After knocking Ajax out of the Champions League, Benfica’s Alex Grimaldo revealed Rui Costa provided timely pre-match motivation.
Tuesday’s hard-fought 1-0 win in Amsterdam put Benfica through 3-2 on aggregate, and the majority of the match saw Benfica defensively scrambling and scrapping.
It was only the club’s second win in the last 15 away matches in the Champions League, the other being a 3-2 win over AEK Athens in the 2018-19 group stage.
The influential Grimaldo embodied the team’s determination on an individual level, playing a full 90 minutes and seeing the result through despite multiple medical treatments.
The 26-year-old revealed the team received ample motivation beforehand from Rui Costa, the legendary former Benfica player and sporting director who is now president, following Luis Filipe Vieira’s arrest in June.
“Before the game, he motivated the players, told us to dream and enjoy these types of games and in the end that’s what we did,” Grimaldo told Eleven post-match.
“It was a game of great responsibility, because we know that in the league things are not going well, but we give everything for this club. We had the dream of reaching the quarter-finals and we did it.”
THIS IS SPORT LISBOA E BENFICA! #AJASLB #UCL pic.twitter.com/vj67pEZsRn
— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) March 15, 2022
Since the inception of the Champions League, this is the fifth time Benfica have progressed to the quarter-final, the last being in 2015-16.
Benfica arguably could not have come up against a more suitable opponent in Ajax, despite the latter’s form in the group stage this year, who have failed to progress past the last-16 11 out of 12 times since 2002-03.
For Grimaldo, progression to the quarter-final should not provide satisfaction, despite the level of opponent.
“We are among the best teams in the world,” Grimaldo said.
“It is a dream to have arrived here, but we will not be satisfied with this.
“We want more, but with peace of mind. The team that comes will be strong.”
