Samuel Dahl showers Benfica mainstay with praise: I'm very grateful to him | OneFootball

Samuel Dahl was one of the main figures in a Benfica Benfica autograph session at Colombo Shopping Centre, alongside Franjo Ivanovic, in an event that brought together hundreds of Benfica fans and generated long queues. At the end of the event, the left-back spoke about the impact José Mourinho has had on his development as a player.

An undisputed starter throughout the season, Dahl has already racked up 3,967 minutes in the Eagles shirt and admits he is going through a period of clear improvement, largely driven by his work with José Mourinho. "It’s fantastic to go to the training centre every day and have him as my coach. I’ve grown a lot with him, he has given me a lot of confidence throughout the season, and I hope to keep improving," he explained.

The recent words of the Special One, who highlighted the Swede’s “incredible” improvement, had a direct impact on the player, who did not hide his gratitude for the manager’s praise: "When you have that kind of coach and man saying something like that about you, it only gives you more confidence and more happiness to play football. I’m very grateful to him for the minutes. I’ve never played this much in a season."

Dahl believes his growth is reflected in several aspects of his game, from "decision-making" to "competitive intensity," seeing himself now as a more complete player. The Sweden international also made a point of thanking the coaching staff, his teammates, and the fans for their support during this positive spell.

Despite the points gap to the league leaders, the full-back assured that Benfica will not give up the title race until the end of the season. "We have seven games left to play, and they are seven important finals. We will fight until it is no longer mathematically possible. There are seven games left, that’s a lot of points."

During the international break, Dahl remained in Seixal, but followed Sweden’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup with enthusiasm, keeping alive his goal of making the final squad. "It was fun that they won, I wish I could say we won. I’m going to keep fighting, as I have done so far, to be called up," he concluded.

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