Cassiano Klein: We deserve it because we didn’t give up, we fought

Cassiano Klein, Benfica’s futsal coach, after the victory over Sporting (4-3), at the Pavilhão da Luz, in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

We know that the result of the second leg, there, will be a close game again, just like today. I believe it could have been 4-3, 5-3 for Sporting, just as it could have been 4-3 for us, as it was, or 5-3. In my opinion, it’s a very balanced game and I have the utmost respect for them, because I know how challenging it is to compete on the court against Sporting.

Nuno Dias believes the result was unfair.

“If he commented on that, it’s because he had that feeling. My feeling is that we competed a lot, we were very consistent, and I believe we deserved that goal, but I say we deserved it not because we played well or badly, we deserved it because we didn’t give up, we fought, and we believed in the game.

That, for me, has great value because we have a team that truly has spirit, perhaps, when things aren’t going well, but mentally, they don’t give up, and perhaps that merit at the very end was due to believing, to being resilient. I believe that Sporting and Benfica are trying to learn from each other, and I say that if we were to play a game today, there are things that Benfica does that Sporting also does, and there are things that Sporting does that we have done, and that is magnificent in sport.