Rio Ave boss Sotiris Silaidopoulos is relishing the opportunity to take part in Jose Mourinho’s first home game back as Benfica coach tomorrow night and claims his touchline rival is “touched by the gods”.
Mourinho was appointed by the Lisbon giants on Thursday, 25 years after an 11-game stint in charge in 2000, and led his new charges to a comfortable 3-0 victory at AVS at the weekend.
He returns to the Estadio da Luz to face Rio Ave in front of what should be an enthusiastic crowd and Greek Silaidopoulos failed to hide his admiration for the 62-year-old.
“It’s a motivation [to face Mourinho]no doubt,” he said. “Coming up against such an iconic coach is very special. In Greece, we usually say that there are people who are touched by the gods and Mourinho is one of them.
“It will be a privilege to play against him. It is a historic moment for Benfica and we are motivated to be part of it and to be in this game. But the match starts 0-0 and we want to show our best version. The coach, the players… This is the only way we can bring something from this game.
“It will be difficult, we know who we will face. We saw Mr Mourinho’s first game and we already anticipate the atmosphere that awaits us. It is important to be focused and strong in various aspects. We want to keep this up throughout the game. It’s a game in which we’ll have to show personality and character.”
Silaidopoulos hoping to silence Mourinho with improved display
Rio Ave have yet to win in the Primeira Liga this season, drawing three of their first five games. They were beaten 3-0 by Porto on Friday night and Silaidopoulos is hoping for a better performance.
“There are several elements to take into account in football and we have to be better at all of them,” he added. “Be more consistent if we want to win games and play better. There are situations in which we showed this kind of performance. We have to find the right balance and improve what we are doing, as well as our weaknesses, which are a little obvious.
“In my opinion, we deserved to have got more points than we did from our first three games.”
Mourinho – Rio Ave will be difficult
Mourinho agreed with that assessment, saying: “I expect a better opponent than the points they have won so far. We watched Rio Ave in their previous games and in several games, especially in the first three, they were better than their points tally shows.
“You can see that they have a coach, an organisation, who know what they want, that they have some players, not to say all, of good quality. It’s worth what it’s worth, but they have 24 hours more than us to prepare for the game. I expect a difficult game.”
And Mourinho called on the Benfica fans to get behind his side.
“We need the home factor, because when we play, it is an important help,” said the former Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid boss.
“The team is growing. From a tactical point of view, growth must be progressive. From an emotional point of view, the connection with the fans is necessary, which makes them forget that the last games at home did not go well. It will be an important element for us to face a difficult opponent.”
We’re not best friends yet, but we’re getting there – Mourinho
Mourinho has not had much chance to work with the players but has been encouraged by the progress he feels they have already made.
He said: “I have the feeling that, every day, the players are embracing my ideas, my way of leading. This is important to me.
“Obviously we are not yet a group of best friends, we arrived only four or five days ago, but I think we are building something important from a human point of view. In terms of the tactical evolution of the team, we have to go little by little.”
