See everything José Mourinho said after Benfica v Alverca | OneFootball

expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Eagles' team, against Alverca. In the press conference, the Benfica coach commented on the main incidents of the match, refrained from talking about the refereeing, and even made a very special comparison of Anísio Cabral with a world football legend. Check out everything the Special One said.

How do you explain the team's belief until the end?

"It's the culture we instill, the combination of Benfica culture with my own culture. Until the end, we go; until it's mathematically possible, we go; until there's a second of play, we go. Obviously, there's great merit from the players. Alverca lost, but I can't help but congratulate them because they didn't play anti-football. They surprised me a bit and managed to create danger in the first half. In the second, they faced an avalanche of Benfica's offensive play. So much so that it ended up being symbolic the moment when the goalkeeper got hit on the head with the ball, one of those rare things that happen. The victory and the three points were the most important, but Anísio scoring again, and on his first touch of the ball, was a fantastic thing for the kid — and for us, as it earned us the victory — but I have to look at something that becomes repetitive... We play well, create many chances, but score little. I'll sleep badly again, how is it possible to miss so much!"

What do you say to Anísio Cabral at this moment?

Calm, work. We will manage him well, as we are doing with others who have moved up to the main team and are already main team players; continue to work, with humility. You will laugh, but Anísio's strength is not even his heading game. He scored two beautiful headers for the first team, but it's not his strength. I met his mother in the corridor, and in half a minute of conversation, it was clear that he is well-structured, very calm, grounded. Let's see if between Benfica and the family we can protect him a bit from the world of football. He is of age to play in the Youth League, where we want to at least reach the final again, and Anísio will play in the Youth League again. We will manage him, as we did this week with Banjaqui and Zé [José Neto], who needed four days of rest, even mentally. But there are other boys with a lot of quality. Kevin Pinto, who was on the bench today, is at the youth football level behind Banjaqui, but he has incredible potential and will surely be a first league player. And he is the one behind Banjaqui!"

What does Benfica need to have more control of the games?

"Scoring goals. There are players who naturally have goals, Anísio has goals, for example. Others are not players with many goals, and this is something we are trying to change in the more offensive players. Schjelderup's goal, for example, is a goal I love — just a tap-in, but it was necessary to follow the play, have the ambition for the goal; we need players to be greedy; on the contrary, we have players who don't like the sweet. The sweet is there, but they don't go for it. We don't have many players like that. Look at how many goals Schjelderup, Prestianni, or Sudakov have scored in their careers. And we are talking about very good players, but we are also talking about numbers, and attacking players need to surpass double digits in goals per season, less than that is for midfielders and defenders."

What is Anísio's ceiling? How do you comment on the potential penalty incidents?

"Regarding the penalties, I haven't seen them yet and don't want to speak and then look foolish. I have the feeling that all of them could be, but I doubt any are scandalous. The problem is that refereeing allows for one thing one day and another the next. What I am sure of is that they would be penalties with other teams. I have the feeling that nothing goes our way. About Anísio's ceiling, it depends on many things. The potential is there, the physicality, the deep movements. He has things in his back-to-goal game very similar to a player I had. Anísio is also very quick with shots, has goals, in Tondela he almost scored again when he came on. But, you can laugh or call me an idiot, his heading game is not his strength."

Who is the player he reminds you of?

"Drogba [Didier]. Then Drogba would score five headers in five crosses... Anísio also scored two, but I think it was a miracle because he really needs to improve that aspect."

What does Rafa offer differently from Sudakov?

"More depth in the game. Sudakov drops more and picks up the game in more interior areas. In the first half, I wondered if Sudakov was missing because he gives a lot of continuity to our offensive play; but he is not defining well. Rafa reaches more in depth, has a touch, shot on the post. Coaches of big teams need to have various solutions. Having Rafa and Sudakov gives us that. In the game against Aves, I also think I'll have Lukebakio, who gives us another type of game."

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