"The Unwise Player." A conflict broke out on Portuguese TV over Trubin

A heated argument broke out on the Portuguese television channel NOW between journalists Mariu Figueiredo, Humberto Simões, and Pedro Souza over remarks made by the former goalkeeper coach of the Kyiv “Dynamo” academy Vyacheslav Bogodelov, who stated that Benfica head coach Marco Silva had not explained to his team’s Ukrainian goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin, why he had lost his spot in the starting lineup.

Umberto Simoes: I think Trubin already understands Portuguese quite well and, I hope, watches our show. Tomorrow he’ll go to Marco Silva and talk to him. “Coach, may I come in?” “Come in.” “What’s going on, coach? I’m not very happy. What do you think I need to do? Maybe you think I should be sent out on loan?” But he won’t say that. Maybe he’ll just ask for an explanation?

Mário Figueiredo: It’s not about explanations, Umberto. It’s about maintaining a healthy atmosphere in the locker room, and if you explain to a player why he isn’t playing, he’ll understand.

Umberto Simoes: In soccer, they say that players who aren’t playing need more attention from the coach. But I mean, the coach isn’t going to say that. On the day Samuel Soares was in the starting lineup, Marco Silva said at the team meeting, “Today I’m going with Samuel Soares.” That’s usually what coaches do. When I was playing, they’d say, “Look, he’s performed really well this week, so I’m going to bet on him again.” And now the guy who ends up on the bench has to work his way back into the starting lineup, right? Sending a message through a friend… I don’t know—it’s ridiculous. Listen, a coach sitting in his office who sees a message from his friend Trubin at Kyiv’s Dynamo will think: “You know when you’ll get a chance? Never.”

Mariu Figueiredo: But let’s see who will be Benfica’s goalkeeper in October.

Umberto Simões: What date will that be? What day in October?

Mário Figueiredo: October 31.

Umberto Simoes: Okay.

Pedro Souza: In a month, everything will be the same. You’re saying that Marco Silva is losing Trubin, so how can he be in the starting lineup?

Mário Figueiredo: A player who has been in the starting lineup for three seasons deserves an explanation as to why he isn’t playing. And the explanation could be: “I prefer Samuel’s ball-handling skills.” And the problem is solved. The thing is, the player is under pressure; he’s sitting on the bench and feels the need to somehow explain why he isn’t playing. But he hasn’t received an explanation from the coach, which is why these messages are popping up. And do you know what that means? Instability.

Umberto Simoes: It means the player isn’t smart. A player who sends messages through friends.

Mário Figueiredo: We’ll see later if Marco Silva will have to make a concession.

Umberto Simoes: This has nothing to do with giving in; it’s about options. The coach bears full responsibility for his choices.

Mário Figueiredo: We need to keep the player because, if you don’t sell him now, you might have to count on him in October and put him on the field. You both said that Trubin is better than Samuel, but in reality, you don’t even know if Samuel is a good goalkeeper or a bad one.