Jose Mourinho: Incoming Benfica boss has three games to make his mark before Chelsea reunion in Champions League

Jose Mourinho is on the verge of becoming the new head coach of Portuguese giants Benfica.

The 62-year-old was relieved of his duties by Fenerbahce just three weeks ago following a 14-month stint in charge of the Turkish club.

Mourinho criticised the board’s transfer business over the summer and his exit from Fenerbahce transpired following their Champions League playoff defeat to none other than Benfica.

The Portuguese is now in line for a swift return to management in his homeland with Benfica, where he was briefly in charge at the beginning of his illustrious coaching career between September and December 2000.

It has been widely reported that Mourinho will put pen to paper on a two-year contract with Benfica and he is set to take charge of his first training session on Thursday.

Mourinho’s imminent arrival comes following the departure of Bruno Lage, who was dismissed after Tuesday's shock 3-2 home defeat to Azerbaijan side Qarabag in their opening League Phase fixture in the Champions League.

Mourinho set to return to Benfica 25 years after his first spell in charge

Lage spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning shortly after his sacking and said: "I wish the best of luck to the man who comes next. I don’t know if the news is true, whether it’s Mr. Mourinho or not.

"What matters is that it’s someone who knows Benfica very well. He played against this team three times, praised the squad often, said I was happy, and he’ll be even happier with [Heorhiy] Sudakov and Dodi [Lukebakio] coming in."

Mourinho has landed in Lisbon ahead of finalising his move to Benfica and he has admitted that he jumped at the opportunity to manage the 38-time Portugues top-flight champions.

"Before boarding the plane, they asked me if I might be interested in [coaching Benfica]," Mourinho told reporters. "And I said yes, I might be interested.

“Benfica officially asked me if I might be interested. I said I was abroad and that when I returned to Portugal, I'd be happy to speak with people. When I was faced with the possibility of coaching Benfica, I didn't think twice: I'm interested."

Mourinho also paid tribute to his predecessor Lage, adding: "He needs to do what we all do - grieve. I don't think there's a coach who doesn't leave frustrated and thinking things could have turned out differently.

"I look at him with immense respect and solidarity, because I went through the same thing, and not long ago. What I said about him a month and a half ago, I repeat - he's a great coach who had a group of important players whom I congratulated, and they know I'm not exactly a great example of fair play. Congratulating them, telling them that the best won and deserved to win, wasn't easy."

Benfica’s Mourinho set for Chelsea reunion in Champions League

Mourinho is sure to have one eye on his first Champions League match in charge of Benfica against his former club Chelsea on September 30, but he will have three Primeira Liga matches across a six-day period to make his mark before that eagerly-anticipated fixture.

He is set to be in the dugout for his first league game on Saturday evening when sixth-placed Benfica travel to AVS, who are yet to win this term and sit second-bottom of the table after five matches.

Mourinho’s first home match with Benfica will be against Rio Ave - another winless side in the Primeira Liga - next Tuesday, before the Eagles play host to fifth-placed Gil Vicente, four days before they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in Europe’s premier club competition.

Across two memorable spells with Chelsea, Mourinho took charge of 321 matches in all competitions and won a total of eight trophies, including three Premier League titles.

He previously elevated his profile on the managerial circuit during his time in charge of Benfica’s rivals Porto where he won the Champions League in 2004, before enjoying successful managerial spells in England, Italy and Spain, managing six different clubs before joining Fenerbahce.