Everything José Mourinho said ahead of Farense v Benfica | OneFootball

José Mourinho just previewed the Portuguese Cup match. In the presence of journalists who attended the press conference held at the Benfica Campus, the Portuguese coach spoke about Farense, the absences in the Eagles' team, and also confirmed the starting position of Manu Silva. Check out everything the Special One said.

How is this work of changing the mindset going?

"They are finals. So there hasn't been a change of mindset because we haven't played any game that allows us to. If we hadn't won against Napoli, we would be out; losing in Faro means being out of the Cup. The mindset is always the same. We have to win. I think this can help us because often after a big game, there can be relaxation, and many times teams don't respond in the best way. We know it's difficult, Benfica had difficulties there, they were losing. The B team was winning and lost. It's a team that fights with the weapons it has, on a difficult field. If any question arises about whether I will change, I will change something, neither much nor little. I will change because I increasingly trust everyone. Not because A B or C needs to rest. The player who is in difficulty is Barreiro and he's not even on the list. It's not about fatigue, it's about my growing confidence in people who have had fewer opportunities. Our training sessions seem like games, which gives me great satisfaction. We will make 3/4 changes."

Considering these changes, does it mean a change of system or will it be the same?

"This thing about the system nowadays is a bit complicated to analyze from this single system perspective. You press in different ways. The change implies that some things have to be modified. One thing is to play with Aurnses on the right or left, or with Schjelderup who is truly a winger. These small differences will make us modify something. We analyzed the profile of Farense well, we have to adapt, there are things that are impossible to counter if we don't adapt."

You criticized the players' attitude with Atlético. How are you preparing to ensure it doesn't happen again?

"The game with Atlético also marked a turning point for our team. We increasingly identify with each other, we know each other. They know that I forgive with all my heart the mistake Dahl made against Bayer, Tomás's mistake in the penalty... They know that there's one thing I will never accept, which is reductions in concentration levels, it's something I never managed to overcome. The fact that we had difficulties in Chaves and with Atlético... we know we will have difficulties with Farense. They won't catch us by surprise. A physical team that doesn't worry much about game principles. We know we will have difficulties, we have to be able to respond. It has been a not easy trajectory, three games without playing at Luz. We have to keep moving forward."

You just said the speech marked a change. Has the main target of the mind games been the team itself?

"I think what made me known were the titles I won and not the fact of saying some nonsense. Talking to you is also a way of reaching the players. After talking to you or before, I usually already talked to them or will talk to them. What I told you was what I said at halftime. It wasn't a differentiated mental approach. Each game is a game. The moments of grace end, and the moments of great difficulty end. Everything has an end. Now that we are living a good moment, we have to have this mental strength to always want more."

Leandro Barreiro is absent. At the beginning, when you arrived, you talked about putting a finger or two, now you talk about 3 changes. What eleven will you present tomorrow?

"Leandro tomorrow and on Monday we'll see how he arrives. I take this opportunity to wish Vasco a good recovery, he seems like a great kid. May everything go well. Tomorrow what is not on the field will be on the bench. It's not that we will make it easy, we won't make it easy, what we will change, the starting point of the change is to give players who deserve to play the opportunity to play. It's not 'this player really needs to rest'. Otamendi will play, there are a couple who won't play, maybe two or three. Having these players on the bench gives me a certain security. We go with the goal of winning the knockout. It's another trip, we don't have an opportunity to play at home, when there's a draw it has to go to someone else to be luckier."

Statements by Frederico Varandas

"I don't comment on anything, I read that he will run again. Although it's something that doesn't concern me, I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his work."

You have been betting on five midfielders. What differences do you feel?

"In terms of cohesion, yes. In terms of a compact team defensively, with security in game management. In the first 15/20 minutes, 0 shots at our goal. If it's not above, it's not below. Having fast people looking for depth gives another dimension that I would like to have. The team has evolved well in this sense. The team is growing. When we had a couple of negative results, there was no panic, in the same way now that we are playing well, calm."

Manu Silva

"Yes, he plays, Enzo will sit next to me. They are players with a similar profile, they play in the same areas, interpret the game very well in the defensive and offensive phases. They are not very fast, but they have a very good reading of the game. They are both strong in set pieces. While there was no Manu, we were a bit limited, now with him starting to appear when he's well, it's great for us. Two players per position give us stability."

Any surprise in the team tomorrow?

"Banjaqui, he's the only one who will be called up besides those who came from below. Neto and Freitas went to Funchal. I want them to play a lot for development, they need to play, today in Madeira it's a 1st League game because Marítimo is a 1st league team. They open the door for more people to be called up, Obrador returns and Banjaqui will be called up for the first time."

Pavlidis is among the top scorers in Europe. Where do you rank him?

"I don't do rankings, I refuse because I have tremendous respect for what they have given me. In terms of goalkeepers I've had: Vítor Baía, Júlio César, Petr Cech, Lloris... Now imagine this with central defenders, right-backs... I identify him as a great player. Pavlidis is the type of forward that if he doesn't score, his contribution is never zero, he's a player who could be an attacking midfielder because he has that quality to build. I like him a lot. I like the growth Ivanovic is having, the psychological strength to resist three months without playing. We are all improving a little bit at a time."

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