Coach who had Benfica on the ropes thanks Mourinho: I felt flattered | OneFootball

Luís Pinto, former Vitória de Guimarães coach, praised the comments that José Mourinho made after the young coach had won the League Cup at the start of this year, knocking out Sporting in the semi-finals and beating Braga in the final in Leiria.

"I felt flattered first of all, because we are talking about the biggest figure in coaching in Portugal and in the world. Some people may consider him the greatest, but if they do not, then he is the second greatest, so he is someone by whom I felt truly very flattered because of what he said, and I thank him publicly for his words", he said at the ANTF Coaches Forum.

The 37-year-old coach admitted that the "Special One" helped make him love the profession. "It was because of him that many of us developed a passion for coaching, and hearing him say what he said also made me be at home and believe that we are doing things well and can continue on this path", he said.

Asked about the possibility of coaching one of Portugal’s "Big Three", Luís Pinto would not turn it down. "If that moment ever comes, of course we are here and working towards it and we are prepared for the steps we have to take", he said.

It is worth remembering that Benfica faced Vitória de Guimarães in matchday 10 of the Liga Portugal Betclic, where the Eagles won 3-0 in the cradle city. Despite the final result, the Guimarães side caused problems and the match was only opened up when a home player was sent off.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.