Jose Mourinho unveiled as Benfica’s new Head Coach

Jose Mourinho has completed his return to Portuguese giants Benfica, where it all began for the self-proclaimed “special one.”

Mourinho was unveiled today as the new head coach after signing a two-year contract with a get-out clause after the first season for the Portuguese club on Wednesday.

This comes following discussions held just a day after the club’s disappointing Champions League defeat on Tuesday night.

Benfica had no choice but to sack boss Bruno Lage on Wednesday morning after they squandered a 2-0 lead in their 3-2 home defeat against Qarabag in the Champions League.

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Meanwhile, Mourinho was sacked by Turkish side Fenerbahce in August after they were eliminated from the Champions League by the same side he has now signed for.

The 62-year-old managed Benfica in 11 games in his first managerial role in 2000 and faces a reunion with his former club Chelsea after his appointment ahead of their Champions League fixture on September 30.

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Mourinho agreed to become Benfica’s new manager close to 25 years to the day after starting his managerial career with the club.

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Before settling for the former Manchester United, FC Porto, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, and AS Roma boss, the vacant role had been linked with the struggling United head coach Ruben Amorim, who played for the club.

Speaking to the media, and in particular the fans at his unveiling, Mourinho said: “I have so many emotions, but experience helps me control them.

“I want to thank you for your trust. Being Portuguese, there’s obviously no one who isn’t familiar with the history and culture of the Benfica nation and this club, but I want to make it clear that I have to be able to block out all these emotions and view Benfica in a very simplistic way.

“I’m the coach of one of the biggest clubs in the world! I want to focus on this mission, focusing not on the difficulty but on the pleasure of a coach’s job, focusing on something exciting.

“It’s been 25 years, but I’m not here to celebrate my career. It’s been 25 years in which I’ve had the opportunity to work for the biggest clubs in the world. I want to tell you, as a representative of Benfica fans, that none of the clubs I’ve had the opportunity to coach have motivated me more than being Benfica’s coach.

“The promise is clear: I will live for Benfica, for my mission. It’s a tremendous honour.”

Upon returning to Lisbon just three weeks after being sacked by Fenerbahce, he further expressed mixed feelings on his return: “If I return to Benfica, it won’t be a career celebration, nor because it’s 25 years later, nor a return home.

“I didn’t want to say yes to a club that wasn’t the right one, just because I’m a workaholic. 

“When I was faced with the possibility of coaching Benfica, I didn’t think twice about it, saying, ‘I’m interested, I’d like it’.

“In my mind as a natural consequence for my career would be to return to Portugal one day to coach the national team.

“If this happens with Benfica… Who is the coach who says no to Benfica? Not me.”

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