Rui Calafate tips controversial boss to replace Mourinho at Benfica | OneFootball

The possibility of Sérgio Conceição taking charge of Benfica emerges as the ideal solution for Rui Calafate, who analyses the political and sporting situation at the Club of Light and the immediate future of the Eagles’ bench. In the text, the author points to the former Porto coach, currently at Al Ittihad, as an option worth considering.

“Reports are circulating that José Mourinho will be officially announced next week at Real Madrid, when anyone who is not naive has already realised that this has been in the works for a long time by agent Jorge Mendes,” one can read in the newspaper 'Record'.

The columnist then criticises the way the Club handled the coach’s contractual situation, offering a harsh assessment of the Eagles’ leadership: “The (mutual) termination clause is just money, but in a great institution like Benfica, what should always matter — and what is eternal — is honour. Rui Costa has to protect it and, after this daily spectacle surrounding the coach, the president should already have been firm and forceful, stating categorically that he no longer counted on Mourinho — to hell with the so-called clause — because this lays bare the weak image of his leadership.”

Further on, he reinforces the idea that the ‘Special One’s’ communication has also been part of the problem: “The man from Setúbal knows the media arena of the beautiful game better than anyone, and these daily pilgrimages to Seixal are a staging, a trick, to try to stay in the good graces of the Benfica family. Neither president nor coach comes out of the current picture looking good.”

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