Following Wednesday’s loss to Braga in the League Cup semis, Benfica manager Jose Mourinho has told his players to sleep at the club’s Seixal training ground.
And it appears “The Special One” will have his club stay there for the foreseeable future.
“The players will sleep in Seixal and on Thursday there is training and the day after there’s training,” Mourinho said after the loss. “Since there’s no final on Saturday, our next game is against Porto next Wednesday. When we arrive in Seixal [on Wednesday], everyone will go to their rooms. I hope the players sleep as well as I do, which is to say that they don’t sleep at all. That’s what I wish for them. That they don’t sleep and instead think a lot, like I’m going to think.”
The well travelled Mourinho made his return to Benfica after 25 years this past summer. The 62-year-old Mourinho began his coaching career at the club, but departed after just nine league matches in December of 2000.
Since then, Mourinho has gone on to stints at Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma and Fenerbahce. Mourinho’s teams have won eight league titles, four national cups, a Europa Conference League crown, a Europa League title and two Champions Leagues.
Benfica currently sits third in the Primeira Liga table on 39 points, three behind second-place Sporting and 10 back of leaders Porto.
