Mourinho to return home: Benfica move could pit him against Napoli | OneFootball

Shake-up at Benfica: the home defeat against Qarabaq (2-3) in the first matchday of the new single-group phase of the Champions League has cost Bruno Lage dearly, as he was dismissed after the European setback. A drastic decision that has paved the way for a sensational scenario: the return of José Mourinho to a Portuguese bench.

After Lage's dismissal, Rui Costa bets on the Special One: deal close to completion

According to the main Portuguese media, president and sporting director Rui Costa has chosen the Special One as the new coach of the Lisbon club. A choice with strong symbolic value, as for Mourinho it would mean a return home, twenty-one years after his experience at Porto, with whom he conquered the European stage before embarking on an internationally successful career.

The Portuguese sports daily A Bola reports that negotiations are already at an advanced stage, with the agreement possibly being finalized in the coming hours. Mourinho, fresh from his experience in Turkey which ended abruptly with his dismissal from Fenerbahce, would thus have the opportunity to relaunch himself in a context he knows well and that would welcome him as a prodigal son's return. Curiously, fate seems to have come full circle. It was precisely Benfica's victory against Fenerbahce in the Champions League qualifiers, last August 29, that led to the Portuguese coach's dismissal from the Turkish club. Now the same Benfica could represent the new chapter of his career.

Andrea Alati

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