Trip to Newcastle excites Benfica boss Jose Mourinho with his long-held affinity with the north-east club.
‘Little Magpie’ José Mourinho relishing trip of taking Benfica to Newcastle.
Newcastle United is an uncharted territory for José Mourinho. Mourinho always spends a few minutes silently honouring his mentor’s memory by standing beside the statue of Sir Bobby Robson outside the Milburn Stand when he is in St. James’ Park.
Mourinho, who is returning to north-east England for a Champions League match against Benfica on Tuesday night, turned down Robson’s 1999 request for the Portuguese to become his deputy manager at Newcastle with the goal of eventually becoming the team’s manager.
The next year, Robson’s former translator, who is now Barcelona’s number two, began his own managerial journey with a brief stint at Benfica. He succeeded the fired Bruno Lage last month at the Estádio da Luz, and now, after a tumultuous time at Fenerbahce, the wheel has turned completely around and he is back in command.
Although the 62-year-old’s previous outings with Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham resulted in just three victories, Tuesday night’s game will be his 13th competitive appearance on Tyneside as manager. How he would take great pride in winning his fourth game against a team that Mourinho has always claimed to have an odd bond with because of Robson.
“I’m a little Magpie,” he told interviewers in Portugal last month. “The club up there know how much love and respect I have for them. I learned that from Mr Robson.”
Mourinho, a Champions League winner with Porto and Inter, maintains Benfica are benefiting from a new, mature version of the Special One. “People change for the better,” he said. “I’m more altruistic, less egocentric. I think less about myself and more about the good I can do for others, the happiness I can spread. I’m in a mature phase of my career.”
“I’ve never hidden how dear Newcastle is to me because of the influence of a legendary person at this club. St James’ Park is a fantastic place to play football. People do not come here to watch the game, they come here to play it with them. It’s not just the stadium, it’s this club, the history, the passion and the fans.
“With the economic power they have with the owners now, it’s a team that’s very close to even bigger things. It’s a very special club because of the culture in this region, it’s very different culturally to London and to Manchester. I love playing here. I said to my players: ‘It’s beautiful here and you will feel that atmosphere tomorrow evening.’”
Not that he is underestimating Newcastle. “We’re coming up against a very, very strong, very physical team. Uninformed people are misled by their league position but they are a tremendous team. Newcastle are doing everything right.”