Marco Silva Returns to Lisbon: Benfica Officially Agrees on Mourinho's Replacement

The longest-suffering coaching chain of European football has finally been resolved. With the news that became official on Tuesday morning, Benfica announced their new coach after José Mourinho: Marco Silva. The 48-year-old Portuguese coach returned to his homeland Portugal after five years at Premier League side Fulham. According to information conveyed by Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs and Goal, a verbal agreement was reached between Benfica President Rui Costa and Silva after "positive" talks; the official signing process was also completed this weekend after Florentino Perez won the Real Madrid presidential election.

There is an interesting story behind the scenes of this transfer. Mourinho had a secret exit clause in his contract with Benfica and this clause ended on Monday — right during the Real Madrid presidential election period. Real Madrid had to pay around 28 million Euros in transfer fee to Florentino Perez side for Mourinho. There was a critical player here: Jorge Mendes, who is both Mourinho's and Marco Silva's agent. The famous Portuguese agent built a bridge between the two clubs and in exchange for Benfica accepting a slightly lower transfer fee from Real Madrid, obtained better conditions for Silva. Result: both Mourinho is going to Bernabéu, and Marco Silva is sitting at Estádio da Luz.

Marco Silva's decision to leave Fulham surprised the fans. The Cottagers management had made him a 3-year, 8 million pounds annual extension offer to keep him. In return, Benfica offered only 4 million pounds annually — that is half. But money was not the issue for Silva. The Lisbon-born coach had long held the desire to manage a club in Portugal. According to details conveyed by Goal, Silva was also in the process of buying a house close to Lisbon. Since Fulham could not go to Europe this summer either (10th place), the player's motivation had also dropped. Instead of becoming ordinary in a Premier League club, a new start in one of Portugal's biggest clubs was preferred.

Silva's career story is also one of the elements that make this choice meaningful. Born in Lisbon (July 12, 1977), he retired from football at 33 after wearing the jersey at Estoril for 6 years as a right-back. He started in coaching as sports director at Estoril, took over the team in 2011. He took Estoril to the Portuguese Premier League (2011-12 Segunda Liga championship), provided qualification for the European Conference League with 5th place in the 2013-14 season. Then one season at Sporting CP (2014-15) and the 2014-15 Taça de Portugal championship. Then he went to Greece, became the 2015-16 Super League champion at Olympiacos. From January 2017 Premier League: Hull City (4 months), Watford (2017-2018), Everton (2018-2019, 8th place, left after a 5-2 defeat to Liverpool). After 18 months break, Fulham called him in July 2021 — in place of Scott Parker. In the first season, he raised the team to Premier League with the Championship championship (2021-22); in the following seasons, he kept the team stable in the middle ranks. In total, he won 3 important trophies: Championship (Fulham, 2021-22), Super League (Olympiacos, 2015-16), Taça de Portugal (Sporting, 2014-15).

Silva is considered an ideal profile for Benfica. Last season, Benfica lost the championship to FC Porto after being eliminated from the Champions League group stage under Mourinho's management (Benfica finished 3rd). In the new season, they will start from the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League — being outside the big race means a major regression. Silva has a reputation as a quick team turner-around; especially he is known to have got good results in promotion and transition processes. He is expected to re-establish his superiority over Porto and Sporting in the league. Returning to the Champions League will be a challenging task.

Mourinho's departure was a disappointment for Benfica fans. Two seasons of not approaching any trophy, a heartbreaking final fragment was experienced. For Silva, this is the threshold of becoming a "national hero". If a League championship and a good performance in the Champions League come, he can write his name in golden letters in Portuguese football history. While the official announcement is expected in the next few days, Silva is expected to return to Lisbon this weekend and sign his contract.

Source: Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Goal.com

Image: soccernet.ng