Roger Schmidt reveals ex-Benfica star's world-class secret: the beach | OneFootball

Roger Schmidt will always be known as the coach who delivered Benfica’s most recent league title, but also as the man responsible for bringing João Neves into the first team. In a recent interview, the German spoke about the young footballer — who secured a place in the Champions League semi-finals — and revealed the secret behind the midfielder’s ‘world-class’ quality.

“It’s funny because that was the question I asked him: ‘How are you able to have such a good first touch? And your ball control — where does that incredible technique come from?’” Roger Schmidt began, in an interview with the newspaper L'Équipe, as he spoke about the path Benfica’s former number 87 has been taking.

“He told me the reason is that when he was a child, he used to play on the beach, in the sand, with the ball always moving, and that improved his upper-body technique. That’s the secret,” the German coach revealed, clearly full of admiration for the technique and quality João Neves was showing at the time.

“I think another explanation is that he simply loves football. Nothing else matters to him. At the beginning, when I brought him into the first-team squad, I tried him in different positions — in midfield, at full-back…” Roger Schmidt added to the French sports daily, sharing further details.

“No matter what position he was playing in, he always made his mark. He’s the real deal. He is already a world-class player and he will improve even more,” said the former Benfica coach in comments to the French press, stating that João Neves has a very bright future ahead of him as a footballer.

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