Maniche was present in Nyon, after being invited by UEFA, to participate in the Europa League draw this Friday. Speaking to A BOLA, he commented on the responsibility he was given and recalled a previous participation in draws:
“This is already my second experience. I had done it a few years ago [2020] and by chance, I didn’t bring much luck to the Portuguese teams at that time. Benfica drew Arsenal back then and it didn’t go very well… Now I also don’t know if I was very lucky for FC Porto, because they will play against Stuttgart and if they go through, they always get very tough opponents. They ended up on the worst side of the bracket, unlike SC Braga.”
Recalling the conquest of the now-defunct UEFA Cup in 2003 with the Dragons, the former midfielder analyzed the ambitions of the team led by Francesco Farioli. “In theory, FC Porto has every chance and is one of the favorites to reach the final. It’s a responsibility that the players must have, because this competition has already been won and, looking at the rivals, they have chances. But you only know if they are fragile or not on the field. As league leaders, struggling in some games, I don’t think they are in great form right now,” he said, arguing that the Dragons should set the goal of going far in the competition.
FC Porto has every chance and is one of the favorites to reach the final. It’s a responsibility that the players must have, because this competition has already been won and, looking at the rivals, they have chances
“The demand is good and legitimate, but in this particular competition, I believe the fans have to support the team because against Stuttgart it will be a balanced tie. A club like this has to plan the season to go as far as possible in European competitions, because that’s where prestige is gained, that’s where players increase their value. They should take advantage of the signings made in the winter market and address any fatigue that one or another player might have. Farioli has rotated the squad a bit, all the players are very balanced in terms of games. But still, they are four points ahead of Sporting, seven ahead of Benfica, it’s not that many points… and in a few weeks they go to Luz, which is always an unpredictable result.”
Benfica was not involved in today’s draws as they were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League, but Maniche believes the club can still fight for second place in the league.
“Did the season end for them in February? No, there are 11 rounds left. A club like Benfica can never throw in the towel, regardless of the season, which in my view has been horrible. I think Benfica has to fight, the players have to fight, they have to obviously honor the great institution that is Benfica. There are seasons when nothing goes right and this is one of them. They need to reflect, think about what they did so as not to repeat the same mistakes. The problem is that the mistakes have been accumulating year after year and the fans are already desperate for a title, which obviously creates more pressure on the team and the players. Now, it was probably bad luck to face Real Madrid in a play-off situation, which they are rarely in, right? But nobody thought Benfica would get through the [league phase] with nine points, and they did,” he emphasized.
“Football is very unpredictable in these things and Benfica had the ability to fight; it was proven in the game at the Bernabéu that Benfica could have perfectly beaten Real Madrid. They had their chances, their opportunities to score, but weren’t effective. But again, it’s not just about that game. As long as it’s mathematically possible, I think Benfica has to fight until the end and try first for the closest spot, which is second, because they are three points behind Sporting. Then, neither Benfica nor Sporting depend on themselves, they depend on FC Porto, who will ultimately dictate the hope that Benfica can still have in the league, but it would be good for Benfica at least to have access to the Champions League for next season,” Maniche further analyzed.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.
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