By AFP

Copyright dawn

LISBON: Benfica appoi-nted Jose Mourinho as their coach on Thursday, with the Portuguese returning to work in his homeland, 21 years after leaving Porto for Chelsea.

The 62-year-old, who also coa-c-hed Real Madrid and Manch-ester United among other clubs, was sacked by Turkish side Fenerbahce in August after Benfica beat them in the Champions League play-offs.

Mourinho has signed a contract “to run until the end of the 2026/27 season”, Benfica said in a statement, with an option for either party to end the deal at the end of the current campaign.

The two-time European champions sacked Bruno Lage after a shock defeat in their Champions League opener against Azerbaijani minnows Qarabag on Tuesday.

Mourinho will soon face reunions against former sides Chelsea and Porto, in the Champions League on Sept 30 and in the Primeira Liga on Oct 5, respectively.

After starting out his coaching career as an assistant to Bobby Robson and then Louis van Gaal at Barcelona, Mourinho made the step up to head coach at Benfica in September 2000.

He quit after just 11 matches and then, after impressing at Uniao de Leiria, he joined the Eagles’ fierce rivals Porto and guided them to back-to-back league titles and the Champions League crown in 2004.

That set him on the path to a successful career coaching Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid before his fortunes dived after joining Manchester United in 2016.

More modest stints then followed at Tottenham Hotspur, AS Roma and Fenerbahce.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2025