Marco Silva says he is “clearly capable” of making Benfica champions

Ex-Sporting admits that taking over technical command of Tricolor “is the biggest challenge of his career”. The objective “is to stay at Luz for three years.” “We are clearly capable of making Benfica champions”, facing the Dragons and their former locker room teammate and new rival, Rui Borges.

Benfica’s new coach, Marco Silvaconfessed that guiding Benfica is the “biggest challenge of his career”, given the moment the red-and-black club is going through, which is why he wants to instill a “dominant identity” to win titles in football.

“It’s the biggest challenge of my career due to the moment in my career, the moment that Benfica is going through and the size of Benfica”, said the Portuguese coach, who signed a two-year contract, until 2028, with the option for a further oneafter having parted ways with English side Fulham.

Marco Silva is Benfica’s sixth coach in five yearssince Rui Costa took over as president of the club, in 2021, and, in this period, the eagles were led by Jorge Jesus, Nélson Veríssimo, Roger Schmidt, Bruno Lage and José Mourinho, but only achieved one championship title, under the command of the German.

“We have big competitors”

During his presentation, which took place at the Cosme Damião Museum, in Lisbon, the coach made it clear that he wanted to see the Lisbon emblem with a “domineering identity”.

“Whoever is at this club has to think this way. There is no point in thinking differently and it is always about adding something. That is the objective. A dominating identity to win in Portugal will have to be the way. It is to be a dominating team”, he highlighted.

José Mourinho’s successor, who joined Spanish side Real Madrid, in technical command of the Eagles recognized that the new position brings “responsibility, honor and pride” to make Benfica national champions, something that has not happened since 2022/23, then under the command of German Roger Schmidt.

“If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t be here with absolute certainty. I believe very, very much. We are clearly capable of making Benfica champions and be competitive. We know the difficulties, we have great competitors”, he declared.

The pressure is something that Marco Silva faces with “responsibility” and admitted “being privileged” for having been chosen by the club president, Rui Costa.

“It doesn’t bring me more or less pressure, but the responsibility of being at this club. I’m the first to put it. I feel that this pressure is a privilege. We are going to have very strong moments and we will have to be able to withstand it. I am privileged to be here”, he concluded.

Candidate in Europe, “no excuse”

Benfica concluded the last edition of the I Liga in third place, without any defeat, but with 11 draws and eight points behind champion FC Porto and two behind second place, Sporting, that is, outside the places of access to the next edition of the Champions League, with the Europa League being, eventually, the competition in which the eagles will participate.

Benfica’s size forces the Lisbon club to be a candidate in the Europa League, but there is a “atypical pre-season” to do, with “a squad that has quality”, stated Marco Silva.

“The first step is that we are in the group stage. We will have an atypical pre-season, but it will never be an excuse. There are six games [segunda e terceira pré-eliminatórias e um play-off] to compete to be in the league stage. Looking at the size of Benfica, it has to be a candidate. Benfica’s size requires this, but firstly, to have a good pre-season to be prepared”, explained the new coach of the ‘eagles’, during his presentation.

The Benfica squad begins preparations for the new season in two weeks, on June 25th.

Benfica will invest in the squad

Despite having lost its objective of participating in the 2026/27 edition of the Champions League, Benfica will not stop investing in the team, which has quality, according to the 48-year-old coach.

“Benfica’s squad has quality. We are improving in some aspects to reinforce the team. Not being in the Champions League has a huge impact on this club, not only financially, but that’s not why Benfica won’t invest”, assured Marco Silva, at the Cosme Damião Museum, at Estádio da Luz.

Sudakov: key player

Afterwards, he praised the Ukrainian Georgiy Sudakov, in whom he “believes a lot”, largely due to the midfielder’s profile.

“Sudakov is a Benfica player and we clearly count on him. It was a big investment from Benfica. It’s a player profile that normally pays off and we managed to get the best out of him. I really believe in him and it will be time to prove it. He’s had a difficult year in personal terms, he has all our trust and support”, he commented.

“The objective is to stay for three years”

Coming from Fulham, in England, where he played for the last five seasons, Marco Silva ended a decade-long career in English football – still with spells at Hull City, Watford and Everton -, in which he felt “very good”, to now spend three years in charge of the Lisbon club.

“I’m not going to say it was an easy or difficult decision. We know my connection with the Premier League. For some reason I spent almost 12 years outside my country, 10 in England. I felt very good, I identify with it and it took a while to create. I signed for two years, but the objective is to stay at Benfica for three years”, he said, referring to the fact that the agreement with the ‘eagles’ includes an option to extend the relationship until 2029.

“Five months ago, I would have said no”

The possibility of returning to the Portuguese championship could have happened longer ago, but it didn’t happen “for many reasons”, according to José Mourinho’s successor, who now understands that the “ideal moment to have a challenge the size of Benfica” has arrived.

“I won’t hide that I had opportunities to return to Portuguese football for many reasons they didn’t happen. Now we realize that it was the ideal time to have a challenge the size of Benfica”, he admitted.

With Real Madrid announcing its intention to sign José Mourinho, who has already gone to the Spanish capital in exchange for 15 million euros (ME), Marco Silva reported his first interaction with the president of Benfica, Rui Costa.

“The conversation was clear and at the time I showed openness. If you had asked me five months ago if my goal was to return to Portugal, I would have said no. The answer [a Rui Costa] It was leaving the door open, which was something that excited me. The first conversation was an expression of interest”, he concluded.

The new rival, Rui Borges, was once a teammate

Sporting and Benfica will now, next season, have two coaches who have already shared the same dressing room. Rui Borges and Marco Silva crossed paths in 2002/03 no Sp. Braga B.

The Benfica coach, now 48 years old, then played as a right-back in the Bragaenses secondary team. In front of him, often on the right side, appeared Rui Borges, a midfielder or winger, currently coaching Sporting.

According to Zerozero records, both were part of the most used eleven of that team, coached by António Caldas and António Conceição. Rui Borges played 25 games, being the ninth most used player in the squad. Marco Silva participated in 21 matches, but accumulated more minutes on the field: 1783, compared to 1573 for the current Leonine coach.

Toni Conceição, who followed this season closely, remembers the two former players: Marco Silva was already distinguished by his strong personality and his attention to the tactical and strategic aspects of the game; Rui Borges, in turn, was more introverted, humble and receptive to directions.