Rui Costa admits he's thinking more about Benfica amid transfer talks | OneFootball

Hired by Rui Costa to replace Bruno Lage, José Mourinho returned to Benfica 25 years after his first spell. Now, with a wealth of experience, the Special One admits he has acquired new skills and is "thinking more about the club".

"I think as a coach I am better today than before. I think any coach who is self-critical, who thinks a lot, who analyzes a lot about the experiences they go through... I think a coach gets better as they accumulate experiences. The feeling of déjà-vu is something striking, it’s something that prepares you for what comes, and when it’s déjà-vu, 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 start 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, perhaps, 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, in two or three. I am thinking more about Benfica, I am thinking more about the fans’ joy than about myself. And I think that’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, this different side," he added.

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

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