Bruno Laz's dismissal was signed at midnight by Marko Janković and Karabag, and then the morning brought news that could mean that 25 years later, Benfica will correct a big mistake. The biggest one, along with the dismissal of Bela Gutman, they never hid in the red zone of Lisbon.
Jose Mourinho, the man who managed Benfica for only three months at the start of his coaching career in 2000, is on his way to a sensational return to "Da Luz".
The news was reported by the Portuguese media, and the famous "A Bola" claims that everything will be completed within the day.
According to this media outlet, club president, legendary Rui Costa, has long wanted to bring Mourinho back to Benfica, while "The Special One" is completely open to taking over the Portuguese giant.
"All of this means that Mourinho could be in charge of the team as early as Vila das Aves, next Saturday, when Benfica plays away to AFS in the 6th round of the Primeira Liga. As we learn, the coach from Setúbal is not only very open, but also wants to return to Benfica. Mourinho does not consider managing the team as early as the weekend to be an obstacle," the aforementioned newspaper writes.
If everything goes according to plan, Mourinho would lead Benfica on September 20th, the same date as in 2000 when he played his first match on the bench for this club.
After spending several years as an assistant to the greats Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal at Barcelona, Mourinho, at the age of 37, received one of the most prestigious calls in Europe - his first coaching job was managing Benfica, replacing Jupp Heynckes.
Although the results were not decisive at the time, he quickly lost his job. Benfica knew that they had a coach with great potential, but they met a stubborn expert who had little patience with authority figures, something that would often follow him later.
Over the following years, Mourinho became one of the best coaches in the history of football, he became a legend of the "hated" Porto, to whom he brought the European crown in 2004, then he returned the Champions League trophy to Inter, and he had great success at Chelsea, Real Madrid, and he also brought European trophies to Manchester United and Roma.
Benfica has never hidden that it made a big mistake in 2000, but neither has Mourinho that the decision to leave Lisbon was the hardest of his life and the one he regrets the most in his life.
In recent years, "The Special One" has been far from the results he achieved at the beginning of his career. Recently, he was fired by Fenerbahce after Benfica eliminated him from the Champions League qualifiers, but perhaps a return to the beginning will also mean the return of the great Mourinho.
Benfica wants to right a historical wrong, a decision Mourinho regretted so much, and one thing is certain - he will hardly be as loved in Porto after returning to Lisbon.
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