Six Portuguese nationals were in charge of UEFA Champions League teams this week; more than any other country.
UEFA describes Jorge Jesus (Benfica) career as a footballer – he played for Olhanense and Farense – as ‘modest’ but as a coach ‘excellent’.
José Mourinho is “the most famous Portuguese coach ever” and Marco Silva (Sporting Lisbon) is described as ‘inexperienced’ in the Champions League.
With more than 100 games in the Champions League, a competition that he has won twice – with FC Porto (2004) and Inter Milan (2010) – Mourinho (Chelsea) is the most famous Portuguese coach ever.
The article states that, like Mourinho, André Villas-Boas (Zenit St Petersburg) was a protégé of Sir Bobby Robson during his time at FC Porto. Paulo Sousa (Basel), who won the Champions League twice as a player – Juventus (1996) and Borussia Dortmund (1997) – and Leonardo Jardim (Monaco) completes the Portuguese sextet. How many coaches could England boast among the 32 teams? None.
By CHRIS WRIGHT
