The head coaches of Benfica, Monaco and Valencia have all spoken ahead of this weekend's Emirates Cup. Read a transcript of some of their pre-tournament comments:
Jorge Jesus, Benfica
on Benfica playing at the Emirates Cup…
It’s a tournament with top-quality teams, a very prestigious event and it’s enough to say that it’s being played in London. We wanted to prepare this season by playing a tournament of this magnitude. Magnitude in terms of teams, teams that force us into periods of great quality, teams that would also force us to do things that other opponents wouldn’t be able to.
That primary objective was achieved, and so we’re facing Arsenal and Valencia in this tournament, with what I think is a team close to what Benfica will be during the 2014/2015 season. We want to make this tournament a launchpad to face Rio Ave, on August 10.
on three Portuguese coaches at the Emirates Cup…
It’s true, that is what’s happening, but it’s also a result of our recent quality. It’s true that there are going to be three coaches, Leonardo Jardim, Nuno Espirito Santo and me. Three Portuguese coaches in a very prestigious tournament. The quality of Portuguese managers is increasingly well-defined, both in Portugal as well as in international settings. So all this is positive and interesting.
Leonardo Jardim, AS Monaco
on Falcao…
Falcao will play a part and I hope he will remain with us in the future. We can't pin our hopes on Falcao because he has been out of the game for a very long time but he should be fit enough to play a part in these two upcoming games.
It's been a tough time for him but hopefully these two games can be a big step in his recovery process. He will play in these next games but not the 90 minutes - perhaps 15 or 20 minutes of each game.
on how much pressure there is to deliver the league title…
I believe PSG are strong candidates for the league but Monaco can also be up there by the end of the season.
Nuno Espirito Santo, Valencia
on the other Portuguese coaches at the Emirates Cup and his hopes for this season...
I think that winning is the most important thing. When you win, you feel valued and winning is essential. We're going to face some big rivals in the Emirates Cup; Arsenal, Monaco, Benfica and Valenica are all great teams. We couldn't say it's our target to win this tournament but we will compete. Yesterday we travelled from South America from Europe, we are jet lagged and my players are tired. We played some hard games in Peru and South America and now we are here in London. Even though we are tired we want to take the trophy to Valencia.
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