London, Oct 1 (AP) Chants of “Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinho” swirled inside Stamford Bridge as Chelsea fans welcomed back their former manager for a Champions League match against his current club, Benfica.
Wearing a white shirt under a dark coat, Mourinho exchanged pleasantries with Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca in the tunnel before belatedly emerging to applause from the home fans just before kickoff.
It wasn’t long before Chelsea’s supporters were singing Mourinho’s name. He responded by waving to them and blowing a kiss.
Toward the end of the first half, Mourinho — the center of attention, as always — left his technical area, walked down the touchline and gestured to the traveling Benfica fans to stop throwing items at Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez as he took a corner. Fernandez left Benfica for Chelsea in February 2023 for a then-British-record transfer fee of 106.7 million pounds ($131.4 million).
Mourinho had two spells with Chelsea — from 2004-07 and then from 2013-15. He won a total of three Premier League titles and is still revered at the English club.
Speaking Monday upon his return to Stamford Bridge, he said he would “always be a Blue.” Mourinho recently took charge of Benfica after leaving Fenerbahce in Turkey and is coaching his first Champions League game in five years. He won the competition with Porto and Inter Milan. AP BS BS
