Mourinho blasts Rui Costa, Pavlidis & Otamendi before Benfica-Moreirense | OneFootball

José Mourinho previewed the match against Moreirense, valid for the 31st round of Liga Portugal Betclic. Speaking to journalists, the Benfica coach addressed several topics, such as the squad’s condition, the fight for second place and Vangelis Pavlidis’ current form. Check out everything the Special One had to say.

"I’d say it was a normal week because regardless of whether it comes after a good or bad game, we always train well. The players always give themselves fully to the work. Obviously there are more smiles and fewer gloomy faces, which is normal. But it was a good week of work. We had some problems after the game with Sporting in terms of a few injuries, but with the exception of Tomás, everyone trained today and everyone is available for the match. Moreirense forced us to train well because they are a team with complexity in the way they are organized. They play well, they have different ways of occupying space, they are a team that forces you to defend well and to counter a side capable of causing us problems. There are four games left, and only by winning all four can we hope to improve our position. If we don’t win all four, we won’t have any chance at all. And Moreirense is the first of those four, we have to go all in and try to win".

Ivanovic’s return took a lot of people by surprise. How is that battle between him and Pavlidis? And how is Pavlidis? Did you speak to him?

"I didn’t have any conversation with him because Pavlidis is an intelligent person. He understands things, he knows me well, he can read me and understand what I’m asking for and working on during the week. And he quickly understood that he wasn’t going to start against Sporting because of a different strategy. Ivanovic is also a lad who—and it’s natural to feel some frustration or sadness at not playing regularly, especially as a starter—grabbed the opportunity at Alvalade with both hands. He did well, improved his confidence levels, and that can help the national team coach look at him and see that he can be useful at the World Cup. But those are his own matters. I think it was a good week for both of them. As for me, if there is one thing I really like, it’s the usually starting player who doesn’t start occasionally and responds as part of the team. His introduction, Rafa’s introduction, António’s... Players who are usually starters weren’t, but they come into the game and want to win. Enzo, who was on the bench, and I was looking for him and he was already on the pitch celebrating. This kind of group message is something I really like. I never tell players whether they’re playing or not because they have to be available for 1 minute, 90 minutes, or even to go to the stands. I’m happy that, without explanations, they understand things".

Regarding your future, did you feel the need to say anything to the players?

"No. As you said, I’ve already said enough, probably more than enough, not to need to say any more. What I said, I said. And I don’t need to repeat it. That’s all".

You’ve already said that you can’t guarantee whether you’ll stay at Benfica because it doesn’t depend only on you, but the will and desire do depend on you. Is your desire to continue stronger than any invitation that may come? If Real Madrid or the national team came knocking...

"I don’t want to say anything more about that. I’ve already said what I had to say regarding Benfica and I’m not going to make any more comments. News came out today saying I was upset with the president... I’m only upset because, I don’t know why, but they still haven’t given me my badge for 25 years as a club member. I think they forgot about me. Other than that, everything is fine, there’s no problem at all. Everyone knows the situation. When the season ends, we’ll have 10 days to continue together or part ways. I’ve already said what I had to say".

When you arrived, you found a squad that wasn’t yours. Having the opportunity to reshape it, is that already happening? Or could the uncertainty regarding your future compromise that?

"When I arrived, it wasn’t mine. Now it is. There’s a big difference. One thing is for a coach to arrive and the squad not to be his, another is to be here for seven months and change and now it is mine. And as Benfica coach, this is my squad. Regarding the question, yes. I’ve had meetings with the club structure, the president and the director, as I always do because I like to commit myself to my responsibilities and to my—not decisions—I don’t want to say decisions—analyses and opinions. I do it in writing. There are documents from me in the hands of the president and the director. And we’ve been together fairly often in an attempt to improve my squad. This squad is mine and, if I continue next season, it will continue to be. It will, objectively, have some adjustments to be more like me, to have a little more of my touch, as they say in England: the fingerprint. But this squad is mine and I like it. And one thing is adapting it to a certain type of personality and way of seeing football, another thing is radical changes. And I am completely against radical changes. There are many people here who have made important progress and who give me the expectation that next season they can be better".

Abroad they are saying that River Plate are in talks with Otamendi. As Benfica coach, can you say anything about his future? Would you like him to stay?

"I think it depends only on him. There are people who have the right, so to speak, to choose their future because of everything they have built in football. And Otamendi is one of those. He played his last game for the national team on Argentine soil by his own decision, I think he will finish with the national team after the World Cup by his own decision, and it will be by his own decision whether he returns to Argentina and River or stays at Benfica. Everything is in his hands. The level of performance he has shown throughout the season, and with very few injuries and absences... Such a consistently regular presence gives him that credibility, so that we don’t look at his passport, we forget about his age and focus on his performances. He is a great player. And quality doesn’t change at all from one year to the next".

You said that only by winning all four games can Benfica aim for second place. Do you believe that by winning those games, you will actually finish second? In other words, that Sporting will drop points? Did you promise that to the players?

"I didn’t promise anything and I can’t promise or guarantee whether Sporting will get 15 points, 13 or fewer. My post-Casa Pia disappointment came exactly from that, from losing control over our own destiny. If we had won, right now we would be four wins away from finishing in second place, and right now we are not. We depend on results. Ours, obviously, but also Sporting’s. And that is out of our control".

Given Pavlidis’ poor run, aren’t you tempted to go with Ivanovic?

"Pavlidis is one of those players whose performances are not judged by the goals he scores and the goals he doesn’t score. There are strikers who are only about goals, and when there are no goals there is no performance, no contribution. Everything Pavlidis does for the team, including in the first phase of build-up where most of the time strikers are not involved... Even there he is important. I don’t judge him by the goals he does or doesn’t score. He has absolutely no problem, he has my total confidence".

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