Mourinho recalls Ferguson chat, praises Benfica squad | OneFootball

who will have a major reinforcement for the trip to Turin - gave a comprehensive interview to Benfica FM where he discussed the current state of the Club and his routines. The Sport Lisboa e Benfica coach took the opportunity to praise the attitude of his players in their daily work and shared deep reflections on the evolution of football, recalling a conversation with Alex Ferguson.

The Setúbal-born coach expressed great satisfaction with the human quality and dedication of the Benfica dressing room: "I’d like to say that this group of mine is very professional, fantastic. I don’t want to say it’s the best I’ve had in 25 years because that would be offensive to the others, but it’s surely one of the best".

The manager analyzed the current mentality: "It’s one of the things that I and those closest to me often question. I don’t like to generalize, but sometimes there’s a feeling that the new generation, whether players or coaches, doesn’t really like to train or even football itself, or what football can provide".

The passion for the game remains intact, something he discussed with an old friend: "I can’t imagine the day when something will have changed. And I always remember a conversation I had when I was at Real Madrid, in 2012/13, with Sir Alex Ferguson, and before the game I asked him how things were evolving".

The Scot’s advice proved prophetic for the Portuguese: "And he told me, 'forget it, for people like us it’s the same. The day-to-day is the same, the passion, the nerves before the game, the joy after winning, the sadness after losing. For us, nothing changes'. Here we are in 2025 and he’s right".

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