Dahl might not have joined Benfica, reason now revealed | OneFootball

Mário Branco admitted that if Samuel Dahl had been observed with José Mourinho as Benfica's coach, he might not have been signed. The Benfica director also explained the reasons why Rafael Obrador is not being considered, which are related to the profile desired by the coach.

"Obrador had only played in one game against Tondela in the championship, still under the previous coach's command, and he played 60 minutes, performing relatively well. But as José Mourinho said, in his opinion, he is an unfinished product, but I think he has great potential and has potential that, if properly harnessed, with the necessary patience and launched at the right moment, can positively surprise. In the same way that, potentially, at the beginning, when Carreras arrived at Benfica, few people would have bet on him and now he is a starter for Real Madrid," he said, to the newspaper Record.

"If eventually, at the time Dahl came, the coach had been José Mourinho, potentially, the profile could have been different. It doesn't mean Dahl wouldn't have been signed, but the profile could have been different. But, in this case, for example, if we count the centimeters, Obrador has more physicality than Dahl, but Dahl, at the moment, is, according to the coach, giving a more prepared response," he added.

To conclude, Mário Branco explained the ideas of the Special One: "It has a lot to do with profiles. Nowadays, full-backs, as you know, it's not exactly a... a very hidden secret. José Mourinho, since his Porto days, liked to have full-backs with more physical profiles at the back. Paulo Ferreira, Nuno Valente, and it was something that followed him throughout his career. But the truth is that Dahl has been playing and playing well."

This season, wearing the Benfica jersey, Samuel Dahl – valued at 9 million euros – has played 19 matches: ten in the Liga Portugal Betclic, six in the Champions League, one in the League Cup, one in the Portuguese Cup, and another in the Super Cup. In the 1,608 minutes he played, the full-back scored one goal and made one assist.

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