Cross at Rui Costa, Pavlidis, Otamendi: Mourinho on Benfica-Moreirense | OneFootball

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

"I would 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 apply themselves well in training. 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 apart from 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 with the ability to cause us problems. There are four games left, and only by winning all four can we hope to improve our position. If we do not win all four, we will have no chance at all. And Moreirense is the first of those four, we have to go all in and try to win".

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

"I had no conversation at all because Pavlidis is an intelligent person. He understands things, knows me well, can read me and understand what I ask for and work on during the week. And he quickly understood that he was not going to start against Sporting because of a different strategy. Ivanovic is also a lad who — and it is natural to feel some frustration or sadness at not playing regularly, especially as a starter — grabbed the opportunity in 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 could 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 is the player who is usually a starter not starting occasionally and then responding as part of the team. His introduction, Rafa’s, António’s... Players who are usually starters were not, but then come into the game and want to win. Enzo was on the bench, and I was looking for him, and he was on the pitch celebrating. This kind of group message is something I really like. I never tell the players whether they will play or not because they have to be available for 1 minute, 90 minutes, or even to go to the stands. I am 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 have already spoken enough, maybe more than enough, so I do not need to say anything more. What I said, I said. And I do not need to repeat it. That is all".

You have already said you cannot guarantee whether you will stay at Benfica because it does not depend only on you, but the will and desire do depend on you. Is your desire to continue stronger than any offer that might come up? If Real Madrid or the national team came knocking...

"I do not want to say anything else about that. I have already said what I had to say regarding Benfica and I will not make any further comment. Reports that came out today saying I was upset with the president... I am only upset because, for some reason, they did not give me my badge for 25 years as a club member. I think they forgot about me. Other than that, everything is fine, there is no problem at all. Everyone knows the situation. When the season ends, we will have 10 days to continue together or part ways. I have already said what I had to say".

When you arrived, you found a squad that was not yours. Having the chance to reshape it, is that already happening? Or could the uncertainty over your future compromise that?

"When I arrived, it was not mine. Now it is. There is a big difference. One thing is for a coach to arrive and the squad not be his, another is to have been here for seven months and change, and now it is mine. And as Benfica coach, this is my squad. As for the question, yes. I have been having meetings with the management, the president and the director, as I always do because I like to tie myself to my responsibilities and to my — I do not 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 have been together fairly often in an attempt to improve my squad. This squad is mine and, if I stay next season, it will continue to be. Objectively, it will have some adjustments so it reflects me more, so it has a little more of my touch, as they say in England: the fingerprint. But this squad is mine and I like it. 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 make me expect that next season they can be even better".

Outside, they are saying 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 them. He played his last game for the national team on Argentine soil by his own decision, I think he will end his time 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 he has shown throughout the season, with very few injuries and absences... Being such a regular presence gives him that credibility, so that we do not look at the passport, we forget the age and focus on performance. He is a great player. And quality does not change at all from one year to the next".

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

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

Given Pavlidis’ poor form, are you not tempted to go with Ivanovic?

"Pavlidis is one of those players whose performance is not judged by the goals he scores and the goals he does not 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 do not judge him by the goals he scores or does not 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.