Renewal of Prestianni and selection back to the Light. Rui Costa opens the book

How's this opening of the Benfica House of Cantanhede going? “ With great pride and great honor. It's House 256 of Benfica, which makes me very pleased and proud. It is yet another great demonstration of the Benficism spread throughout the country and the world. As we know, the Houses are of tremendous importance to us. They make us feel like we are the biggest club in the country.”

Arbitration: “Our concern has already been public. What has happened in Portuguese football in recent years gives us strength and reason to want better arbitration, for Benfica and for everyone. That is why we have given the Portuguese Football Federation a document that goes precisely in this direction. There are four very strong pillars. Benfica demands different transparency in Portuguese football, professionalization of arbitration, better conditions for referees, but above all, greater accountability regarding what has happened. We're not happy or happy. I do not think any Portuguese is satisfied with what has happened in the Portuguese fields. We can't have a competition the size of ours with referees who aren't even professionals. At the same time, it is necessary to demand completely different accountability and transparency. The document we delivered to FPF has precisely that purpose. We know that there is a great deal of interest in resolving the problems of arbitration, but we cannot continue to expect this to happen and to see what we have seen.”

Work by Marco Silva: “I am very pleased and I think all Benfiquists too. The team's been doing a good part of the season so far. Marco has done a good job and we are very pleased. From what I've been watching, I think the Benfiquists are also very pleased with Marco. Now it’s continuity.”

Renewal of Prestinanni: “It’s almost all ready and it’s going smoothly. It'll be over soon. Everything is more or less right.”

Technical Arbitration Commission considered it a penalti for scoring against FC Porto: “I consider that everything we have just spoken about, with the document we have delivered, gains even more strength with all the situations that have happened. You've been watching. The Council, the body that discusses what happened on the day, did what it did and said. Therefore, this only gives us more strength to believe that the document we deliver represents a radical change that urges Portuguese football. Let's try to work to make that possible. We're not just doing this for Benfica. We feel targeted in many situations, we regret that very much and want to compete in the championships in the field. We believe it has not been so, but we are looking for Portuguese football to improve in its entirety. That Benfica feels highly harmed in recent years, there is no doubt about that.”

Can arbitration condition the championship? “It’s all we don’t want. We want the championships to be played and won within the field. I used an expression last year in Famalicão: ‘There is no one who has the right to decide a football game without being the players who are inside the field and the coaches who are guiding the teams’. That's what we want for football. There will continue to be errors, of course, but we want much greater transparency, much greater independence and much greater accountability for the errors seen on the lawns.”

Is the document a contribution? What does Benfica expect the FPF to do? “FPF should look at this document as a support for what it also needs to do. You should consult the clubs and seek to meet the needs of Portuguese arbitration and the demands of the national championship. When I talk about transparency, professionalization and accountability, I also talk about technology. There are many new methods and we are completely out of date. We need to implement these tools as quickly as possible in Portuguese football, such as out-of-play, goal line technology and many other solutions that can improve transparency. This is not about Benfica, it is about Portuguese football. We have our concerns about what has happened to us, but also about Portuguese football. This is what we want with the document delivered to FPF. I believe there will be follow-up and that football can improve in this sector. In order to ask for accountability, we must also give professionalization, but to do so, we must almost force accountability. And we haven't seen that either. We have watched referees make brutal mistakes and shortly thereafter become international or award-winning. I find this completely unacceptable in Portuguese football.”

Jorge Jesus said he liked the selection to return to the Light: “ Let's see how it goes in the future. As you know, the selection has not played in the Stadium of Light for a long time, and for now it will continue.”

Is there a proposition for a Benfica player? “What I can say, to rest the Benfiquists, is that we are at a time when we want to fight for all goals. As a consequence, no important player will come out. As for this, you can rest assured.”

Has Marco Silva told you what positions to strengthen? “ By January we have plenty of time to assess. We are in daily contact, but our concern at the moment is to value what we have in the squad and have given the answer it has given. What I can assure the Benfiquists is that we aim to fight for all objectives and, as a consequence, no important player will come out.”

Can Schjelderup's interview create any malaise in the locker room by praising Mourinho? “ It would be bad if you didn't compliment a coach who was just in Benfica. It'll be Schjelderup, and it'll be all the other players praising the former trainer they had. That doesn't mean they're criticizing the current coach. The team has demonstrated this joy to play and this commitment, which is the result of the work that has been developed with Marco Silva. There is a very large symbiosis between technical team and players, which has given the results it has given. We have to feed this and not lose this hunger to win, play the game, and fight for our goals. It’s okay inside the squad, don’t create problems where there aren’t.”

Three squad goalie: “ We are very pleased with the three goalkeepers we have at our disposal, not just two. We have three great goalkeepers and this fight has been for the best. We are satisfied.”