Jose Mourinho Praises Newcastle United But Is Plotting Its Downfall

Newcastle United welcomes an old foe back to St James’ Park on Tuesday night, as Jose Mourinho brings his Benfica team to Tyneside for a huge Champions League occasion.

Although he has never coached the club, Mourinho’s bond with Newcastle runs deep thanks to his relationship with Sir Bobby Robson, who grew up locally in County Durham before coaching the team he supported for five years between 1999 and 2004.

But before that, Mourinho worked as his translator when he was in charge of FC Porto, Sporting Club and FC Barcelona, developing into his assistant with the latter, and credits the beginnings of his own astonishing coaching journey to Robson.

“He gave me opportunities,” Mourinho told reporters before the match. “He took me to Barcelona and I got to stay there even after Sir Bobby, for three more years.

“It was an incredible experience for me and that door is a huge door that was, for me, opened by Sir Bobby. The second thing is what I learned at the football level and at the human level.

“And the third thing is the trust he put in me which made me especially at that period, when the assistants were very diminutive in their area of action.

“Nowadays it is different, assistant coaches are more important, they have more freedom, they have more responsibility in their hands.

“He put a lot of trust in me and I consider that very important for my career. I tried to pay him back with everything I gave. I don’t know if I ever did, but I tried to give him everything that I had. That for me is enough.”

Mourinho, who has gone on to have a legendary career with Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid and others, spoke of his affection for Newcastle, Robson’s own legacy and his reaction to the Carabao Cup win ending a 70-year wait for a domestic trophy.

“Sir Bobby is a legend here and in England if you’re a legend there are many reasons to be a legend,” he continued. “He loved this club, he gave everything to this club.

“Of course he would be so happy with that victory in the Cup. I was so happy with that victory.

“I know that it is not the target. I know that Newcastle and all the Geordies want a reward that is bigger than the League Cup but the League Cup is the beginning.”

Benfica has not picked up a point in its opening two Champions League games, and a curious quirk of his career, despite winning three Premier League titles with Chelsea, is his poor record at St James’ Park, with just one cup win to his name.

Newcastle United must rebuild momentum against Benfica

Newcastle is not taking Benfica lightly, and head coach Eddie Howe understands the size of the task ahead, especially facing Mourinho, in his mind an all time great.

“We are under no illusions,” Howe said.

“I think you have to [say Mourinho is among greatest ever coaches].

“Look what he did. I’m not just saying that because we are playing them tomorrow, I genuinely believe it; the impact he made initially was incredible really. He had an aura around him and his teams.

“His teams were always very difficult to beat. I remember watching his teams in my very early days as a head coach, when I was looking to mould the way I wanted to play and what I was thinking about coaching wise, he had a big impact.”

Following Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat at Brighton on Saturday, it is now in the bottom half of the Premier League. Returning to the Champions League can bring much-needed momentum, and Howe believes his team is close to finding regular form.

“Frustration is the feeling I think,” Howe continued.

“I think we’re so close to being something more and getting better results than we have. I think the team performances have been strong and we’ve been very good defensively, although there were a couple of lapses against Brighton we got punished for.

“We’re working so hard to try and create chances. But you make your own luck and you can only turn things your own way by doing the right things continually. I don’t think we’re far away, we have just got to keep to our beliefs.”

This game comes at a crucial time for Newcastle United and the need for momentum is huge. Expectation is high against Benfica, but for all his kind words, nostalgia and smiles, Jose Mourinho means business and must be taken seriously.