Ex-Benfica defender on Otamendi error: Not the first or second time | OneFootball

William admitted that Nicolás Otamendi's mistake is not the first by the Benfica captain, but that the Argentine international will bounce back after the Eagles’ draw against Santa Clara. The former central defender of the Eagles spoke to the newspaper Record and analyzed the situation with the leader of the defense at Clube da Luz.

"Mistakes happen and always will. Sometimes, they just happen at moments when you wouldn’t expect them to. Especially because we’re talking about a player who, we assume, already knew exactly what he had to do. The decision-making, at that moment, had to be spot on. Either yes... or yes. We’re talking about the last minute of the game. The decision wasn’t the right one and the team ended up being penalized," William began to explain.

The former central defender of Benfica continued: "When Benfica falls because of a mistake by its captain, it ends up being a big fall. It’s as if they fell off a cliff, even though it’s not the first or second time Otamendi has made this kind of mistake! The question now is: how will he recover for the next games?"

"He’s made mistakes on other occasions and... he recovered. Let’s hope that, for the good of the team, Benfica, and Otamendi himself, he recovers again. Otamendi’s recovery could mean the emotional recovery of the whole team for the upcoming games," he added, before also praising Bruno Lage’s response.

"Otamendi is a player with character and, by acknowledging the mistake and the way he made it, he’s one step closer to recovery. The coach’s support is also fundamental. Lage, by taking full responsibility, is saying that Nico is not alone. There are two types of mistakes. Forced mistakes and mistakes in decision-making. Whenever there are mistakes of this kind, the only way forward is to keep supporting and encouraging the player. Especially during games. That doesn’t mean that, after the game, there can’t be criticism and comments, which are absolutely normal," concluded the former Brazilian player and coach.

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