Benfica manager José Mourinho took his players to spend the night at Benfica’s training centre after they lost to Braga in the semi-finals of the League Cup – and the Portuguese manager said he hoped they “didn’t sleep, but thought a lot instead”.
Benfica lost the semi-final on Wednesday 3-1 and ended the game with ten men when former Manchester City defender Nicolás Otamendi was sent off.
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Mourinho, who was hired as manager in September, hinted that his players would stay at the club’s training base in Seixal for the foreseeable future.
“The players will sleep in the Seixal, and on Thursday there is training, and the next day there is training,” Mourinho said at a press conference after the loss to Braga.
“Since there is no final on Saturday, our next game is against Porto on Wednesday.
“When we arrive in Seixal [Wednesday], everyone will go to their rooms. I hope the players sleep as well as I do, which means they don’t sleep at all.
“That’s what I want for them. That they don’t sleep, but instead think a lot, as I come to think.”
Mourinho started his coaching career with Benfica in 2000, but was only responsible for ten games before leaving the club after a disagreement with the club president.
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He has won 14 of his 23 games as Benfica manager during this period, and Wednesday’s defeat put an end to an 11-game unbeaten streak.
“On Thursday we can start talking, which didn’t happen in the dressing room,” Mourinho said.
“In the locker room, there was a monologue, and monologues don’t work for me; I like to have a dialogue with the players.
“We will talk about the differences between the first and second half and prepare in the best possible way for the game against Porto.”
Benfica travel to Porto in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup on Wednesday.
Mourinho’s side are third in the Primeira Liga, ten points behind league leaders Porto.
