Jose Mourinho Will Be Forced to Follow Strict Rule as Benfica Manager

Benfica's Champions League loss against Qarabag on Tuesday had immediate consequences for manager Bruno Lage and his successor will have to follow an unusual rule.

Jose Mourinho has been lined up to replace former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Lage, who was given his marching orders after Benfica's embarrassing defeat at Estadio da Luz on Tuesday.

The Lisbon giants were 2-0 up in their league phase opener in the Champions League but threw away the lead to lose 3-2 to Azerbaijani champions Qarabag, one of Benfica's Pot 4 opponents.

Lage was immediately sacked, bringing a year-long second stint at the club to an end.

According to BBC Sport, Mourinho has been tapped as his replacement and is expected to be appointed this week.

Benfica president Rui Costa isn't naming names but outlined the criteria that pushed Benfica in Mourinho's direction.

Bruno Lage is set to be replaced by Jose Mourinho (Image: Getty)

"A Benfica coach's profile must be that of a winner," he said. "A coach representing a club of this size must be one with the ability to bring this team to the levels we demand and give us the titles we desire."

Mourinho has undoubtedly ticked those boxes throughout his career but is on the market courtesy of his own sacking from Fenerbahce at the end of August.

If he does indeed return to Portuguese football for the first time in two decades, Mourinho will be required to follow a touchline rule that applies to all managers and coaching staff in Portuguese football.

Jose Mourinho was sacked by Fenerbahce (Image: Getty)

The Portuguese football federation's regulations include a mandate that all staff on the bench, excluding substitutes, must wear a sash on their arm to indicate their role.

In Mourinho's case, his new armband at Benfica will read 'treinador' – the Portuguese word for 'coach' – or, if he has a say in his job title in the eyes of the governing body, 'especial'.

Mourinho's record in Portugal

Benfica's new boss will return to his country of origin 21 years after leaving Porto as European champions to join Roman Abramovich's Chelsea in the Premier League.

After his work with Bobby Robson, Mourinho took up the Benfica head coach job for the first time in 2000.

The club is prone to the whims of fan democracy and presidential elections, a process that's underway at this very moment, and Mourinho's shotgun resignation came just a handful of matches into his tenure as a result of election happenings.

He went on to put Uniao de Leiria on the map and guided Porto to a famous double in 2003-04, winning a second consecutive league title to go with a historic Champions League triumph.