Jose Mourinho kissed a Chelsea fan who recited his name. He begged Benfica fans to stop throwing things at players. He even jogged onto the field to get rid of the wrong ball.
The man once called “the special thing” was the center of attention when he returned to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
But he didn’t leave with victory.
Mourinho was responsible for his first Champions League match in five years, and established himself as one of the great coaching members of his generation, losing 1-0 at Chelsea, where the Benfica team had two spells in 2004-2007 and 2013-15.
Mourinho’s position may have been declining recently, but it is still respected in this region of southwest London, with Chelsea fans being belatedly welcomed from the tunnel just before kickoff, trading pleasure with Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.
Wore a white shirt under a dark coat, Mourinho quickly responded to Chelsea fans’ chant “Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinho” by waving and blowing kisses at them.
“Of course I was focusing on the game,” Mourinho said.
Towards the end of the first half, Mourinho left the technical area, walked the touchline and gestured to Benfica fans, stopping tossing items at Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez as the Argentine midfielder turned the corner. Fernandez left Benfica In the case of Chelsea in February 2023, the recording transfer fee was £106.7 million ($131.4 million).
Near the end, Benfica pushed the equalizer forward, and the stray ball reached the pitch from the sidelines, and Mourinho chose to run on the performance side to take it. It also received applause from home fans.
“When I’m in London, I see them every day on the street,” he said of the Chelsea fans. “I know it will be a relationship forever. Hopefully, I will be back here in 20 years with my grandchildren. They belong to my history, and I belong to their history.”
As the final whistle proceeded, Mourinho gave Maresca a hug, quickly disappearing the tunnel, and was clearly disappointed that he had chosen not to engage more with Chelsea supporters.
“My career took me to a position where I think I have magic to make things happen,” Mourinho said.
Talk on Monday After returning to Stamford Bridge, he said, “Always go blue.”
Mourinho recently took charge of Benfica after leaving Fenerbafe in Türkiye. In other words, he’s back in the Champions League. This is the competition where they won Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
