Benfica players sing Mourinho’s praises: “He is truly a special coach” | OneFootball

José Mourinho took over for his second spell at Benfica in September (Photo: Arlindo Homem ©)

Whether or not José Mourinho will be a success at Benfica remains to be seen, but judging by recent press declarations, the charismatic Portuguese coach has certainly won over his players at the Lisbon giants.

Mourinho faced a baptism of fire upon the much-trumpeted return to his homeland. Three of his first four away games were daunting trips to Liga Portugal leaders FC Porto, and Chelsea and Newcastle in the Champions League, which resulted in two defeats and a draw.

Results continued to be mixed in his first couple of months in charge, but Benfica put in a positive showing against Portuguese champions Sporting in a 1-1 draw last weekend, and followed up the encouraging display in the Lisbon derby with their best performance of the season on Wednesday night in a dominant 2-0 victory over Italian champions Napoli at the Estádio da Luz.

“We all know what Mourinho has achieved in his career, so he gives us a lot of stability and a lot of experience and it’s very helpful for the team,” said right-back Amar Dedic after the Napoli match.

Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis, who has scored 12 goals in 20 games since Mourinho took the reins, went even further in his praise of the 62-year-old coach.

“Mourinho is truly a really special coach,” the centre-forward told Greek website Athletiko. “He’s different in his day-to-day work than what he shows in press conferences. He’s a simple and laidback guy and working with him has been a great experience.

“Mourinho is very demanding in the training sessions and doesn’t tolerate any messing around in them, but outside the training pitch he tells us stories and jokes.”

Benfica have a tricky run of matches to negotiate before the New Year, playing Moreirense and Braga away and Famalicão at home – all three teams are flying high in the standings – before the transfer market opens with the club expected to make significant moves in the January window.