Back at Benfica, Mourinho admits: If conflict comes my way... | OneFootball

José Mourinho assured that, nowadays, he is not looking for conflict. The Special One has had a career filled with contradictory moments, but in this return to Benfica, 25 years after his first spell, he admits to having evolved as a coach.

"I think as a coach I am better today than before. I believe that any coach with a critical sense, who thinks a lot, who analyzes a lot about the experiences they go through... I think a coach gets better with the accumulation of experiences. The feeling of déjà-vu is something remarkable, it prepares you for what comes and is déjà-vu, when you’ve already been in the same or a similar situation," he told UEFA.

However, Mourinho admitted that, off the pitch, he is still the same as at the beginning of his career: "As a person, the DNA is the same, you are born and die with it. I think a coach is born and dies with the same DNA, there’s no way around it. But as a person, there are differences. The fundamental difference I recognize in myself is that, maybe, at the beginning I thought more about myself, and I have changed in such a way that, I don’t know, I feel more altruistic, I feel that I am in football more to help others than to help myself."

"I am more here to help my players than to think about what will happen to me in a year, or in two or three years. I am thinking more about Benfica, I am thinking more about the fans’ joy than about myself. And I think it’s also a natural change that doesn’t distort me as a coach, but as a person it gives me a side... that I like to live with, that different side," he added.

To conclude, Mourinho gave assurances: "I am still the same, but it’s one thing to go looking for it, to deliberately go looking for conflict, and another thing is: conflict appears in front of you, or conflict comes to you. If conflict appears in front of me, I’ll deal with it. If conflict comes at me, there’s a clash. But now, going out looking for conflict, I confess that emotional stability helps us have a different kind of profile."

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