José Mourinho has never been a technician like the others. Barely inducted on the bench of Benfica, where he signed a two -year contract, the “Special One” has already left clues to its future. Returning to Portugal after a long international journey, he did not imagine that this return would go through Lisbon.
Mourinho dreams of directing the Seleção
Because in his mind, this position was to be that of coach of Portugal. “I always thought that I would come back to the country, but I thought it would be at the head of the national team”he said after the inaugural victory of Benfica against AVS (3-0). Mourinho even revealed that he had already declined the offer in the past, convinced that he would end up accepting this “natural” challenge with regard to his career.
His return to Benfica is nonetheless symbolic. It was in this club that he had launched his career in 2000 before leaving rushed after a dispute with management. Twenty-five years later, it was again at the Estádio da Luz that he is trying to write a new chapter. But at 62, Mourinho does not evade the continuation and already projects himself towards what he considers the logical outcome of his trajectory.
Between success and errors
The Portuguese coach acknowledged having committed a false step by joining Fenerbahçe, an experience completed in pain after elimination in the Champions League. Less than a month after this separation, he is relaunched in a context that corresponds more to him. But despite the enthusiasm of his return, his speech recalled how much he sees himself as a coach of national and international challenges.
It remains to be seen whether Benfica will be a parenthesis or a springboard towards the coveted post. In the immediate future, Mourinho must prove that he can give back their status as a European giant, with the backdrop of an emotion with Chelsea in the Champions League. But in a corner of his head, he already seems to see further, towards the Seleção, as a destiny that he deems inevitable.
