Benfica coach Jose Mourinho has denied speculation of a potential return to Real Madrid ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League playoff opener between the sides.
Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior praised Mourinho ahead of Tuesday’s encounter in Lisbon, claiming that the Portuguese manager «changed the club’s history a little» during his three seasons (2010-13) with the Spanish giants.
«I don’t want to feed stories that don’t exist,» Mourinho said on Monday. «The only thing that exists is that I have one year left on my contract with Benfica. It’s a special contract as it was signed during [the club’s] presidential election process.
«It has a clause that can easily be broken by me or Benfica. There’s zero with Real Madrid.
«I would love to eliminate Real Madrid but I would love for Alvaro [Arbeloa] to win LaLiga and to remain at Madrid for many years.
«He is very capable, has a lot of Madridista in him and has the personality to coach Real Madrid, which is not for everyone.»
Mourinho, 63, guided Madrid to a LaLiga title, and Copa del Rey and Spanish Supercup triumphs and takes a lot of pride in his time at Madrid.
«I gave everything to Real Madrid,» he said. «Everything that I had. I’ve done good and bad things but I gave my all and that’s it. When a professional leaves a club with that feeling there ends up being a life-time connection.
«I left 12 years ago and I’ve always had the feeling and the affection is there.»
Mourinho also said he expects a different Madrid to the one that lost 4-2 at Benfica in their last group game on Jan. 28. That result allowed the Portuguese outfit to reach the playoffs.
Los Blancos, who appointed Arbeloa last month following the sacking of Xabi Alonso, go into the game on the back of three straight league wins.
«I expect tomorrow the Real Madrid that is the main contender to win the Champions League,» Mourinho said. «Beating Real Madrid once is very difficult, beating them twice is much harder. Winning three times, or even in a knockout tie, is even more difficult.
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«Even more important is their motivation to win the Champions League, not to eliminate Benfica. That’s their objective. And that’s their greatest strength for this match. For our part, we won in our previous meeting and we know why. But we know that the match won’t be a repeat and that they’ve evolved significantly as a team in a short time.
«What I ask of my players is to play with the joy of those that deserve to be here and they deserve to be here. Perhaps it’s better to be here against the great Real Madrid than against a lower-level team.»
The return leg will be played on Feb. 25 at the Bernabeu stadium.
«We’ll enjoy tomorrow’s match,» Mourinho said. «We hope for a result that leaves us with a good feeling. Then we will go to Madrid to compete and we’ll go there with joy and without pressure.
«I don’t think a miracle is needed for Benfica to eliminate Real Madrid. I think Benfica needs to be at their absolute best. I don’t even mean at their peak, I mean at the absolute maximum, almost reaching perfection, which doesn’t exist. But not a miracle.»
