José Mourinho, Benfica coach, in a press conference
Ten points away from first place almost at the end of the first lap foreshadows a goodbye to the title — we have had extraordinary recoveries in recent years, but not on such a scale.
Does this mean that Benfica’s season is over and a failure? No, on the contrary. There is still a lot to play for — and José Mourinho himself has assumed that, as long as mathematics allows, he will continue to fight for the title.
But there is a sense of disappointment when experiencing the coach’s first months at Luz. Mourinho praised his work yesterday, at a press conference, and he is not wrong. Thinking about the points he has already lost in the championship — ten, precisely the ones that separate him from FC Porto —, it is easy to accept six: the two he left at Dragão, the two he left in Braga, even due to the circumstances, and the two he left at home with Sporting. Yes, the home draws with Rio Ave and Casa Pia, both agreed at 90+1′, hurt the score, but four points shouldn’t be significant.
The problem, as the Eagles’ coach himself admitted, is that their rivals, especially FC Porto, are far above expectations. And this is something that any great coach has to know how to live with: the measure of success does not exist in a vacuum, but in comparison with others. And the comparison between Mourinho and Farioli, at the moment, is not at all flattering for the Portuguese.
