairing

"It is a quality team. As you rightly said, they try to press, but not at all times. We believe that tomorrow, because of the scale of the game and playing at home, that will possibly be part of their strategy. But when that pressure is beaten, they are a team that has the ability to regroup; I do not see them only as a team that is always pressing high up the pitch, looking at the four official games they have played. They were matches of a different nature, almost all away from home, so it is difficult to predict definitively what it will be, but it is perfectly clear that they want to take steps forward in that respect — Ruben himself spoke about that during the morning. Then, regarding the links you mentioned: they are a different team if Rabiot plays in the double pivot or in a more advanced line, as happened in the first games. Playing further forward, with those two inside midfielders tucked in, they are one kind of team; if Rabiot joins Modric or another midfielder, they gain different dimensions: they have a slightly more attacking player in the second line. Therefore, they are a different team depending on the positioning of certain players who are versatile and play in various positions."

Experiences in Greece, the Premier League and the Champions League

"In our career, every moment, every year and every step we take — the experiences we have in Portugal and then when the career becomes international — are important in the growth and maturation of an idea and an identity that we want for our teams. I start from the principle that in every year and at every moment there is always something to improve and grow in. It is part of the self-analysis that is done and of trying to evolve the following year; that is always my goal. They were different experiences, with practically the last ten years in the competition that is the best and the most difficult..."

Alessandro Circati also gave his preview.

Circati in the starting XI?

"It will certainly be a game with a lot of intensity, we are going into the game with the ambition to win. As for starting, I still do not know, I am here to enjoy the game. Both coaches know each other well, but it is just a simple football match, and we will try to win."

Quality of the league compared to Serie A

"It is very different, the style of play and the travel are different, but the Primeira Liga has great teams and individually good players. The quality of the league is very good and much better than people on the outside might think."

Help from Italian football

"The first year was not easy, it was the year when I had to show what I could do on the pitch, and start playing more matches, and I cannot put a number on how many games I played, and it was all thanks to him [Questa]."

Differences between Parma and Benfica

"I felt the difference as soon as I arrived at Benfica. It is a totally different world, not because of the size of the club, but because Benfica play to win the championship, to win every game. With Parma we only went game by game to stay up, but now, at this club, they are two different positions between playing to stay in the league and winning it. They are two different positions, as you can imagine."

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