Olympic hero Di Maria brimming with confidence

Rising star identifies FC Porto clash as a “must-win” game

Angel Di Maria has returned from a very successful Olympics. The Argentine was a major protagonist as Argentina won the gold medal in men’s football in Beijing, scoring two goals including a spectacular winner in the final.

The conquest, adding to the U20 World Championship last summer, has injected the Benfica forward with so much confidence that Di Maria cannot wait to hit the field with his teammates and transmit his new found optimism.

“I have a lot of will to play. I am a lot better now. I improved during the Olympics and now I have the determination to maintain that same level at Benfica. I hope I can play more than I did last year. I would like to start and show what I am capable of achieving, just as I did at the Olympic Games,” stated Di Maria.

“All of us have seen Benfica improve a lot. We did not have luck in finishing our opportunities against Rio Ave on Sunday, but bit by bit we will get better.”

Huge match

As for the massive clash this coming weekend against FC Porto at the Estadio da Luz, Di Maria does not have to be reminded of the importance and implications of match against the three-time champions.

“We have to win in order to achieve the three points. This match is important as we will be playing in front of our supporters and we must win!”

As for facing former teammate, Crisitan Rodriguez, and a host of compatriots (Lisandro Lopez, Mariano Gonzalez, Lucho, Farias, Bolatti, Benitez and Tomas Costa), Di Maria feels that it makes no difference as he and Benfica have a job to do and that comes before anything else.

“That has nothing to do with anything as we must think about winning. Whether they are Argentines or not, we must think about winning. I will face them as if they were any other player.”