Mourinho makes key call at Benfica ahead of the Portuguese Cup Clássico | OneFootball

José Mourinho has already found the successor for the captain’s armband. According to reports, the Portuguese coach has already chosen the player who will lead Benfica on the pitch at Estádio do Dragão, against Porto, for the Portuguese Cup, and the chosen name is Fredrik Aursnes.

According to the newspaper O Jogo, in its Sunday edition on January 11, the Eagles’ coach is preparing for the clash with their eternal rival with several doubts in mind. However, as far as the replacement for Nicolás Otamendi is concerned — whose sending off was criticized — Mourinho has found the solution in the Norwegian midfielder.

Thus, the number 8 is expected to wear the captain’s armband in the decisive ‘final’ against Porto, in contrast to what happened in Leiria, where Richard Ríos received the armband from the Argentine. However, the same source reveals that this situation was not supposed to happen and that Tomás Araújo should have been the captain in the final minutes against Braga.

Nevertheless, José Mourinho has a plan B. If Aursnes is not in the starting lineup, the Portuguese coach is expected to hand the captain’s armband to Tomás Araújo. The situation regarding the captains has been a headache, since the Special One will not be able to count on the two usual team leaders: Otamendi and António Silva.

This season, wearing Benfica’s shirt, Fredrik Aursnes — valued at 17 million euros — has already played a total of 33 official matches: 17 in Liga Portugal Betclic, 10 in the Champions League, three in the Portuguese Cup, two in the League Cup, and one in the Super Cup. In the 2,808 minutes he has been on the pitch, he has recorded four goals and six assists.

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