Jose Mourinho has described his decision to manage Fenerbahce as ‘a mistake’ following his move to Benfica.
The 62-year-old returned to Portugal this week following Benfica’s decision to sack Bruno Lage after the team’s 3-2 defeat at home to Qarabag in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Mourinho was available after being sacked by Fenerbahce in the wake of their loss to Benfica in a Champions League play-off last month.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham manager has now signed a two-year contract with Benfica and says he is ‘returning to my level’ after a one-year stint in Turkey.
‘The ideal context for me is to return to coaching one of the biggest clubs in the world,’ Mourinho said at his unveiling on Thursday afternoon.
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‘My career has been rich so far, I’ve coached the biggest clubs in the world in different countries.
‘I made the wrong choice, with no regrets. I made a mistake going to Fenerbahce – it wasn’t my cultural level, as far as football is concerned.
‘I gave everything until the last day, I had to mourn, but returning to Benfica is returning to my level, and my level is coaching the best clubs in the world.
‘At my previous club, it’s very easy. I wanted to play with four players, but the club signed five after I left. It was impossible to play with four when there were seven central defenders and only one winger.
‘When I have the opportunity to participate in the transfer market, clubs have professional structures for the coach to rely on. When that’s not the case, the coach has to update himself.
‘Did I try to play with words, emotions, take the pressure off and put it on Benfica? Yes. But I won’t take back a word.
‘Benfica did a great job in the transfer market, giving the team potential it didn’t have last season, and it was a team I really liked.
‘I’m not an example of fair play, when I lose, I bite my fingers. It wasn’t easy for me to congratulate Benfica and Bruno Lage, but they deserved it all.
‘Benfica has a good squad, good players, and they had a good coach . But life is like that. It’s a mourning we coaches need to go through when the work is interrupted, and Bruno certainly suffers, as I did a month ago.’
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