Pepe praises Portugal camp atmosphere
Pepe says Portugal players are in a relaxed mood
Portugal's schedule included one full day and three afternoons off since they started their training camp in the medieval town of Obidos two weeks ago. Many squads give little or no time at all outside the training camp.
''Bento knows that it is often preferable to give us a morning or an afternoon off to be with our family and disconnect,'' Pepe told reporters on Thursday.
The Brazilian-born Real Madrid player said a Wednesday afternoon with his family did wonders to energise him.
''We arrived at the hotel today with enhanced will and spirit to train. It is as if we were arriving to be with the national team for the first time,'' he said.
''Paulo (Bento) knows perfectly that this spirit is good. He was once a player and we talked amongst ourselves and reached the common sense that this time off was spectacular to us.''
Portugal are drawn in Group B for Euro 2012 with former European champions Germany, Netherlands and Denmark. Their first match is against Germany in Ukraine's Lviv on June 9.
They play Turkey in the Luz stadium on Saturday, their last test before flying out to their tournament base in Poland.
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