Jose Mourinho likely to join Benfica per reports: Portuguese coach to face former teams Real Madrid, Chelsea

Jose Mourinho is on his way back. The legendary manager is set to be appointed as the new Benfica head coach according to multiple reports. The Portuguese head coached was sacked by Fenerbahce at the end of August after the Turkish team was eliminated by Benfica in two legged playoffs. Mourinho, who will turn 63 next year, is back where his coaching career officially started as he managed the Portuguese giants in 2000 for only nine matches, before stepping down from the role after the change of presidency at the club, in what was his first ever job as first team manager. After coaching teams like Real Madrid, Inter, Chelsea and AS Roma, Mourinho decided to join Fenerbahce in 2024, but then failed to qualify for the league phase of the Champions League this season, a disappointment that led both parties to end their working relationship after only one season.

Benfica lost 3-2 in their opening Champions League match against Qarabag in their home stadium, a disappointing defeat that made the club decide for a managerial change and are now set to appoint the Portuguese manager after sacking Bruno Lage. Mourinho will now face an exciting Champions League schedule as Benfica will face Chelsea away in the second matchday of the league phase, meaning he will make his comeback at Stanford Bridge where he was the manager from 2004 to 2007 and then from 2013 to 2015. Mourinho will also be back coaching in the Champions League tournament (excluding the playoffs) for the first time since the 2019-20 season, when he was knocked out by RB Leipzig when he was at Tottenham in the Round of 16 of the tournament in March 2020. 

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After playing Chelsea, Benfica will face Newcastle away, Bayer Leverkusen at home and then Ajax away before meeting three teams that have a lot to do with his past as a manager. In fact, Benfica will meet Antonio Conte’s Napoli on December 10, a manager who has faced Mourinho many times over the years when the two were coaching in the Premier League, and then later he will face Juventus in Turin, a stadium where he has had multiple tensions with the home fans since his stint with Inter, and then when he made his comebacks with both Manchester United and Roma. Lastly he will meet Real Madrid, one of this former teams, in the last and probably key match of the league phase in Lisbon. Mourinho is back and the expectations are already really high. 

José Mourinho’s Managerial Career