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SPECIAL RETURN FOR EX-BLUE MOURINHO
The Straits Times
|September 30, 2025
Back with Benfica, but his 3 EPL titles with Chelsea should grant him a warm welcome
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Jose Mourinho is unbeaten in his first three games in charge of Benfica, but his next match is a tough visit to Chelsea for a Champions League clash.
(PHOTO: EPA)
It was upon Jose Mourinho’s arrival at Chelsea in 2004 that he proclaimed himself the “Special One”, although that sheen has worn away two decades on as he returns with Benfica to Stamford Bridge for the Champions League encounter on Sept 30.
The Portuguese coach claims he is more “humble” and “altruistic” these days, but at his Benfica presentation he still made the point that even though he is considered to have struggled in recent years, he has led two teams to European finals.
Bringing those big nights and silverware to Benfica is the 62-year-old’s new mission, after he was sacked by Turkish side Fenerbahce in August.
Mourinho won the Champions League with FC Porto and Inter Milan, as well as three English Premier League titles in two spells at Chelsea and La Liga with Real Madrid, and is a bigger “celebrity” than Portuguese sides are accustomed to having on their benches.
This story is from the September 30, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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