Rui Costa hands two-year Benfica deal to Champions League winner | OneFootball

Benfica has a two-year contract waiting for José Mourinho. The coach returns to Luz 25 years later, already with several Champions Leagues on his résumé, to succeed Bruno Lage, who was dismissed after the Champions League defeat against Qarabag (3-2).

According to the newspaper A Bola, Mourinho and Benfica have reached an agreement valid until the end of 2026/27. The same source states that the coach was on vacation in Barcelona and was supposed to return next Sunday, but brought the trip forward to sign with the Eagles.

As for the coaching staff, the sports daily explains that Mourinho will keep João Tralhão, António Dias, and Pedro Machado. The first started working with the coach this year, but had been connected to Seixal for almost two decades, also accumulating experience abroad.

Pedro Machado’s situation is similar, but without having worked at Benfica. Before becoming Mourinho’s assistant, the coach was at Académica, after working at Freamunde, Vila Meã, Anadia, São João de Ver, and Oliveira do Hospital. António Dias, on the other hand, was the fitness coach for Nuno Espírito Santo’s teams.

"If you ask me if I expected to go until the end of the season without coaching, that’s not my nature. I wanted to get back in. I didn’t want to say yes to a club that wasn’t the right one, just because I’m a workaholic. When I was faced with the possibility of coaching Benfica, I didn’t think twice in the sense of ‘I’m interested, I’d like to.’ Who is the coach that says no to Benfica? Not me", Mourinho said upon arriving in Portugal.

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