Roger Schmidt reviews the match against Estoril next Saturday, which is the match of the 12th round of the Spanish Football League scheduled for tomorrow (20:30).
After the Champions League match, the team returns to the Bwin League. How do you see the next match against Estoril? “It was a hard trip to Haifa, but the players are really new. They rested and are looking forward to playing tomorrow. I think we will play against a team that plays good football, is strong, is brave with the ball and with clear ideas of what they want to do and how to press. It will be a tough match, but we are ready for it. We are good, the players are at a very high level, we are good tactically and looking forward to playing and winning tomorrow.”
Some Benfica players go to the World Cup. In Portugal we don’t usually have this rest, but in Germany it is customary to stop in the winter. How can this be useful for team management? “There is no plan, we will not really rest. We will play the League Cup, it is the decision of the Federation and it is something new, we have to play in a competition without the players who go to the World Cup. We” There will be several absences between League Cup matches but it is difficult to find time off for the players. The season was tough, but we have to play again. We will have to find the best way to handle the situation. In these times, I always accept something I can’t change, and I try to find the best way to manage all of this. We have some time between matches, but after Christmas we will play again against Sp. Braga. It’s a strange case, but we will find the best solution.”
Gonzalo Ramos, Antonio Silva and Orsons. are you totally fit? “Antonio Silva is great, he has no complaints after the match. He was substituted to give Lucas minutes, not because of the injury. Gonzalo Ramos is not too bad but he’s still in doubt, we’ll reassess. The next three games..a muscle injury and it won’t be available.”
Can Draxler return tomorrow? “No, he is not ready for tomorrow, but we hope that he will be back against Gil Vicente. He is already training on the pitch, individually, but he is not integrated. We have to be careful not to aggravate the injury.”
Benfica will face Estoril again in no time. Differences between league and cup matches…: “The next match is always the most important. Right now, the league, then the cup. Sometimes playing with the same teams happens in a very short time, and we focus on tomorrow’s match. Then we prepare for the next match. Step by step.”
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