“If you love football, you love Benfica,” says new coach
Benfica’s new manager Roger Schmidt arrived in Lisbon on Tuesday morning, speaking to Portuguese reporters for the first time at the airport.
“I am very happy to be here, to be part of Benfica, to work in this beautiful city and this beautiful country. I really appreciate it and I thank the people of Benfica, President Rui Costa, and his team for trusting that I can be a good coach for Benfica,” said the 55-year-old coach.
“I will give my best, work hard with my staff and the players to play good football and be successful,” he added.
The new Benfica boss is well-aware of the responsibility on his shoulders, describing the club as “one of the biggest in the world”.
“I love football and if you love football, you love Benfica. From the first conversations with people from Benfica, it was in my head that this will be a great option for me, I wanted to be part of Benfica. I’m excited to get to work,” he said.
Schmidt travelled to Estádio da Luz afterwards to formally sign the two-year contract linking him to the Lisbon club.
