Roger Schmidt, coach of Benfica, admitted this Monday, in a press conference in anticipation of the second leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League, with the Belgians from Club Brugge, on Tuesday (20:00, TVI ), nothing is impossible, even if the chances of winning the trophy are proportional to the candidates’ budgets.
The German guarantees that this is a clear question, even if it can be challenged. But before thinking about winning the final, Schmidt knows that Benfica needs to close the tie with Club Brugge, an opponent that the Portuguese team won by 0-2 in the first leg.
“We won the first game, which obliges Club Brugge to play, at some point, attacking football, if they want to score goals and nullify the disadvantage in the tie. Now, if they are going to start the game in attack, I can’t answer. It’s always difficult to anticipate the opponent’s strategy”, declared the Benfica coach.
?? Follow live!
— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) March 6, 2023
“All teams still in competition can win the Champions League. But the odds are different. That is very clear. Teams with bigger budgets are favourites. But nothing is impossible at this level”, assumes Roger Schmidt, who is on the verge of to break a record in Luz.
Ticket allows reaching 71.6 million
If Benfica confirms the passage to the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year, 10.6 million euros will enter the club’s coffers for qualification, totaling 71.64 million euros, which is a new record. The “eagles” would then have a new goal, with a further 12.5 million euros for qualifying for the semi-finals.
To do so, the team must maintain the consistency shown this season against the Belgians. In that field, Roger Schmidt confirmed to have all the players available. Chiquinho and Gonçalo Guedes are recovered and participated in the morning training session after having missed the appointment with Famalicão, in Luz. The Danish right-back Alexander Bah did not take to the pitch in the period open to the Media, but it is not a problem according to the German coach.
Thus, Benfica has the necessary conditions in place to guarantee passage to the next stage, in a game in which they could reach their 100th goal of the season and in which Schmidt could even manage the group before the trip to Funchal, to face Marítimo in the 24th round of the First League.