Mourinho back to Benfica? Ex-director recalls Leiria days: brought him in | OneFootball

It was precisely 25 years ago that José Mourinho had his first experience as a head coach, right at the helm of Benfica. Two decades later, the Special One returned to Luz and there are those who recall the time when the Portuguese was in charge of União de Leiria, after his dismissal from the Eagles.

In an interview with the newspaper A Bola, João Bartolomeu, former president of the Leiria club, recalled the Special One’s spell and explained the bet on the Portuguese coach: “I thought of his name because I liked coaches at the start of their careers. I watched two training sessions at Benfica and it was exactly what I wanted. Very modern methods for the time, with a lot of ball work, and that’s what I wanted.”

Regarding the contract signed between the parties, João Bartolomeu revealed some details: “I had a budget cap for all coaches and he accepted it. He wanted to bring Mozer and I said no. He came to earn 5,000 euros per month, which was the amount I gave all the coaches, just like Jorge Jesus. He formed the coaching staff and everything was settled.”

“I brought him to Leiria because I saw something different in him: the desire to become a great coach. He wanted to be great. He was, he is, and he will be. He did a spectacular internship; I had never seen anything like it in my life,” continued the former leader of the emblem from the city of Leiria, in an interview with A Bola.

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