João Tomás warns Rui Costa: Benfica isn’t what it used to be | OneFootball

João Tomás approves of José Mourinho's arrival at Benfica. However, the former forward warns Rui Costa that the coach will not be the same as the one who left Luz in 2000, since he has "a path in the history of football" with much more accumulated experience.

"At the time, if I said I had the feeling he would be one of the best in the world, I might be exaggerating, but we were aware that what we had ahead was a different, distinguished coach, who broke the existing pattern. I remember that and history was written", he said, to the Record newspaper.

For João Tomás, Mourinho was "distinguished from a technical, tactical, mental, even personal point of view. So far, I had never met anyone like him. And I dare say that I have not met, I have not met again. So, I say he was clearly a professional out of the ordinary".

"These are moments that are etched in memory, but that ended there; from that point of view, from a professional relationship, there was no way to continue. What I can say is that at the time it was a great lament on the part of everyone with his departure. The story could have been written differently, not only individually but collectively. We could be here speculating, however, it is what it is", he explained, about Mourinho's departure in 2000.

However, despite the praise, João Tomás assures that the coach is not the same as he was at the time: "We cannot compare the impact that José Mourinho had when he entered the Luz locker room, on September 20, 2000, with the one he could have if he enters on the 18th or 19th of September 2025. We are talking about the same person, but now he already has a path in the history of football completely different from what he had 25 years ago. These are 25 years of impressive achievements, the version of José Mourinho that could enter Benfica now is not the same".

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