After a poor start to the season, Roger Schmidt is no longer the coach of Portuguese football record champions Benfica Lisbon. Benfica initially announced on the club’s website that they had started talks with Schmidt about an immediate termination of his contract. A short time later, President Rui Costa announced the separation.
“The coach was informed that he was no longer the coach of Benfica,” he said. “We wanted stability. But after four match days, our results and our performances, we have come to the conclusion that we should change the coach. We want to present the new coach as soon as possible.” As the sports paper “A Bola” reports, Benfica’s former coach Bruno Lage is said to be the favorite to succeed him.
On Friday, 57-year-old Schmidt’s previous team only managed a 1-1 draw at Moreirense. The traditional club only managed seven points from the first four championship games. Schmidt had been coach of the capital club since July 2022 and had a contract until June 30, 2026.
Last season, Schmidt had already failed to win a major title with the Benfica team, which was used to success. At that time, despite strong criticism from Benfica fans, the former Bundesliga coach still had the backing of President Rui Costa, who believed in the coach’s qualities. In Schmidt’s first year, Benfica won its first championship since 2019 with some inspiring football.
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