The coaches of Benfica and Sporting this afternoon previewed tomorrow's Super Cup match that will be played at Estádio Algarve. Jorge Jesus and Rui Vitória, after a walk on the pitch with their respective teams, spoke to journalists and both assumed the ambition of winning the trophy, and the reunion that will take place between the current Sporting coach and the old team, Benfica, was one of the key themes of the press conferences.
The first to speak to journalists was Jorge Jesus. The leonine coach praised the intelligence of Rui Vitória for not having made changes in the way Benfica play since last season, resuming what he said in an interview with RTP this week.
«From the games I saw with Benfica, I saw the same system, the same game idea, the same strategy in the set pieces, all the same. What I have to do is congratulate the Benfica coach, because he's smart, he kept things as they were, and they gave him victories», he said.
About tomorrow's game, Jesus stressed that it will be “a final between two rivals, and both clubs are aware of the importance of this final. Both want to win and let's see who is the best».
For Jorge Jesus, “it's good for Sporting to be here, it's important to play a final, the opponent is not important. Only those who get here are the best. We are working with a completely different idea, most players have never worked with me. What matters is to make a game within our capabilities, it's a final, and we have to play with whoever it is».
Jesus will make his debut on Sporting's bench against Benfica, but for the coach, this is just another final. “It's true that it's the first real game, but it's nothing special. It's a final. Fortunately, in the last six years, I've been to many finals, I just haven't been to the Champions and at the World Championship. This is the first at the service of Sporting, nothing more than that», he reinforced.
Although Jorge Jesus assumes that Sporting's players "were not used to many finals" in recent years and that, therefore, there may be "some anxiety", the coach is confident in winning the trophy: "favoritism [ do Benfica] does not give you the right to win the final. These “only” Benfica players have won seven trophies in eight in two years, but that doesn't give them the right to be better. We are very ambitious and confident to compete in the final».
Asked about the possibility of Benfica players being extra-motivated with his words, Jorge Jesus downplayed: «Benfica players have a lot of category, these words are equal to zero, for them. I know them very well, what I said had nothing to do with the players. It's another movie and there are those who want to take advantage of my statement. Benfica players are super-educated, super-prepared, because I know them like the back of my hands. They have other standards, this is a joke for them», he said.
The coach also refuted the possibility of going to find tomorrow a Benfica weaker compared to last year, after the departures of Maxi Pereira and Lima. "Last year Benfica didn't lose two players, they lost many, and they won everything, that's just to put those who aren't aware of it to sleep."
During this week two more reinforcements arrived at Sporting: Aquilani and Bruno Paulista, but the coach said that they will not play.
In the case of Benfica, Mitroglou also arrived this week and Rui Vitória told reporters that the Greek international could make his debut tomorrow. "Mitroglou is in the squad and we thought we could add something to the team," he said.
About the rest of the team to present in the Super Cup, Vitória refused to "advance anything ahead of time", saying only that "tomorrow we will present a team that knows the responsibility of the game, filled with players with a lot of capacity, who work in an arduous way and who go into the game with a great desire to win».
About the game, Rui Vitória says that «the work week was very positive, in keeping with Benfica's operating line and greatness. It was a normal preparation, within the context of a final and it is a competition we have to win».
For the Benfica coach, the bad pre-season is already there and «about the past, it's not worth discussing anything. Everything has already been analyzed and we are going to present a team with responsibility and ambition to win, because a big club thinks like that».
The journalists wanted to know what Rui Vitória thinks about the words of Jorge Jesus, but the coach incarnate refused to comment. “My focus is on what tomorrow's game is. A Benfica-Sporting, a classic, a derby with a tradition in Portuguese football. I hope for a full stadium, and I hope it will be a beautiful spectacle, that people will have fun and that Benfica will win. My focus is on the game, I care a lot about my team and the rest doesn't matter at all», he said.
After a new question on the same issue, Rui Vitória was more rigid: «I answer and talk to whoever I want, when I want and when my head decides. Today, the most important thing is a final and that goes beyond anything, and any individuality», he replied.
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