Benfica are under quite some pressure ahead of acing Philippe Clement’s Rangers in the first leg of their Europa League’s round-of-16 this week.
The Eagles were thrashed by Portuguese rivals Porto 5-0 at the weekend, and Roger Schmidt’s job may be on the line prior to the Rangers clash.
Former Benfica vice-president José Manuel Antunes was today interviewed by Radio Renascença’s Bola Branca, and made some predictions about what could happen with a bad result against Rangers.
“It will always be a decision for the board, but as a fan I would find it difficult [to keep Schmidt] if we went out with Rangers and didn’t win the league and cup.”
Antunes even claimed that the coach shouldn’t have apologised for the result.
“It’s a complicated mistake to say that to Benfica’s members. It’s not understanding the culture of the club. That worries me, you’ve been here for a year and a half and you should understand a bit better.”
Benfica and Rangers will play the round-of-16 first leg at the Estádio da Luz on Thursday, and have the decisive game at Ibrox a week later.
It’s a little hard to imagine the Eagles sacking the coach between the two matches, although the elimination from the competition makes it a lot more possible.
Benfica are far from having a disastrous season, as they’re currently second in the league table, with just one point behind Sporting, who also have one game less.
The heavy defeat to Porto, however, was a big shock for their fans, and Roger Schmidt will have some extra motivation to face Rangers now.
