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Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Jose Mourinho, Football, Benfica
Chris Nee
Managerial titan Jose Mourinho will soon be united with a long-term transfer target as the manager of Benfica.
Mourinho was sacked as the boss of Fenerbahce in August and will be hoisted back up onto the horse by the Lisbon club after they gave Bruno Lage the boot on Tuesday.
Former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Lage was sacked after Benfica threw away a two-goal lead to lose their Champions League opener at home against Azerbaijani champions Qarabag, one of Benfica's Pot 4 opponents in the league phase.
News of Mourinho's imminent appointment emerged on Wednesday morning, with club president Rui Costa expecting Benfica's new manager in place by the weekend.
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Benfica, who are in the midst of a presidential election campaign, sent Lage packing immediately and have seemingly tempted Mourinho back to Portuguese football for the first time in 21 years.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager was given his first managerial opportunity at Benfica in 2002.
Mourinho resigned after just a handful of matches over a contract dispute underpinned by club presidency bluster. He went away and earned the chance to take over Benfica's great rivals, Porto, leading them to Champions League glory before heading for the Premier League.
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He also led Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Roma before he was appointed at Fenerbahce last summer.
It was at the Olimpico that Mourinho first targeted Greek international striker Vangelis Pavlidis as a replacement for the injured Tammy Abraham.
Pavlidis, then at AZ Alkmaar, was reportedly on Roma's shopping list in the summer of 2023 but they were unable to structure an appropriate deal.
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"An attempt to get him on loan with option to buy was rejected, as AZ Alkmaar are only prepared to sell Pavlidis on a permanent basis," reported Susy Campanale at the time.
Now 26, Pavlidis stayed at AZ for another season and rattled in goals like nobody's business.
Benfica took a chance on him last summer and he has scored 24 goals in 37 league appearances for the Lisbon giants.
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The striker bagged seven goals in the Champions League last season including a hat-trick against Barcelona, another club where Mourinho has plenty of history.
Mourinho is set to finally get his man by an especially circuitous route but a scoring record like that could easily lead to their union being a brief one.