Liga Portugal star recalls Benfica spell: left me wanting more | OneFootball

João Carvalho admitted not having reached all the levels he wanted at Benfica. The midfielder, who is currently performing well at Estoril - where Ferro also plays -, took responsibility for the opportunities he didn't seize at the Clube da Luz, in an interview he gave to the newspaper A Bola.

"Of course, it feels like too little! I think I had two and a half seasons, if I'm not mistaken, in the B team at a good level, with a good performance, and then I was loaned to Vitória de Setúbal. When I returned, I didn't know how to take advantage of the opportunities I had, I didn't know how to be in that demanding locker room and at that time it wasn't part of my personality to be a bit more open in the locker room and in training, games, etc.," he initially said about his path at Benfica.

João Carvalho continued: "I regret more on my part than anything else, but afterwards, I still managed to earn the club 15 million euros. In the end, despite not giving what the fans wanted with my performances, I helped the club in another way, even though it wasn't what I wanted. But it's in the past and it helped me to be here."

Then, he spoke about another former Benfica player he met on the Cascais line: "I think Pizzi — speaking without flattery... — was, perhaps, one of the best midfielders in terms of numbers who played in our League, that's the reality. At the time, he was already a reference at Benfica, the club I came from since my youth, and of course, I looked at them, the references, in a different way. Seeing him here again is always a pleasure, playing and training alongside him too. He helps us a lot and is an extraordinary person. I think he's one of the easiest people to be around in the locker room."

He concluded with a reflection on the impact that the Benfica figures had on his position within the team: "Of course, I drew a bit from the past, they were great references; Luisão is a great captain and Pizzi was too, and of course, a captain of Benfica, in a big club, will always be a person with leadership. I try to draw a bit from each and even perhaps from the young players who pass through here, I draw from the confidence they have in themselves, because I think I didn't have that confidence in myself when I was young, and it seems good to me that they have that confidence."

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