CNN Portugal: Benfica reaches an agreement in principle with José Mourinho

According to CNN Portugal, Benfica reaches an agreement in principle with José Mourinho.

Benfica has reached a preliminary agreement with José Mourinho to assume the position of head coach of the main football team. CNN Portugal knows that the Portuguese coach is the choice of the management to succeed Bruno Lage, who was sacked this Tuesday after a defeat against Qarabag.

Moreover, the parties have already agreed on a principle of agreement, and the details of the contract are now in progress.

Curiously, José Mourinho is unemployed precisely because of Benfica. It was a defeat with the Eagles in the Champions League qualifying phase that dictated Fenerbahce's dismissal.

Now, and after the same Champions League - now already in the league stage - dictated Bruno Lage's departure from Benfica, José Mourinho could return to a club he passed through briefly at the beginning of his career.

At the very beginning. Benfica was the first club that a young José Mourinho managed as head coach, after leaving an experience as an assistant at Barcelona.

He arrived at Luz at the beginning of the 2000/2001 season, but did not last more than 10 games, at a time when Benfica was a highly troubled club with serious financial problems, as well as indecision at the highest level.

It was the coach himself who left, since he understood that he did not have the confidence of the management. In fact, Manuel Vilarinho, then the newly elected president, admitted that Toni was the name he wanted. José Mourinho didn't like it and slammed the door.

In the 10 games for Benfica, José Mourinho achieved five victories, including a 3-0 win against Sporting. Curiously, it was the last game at the Luz Stadium.

The rest, for better or worse, is well-known history. A small step down to União de Leiria catapulted him to the glories experienced at FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter, and Real Madrid. He even returned to Chelsea and became the English champion, but seems to have lost his touch after a meritorious - albeit rarely recognized - job at Manchester United.

Tottenham, Roma, and Fenerbahce are José Mourinho's latest jobs, but none of them had particular shine, even though he had won the Conference League with the Italians.

For Rui Costa, the name of José Mourinho is also a kind of lifebuoy. The Benfica president entered the season already weakened, but the recent performances - in the last two games up to the results - put his continuity at serious risk, especially because there are already polls in which João Noronha Lopes appears in the lead.