Benfica keeper with 34 games recalls troubled arrival: it was chaos | OneFootball

Helton Leite, former Benfica goalkeeper, who currently plays for Vila Nova in Brazil’s second division, recently gave an interview and looked back on his time with the Eagles. The goalkeeper admitted that his arrival at the Luz in 2020/2021 did not happen at the right time, due to the Club’s instability at that stage.

"It was a somewhat turbulent period for the Club, because they lost the league, lost the Portuguese Cup, Bruno Lage had left, they were with Nelson Veríssimo and then they hired Jorge Jesus, who had left Flamengo. (...) Everything was very confused and the atmosphere was very unsettled, with a Benfica without titles, with lots of changes, and four weeks later we already had a Champions League qualifier, but we couldn’t have a pre-season training camp because there were still covid-19 restrictions. It was really chaos, with many players coming and going", he recalled in an interview with "Tribuna", from the newspaper Expresso.

The 35-year-old player describes Jorge Jesus - who spoke about his future - as a coach who pushes players to their limit. "He is top, I’m a big fan of the coach. He’s quite a character, but he is a specialist at testing people. I didn’t understand that at the time, but from day zero he is already testing everyone. And it wasn’t just testing on the field; he tested how much that person wanted it, how much that player could adapt, how much pressure they could take and withstand, and whether they would really do what he wanted. Working with him is a test. I wouldn’t say tiring, I’d say it is demanding to work with him", he said.

Helton Leite also spoke about the level of demand that exists at Benfica. "In 2020/2021, we finished in 3rd place, which is terrible for Benfica. Benfica is either champion or it is a failure. Third place, then, is a huge failure", he said.

Regarding Roger Schmidt, the Brazilian goalkeeper sees the German coach as a "special" person. "There was a feeling of distrust about what would happen with Roger Schmidt’s arrival. In the very first week he held an individual meeting with every player. He was direct, very polite, a truly exceptional person in the way he dealt with players", he concluded.

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