Newcastle United are soon back in Champions League action and will take on Jose Mourinho’s Benfica next.
It’s been a promising start to the Champions League campaign for Newcastle United, who put in a strong showing against Barcelona in defeat but thrashed Union SG 4-0 last time out.
There’s still plenty of work for Eddie Howe to do, though, and he’ll want his side to finish as high up the table as possible to ensure the best possible knock-out round match.
Finishing in the top eight and going straight to the last 16 isn’t out of the question, either, but Newcastle must start winning their home games and that starts on Tuesday with the visit of Benfica to St. James’ Park.
Here is everything you need to know about the Portuguese giants, who have a certain Jose Mourinho at the helm.
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Jose Mourinho returned to Benfica in September
Jose Mourinho has had a long and eventful career, so long that many might forget he was actually briefly at Benfica before.
Most English football fans first became aware of the ‘Special One’ when he guided Porto to Champions League glory in 2004, before then arriving in England to turn the Premier League upside down with Chelsea.
Everyone knows his glittering and tumultuous career in the two decades since.
Yet, before Porto, his first job in management was actually at Benfica in 2000, following his success as Barcelona’s assistant coach, with Sir Bobby Robson giving him the job in Catalonia.
However, he would last just 10 games and less than three months in the role, despite winning 5 of the matches and only losing two.
Now, a quarter of a century later, Benfica returned to Mourinho after they sacked Bruno Lage for losing to Qarabag in the Champions League.
Mourinho himself had been sacked as Fenerbahce boss just a few weeks before for failing to qualify for the Champions League, losing in the play-off to… Benfica!
“I have so many emotions, but experience helps me control them,” he said after being revealed as the new Benfica manager.
“I want to thank you for your trust. Being Portuguese, there’s obviously no one who isn’t familiar with the history and culture of the Benfica nation and this club, but I want to make it clear that I have to be able to block out all these emotions and view Benfica in a very simplistic way.
“I’m the coach of one of the biggest clubs in the world. I want to focus on this mission, focusing not on the difficulty but on the pleasure of a coach’s job, focusing on something exciting.
“It’s been 25 years, but I’m not here to celebrate my career. It’s been 25 years in which I’ve had the opportunity to work for the biggest clubs in the world.
“I want to tell you, as a representative of Benfica fans, that none of the clubs I’ve had the opportunity to coach have motivated me more than being Benfica’s coach.
“The promise is clear: I will live for Benfica, for my mission. It’s a tremendous honor.”
Benfica form since Jose Mourinho returned
It’s been a mixed start to life back in Lisbon for Mourinho, who has picked up two victories but has been unable to defeat any team of high quality yet.
He won his first game 3-0 against Avs FS, then drew his first home match 1-1 with Rio Ave before defeating Gil Vicente 2-1.
A narrow 1-0 loss at former club Chelsea followed in the Champions League, before Benfica drew 1-1 with fierce rivals Porto away before the international break.
Benfica summer transfers
It was a summer of change for Benfica, with iconic winger Angel Di Maria leaving the club to return to Argentina, young left-back star Alvaro Fernandez heading to Real Madrid and the likes of Kerem Akturkoglu, Joao Mario and Arthur Cabral all leaving.
As a result, the Portuguese giants brought in eight new faces, spending over £83.5m.
Here’s who they signed.
- Richard Rios – Midfielder – Palmeiras – £23.5m
- Franjo Ivanovic – Striker – Union SG – £19.9m
- Dodi Lukebakio – Winger – Sevilla – £17.4m
- Amar Dedic – Right-back – Salzburg – £10.5m
- Samuel Dahl – Left-back – Roma – £7.8m
- Georgiy Sudakov – Attacking midfielder – Shakhtar Donetsk – Loan
- Rafa Irador – Left-back – Real Madrid – £4.4m
- Enzo Barrenechea – Midfielder – Aston Villa – Loan
Benfica Champions League squad
Benfica’s squad of players available to play in the Champions League:
Goalkeepers: Anatoliy Trubin, Samuel Soares, Leonardo Lopes, Diogo Ferreira
Defenders: Rafael Obrador, Antonio Silva, Alexander Bah, Amar Dedic, Samuel Dahl, Nicolas Otamendi, Tomas Araujo, Joao Fonseca, Goncalo Oliveira, Joshua Wynder, Leandro Santos, Rui Silva
Midfielders: Enzo Barrenechea, Fredrik Aursnes, Georgiy Sudakov, Manu Silva, Leandro Barreiro, Richard Rios, Nuno Ferliz, Joao Veloso, Goncalo Moreira, Diogo Prioste.
Forwards: Franjo Ivanovic, Dodi Lukebakio, Vangelis Pavlidis, Andreas Schjelderup, Gianluca Prestianni, Bruma, Henrique Araujo, Joao Rego, Ivan Lima.
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