The championship is almost certain, in the Champions League one hopes for the outsider coup – Benfica Lisbon faces promising weeks. The architect sits on the bench and speaks German.
“Crunchtime” is what athletes like to call the days and weeks when it comes to the seasonal decisions in their profession. It’s the same in football, of course – including in Portuguese. And right in the middle of all the important decisions is a man who could win big with his club this season: Roger Schmidt is about to win the national championship with his club Benfica Lisbon. And in the Champions League, the Portuguese are regarded as the insider tip that has what it takes to steal the show from the really big ones this time.
Win against Porto – the league title would be almost certain
On Friday the “Big Schmidt”, as the 56-year-old is now respectfully called in Lisbon, will face FC Porto. With eight games left in the series, Benfica lead the table by ten points over Porto. In 26 games they have won 23 games, drawn two draws and suffered only one defeat.
If the first leg win is repeated (1-0 for Benfica), the championship would be as good as dry. It would be the 38th league title for proud Benfica, who boast a huge fan base across Portugal and are the second largest club in the world by membership. The club is of course used to success, but has had a medium dry spell – in 2019 they were at the top for the last time.
“In the right place”
“I have never experienced so much passion and love for football as here“, says Schmidt, who apparently found something like his dream job in Lisbon. “I feel like I’m in the right place. I’m very happy that Benfica believe in me”, he said a week ago when Benfica prematurely extended his contract until 2026. They had wanted to do this for a long time, ultimately it was about the amount of the basic salary and the transfer fee in the event of a premature exit from the contract.
However, it is not to be expected that Schmidt will turn his back on the club. There are huge opportunities ahead for the man who once only got as far as Germany’s third division as an active player. He then became a top trainer more or less by accident when his talent in the amateur field was recognized in Delbrück in East Westphalia. Schmidt, who at the time worked full-time as an engineer, jumped at the coaching opportunity when Preußen Münster knocked on his door in 2007. Schmidt quit his “civilian” job and from then on put everything on the football coach card.
Trademark offensive pressing
The Sauerland native landed via Münster at SC Paderborn, Bayer Leverkusen, Beijing and Eindhoven before moving to Benfica in 2022. His game philosophy has always remained the same: Schmidt relies on consistent offensive pressing and always wants to play up front as quickly as possible.
At Bayer Leverkusen Schmidt had only moderate success
At Benfica, Schmidt has formed a team with players who previously had few well-known names internationally. Julian Draxler is there, but the German has hardly played a role so far due to poor form and injury problems. The protagonists of Schmidt’s Benfica are different: the goalscorer Gonçalo Ramos, of course, but also João Mário, a midfielder who used to score seldom and now with some regularity. And the defense is conducted by Nicolás Otamendi, 35, who recently became world champion with Argentina.
“Schmidt has personality”
Otamendi is full of praise for the coach he has been working with since last summer. “I didn’t know him before”the captain and defender said in a UEFA interview: “He’s a coach with very clear ideas who gives the players a lot of confidence. The training is good too and he has personality. That’s important for a young team.”
Benfica’s Nicolas Otamendi
Because it is not easy to manage such a squad. “But he’s doing it in the best possible form in his first season”says the 35-year-old.
Internally, the national title in Lisbon will be regarded as secured, secretly they are looking at another competition in the football-mad metropolis – the Champions League.
Inter Milan at a glance
From next Wednesday we’ll face Inter Milan in the quarter-finals. “A great team”says Schmidt about the opponent. “But there are no favorites in this duel”, he finds. He is particularly interested in the home game. “We are a force at the Estadio da Luz. It’s really fun for us there and with the support of our fans, the games there are very special.”believes Schmidt.
But first of all it’s about the line under the national championship. And that’s where FC Porto should feel Benfica’s home strength on Friday.