Tomorrow afternoon, at 6 pm, the Luz Court will pass a ruling on the team’s current situation, just over 24 hours after around 200 fans who were dissatisfied with the performances and results and eager for convincing explanations and responses to the bad moment arrived at the training center in Seixal. It is not necessary, therefore, to be in-depth knowledge of Benfica’s reality to anticipate that, tomorrow, the Reds’ stage will be a volcano erupting with everything that is happening. And that can become hell for the team.
Three defeats in four games were the straw that broke the camel’s back. Benfica was eliminated from the League Cup and the Portuguese Cup, respectively by SC Braga and FC Porto, and almost completely mortgaged the possibility of continuing in the Champions League after the defeat against Juventus, in Turin.
The Champions League is as it is and the championship is not what we wanted, but we have a season to face. Our obligation is to fight until the last second.
The bad moment, perhaps even worse than the one experienced after the defeat with Qarabag, which triggered the replacement of Bruno Lage by José Mourinho, was commented on by Rui Costa, on Friday, but the Benfica president’s words were insufficient to appease the anger of those who cannot handle what is happening.
The Benfica president made it clear that changing coaches «is out of the question» and argued that «Mourinho has already shown that he is a good coach».
«The Champions League is as it is and the championship is not what we wanted, but we have a season to face. Our obligation is to fight until the last second. It is clear that when the team does not win or lose competitions it cannot be at its best level, but we know the work we are doing, everyone internally recognizes what is being done. We have had a lot of injuries, and whether or not anyone else can come also depends on that», he argued.
José Mourinho has insisted that the team is improving. Just this Saturday, speaking to BTV, in preview of the game, he made the same point: «We are playing very well but we are missing the result and that is important.»
We tried to find solutions to combat important injuries, we formed a team of a different nature, which arrives in Porto and dominates, which arrives in Vila do Conde and dominates, which arrives in Turin and dominates.
The coach has also complained about injuries. «We tried to find solutions to combat important injuries, we formed a team of a different nature, which arrives in Porto and dominates, which arrives in Vila do Conde and dominates, which arrives in Turin and dominates. But we have to break the opponent’s goal. Even in Vila do Conde we scored very little for everything we produced,” he said, after the defeat with Juventus.
The justifications, however, were not enough to calm the dissatisfaction.
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