Jose Mourinho insisted that he did not return as Benfica head coach in an attempt to wage war against his former side Porto.
The Portuguese head coach was mentioned during the week by the successor of Bruno Lage and marked his return to the club with a 3-0 win over AVS.
For the first time since 2004, Mourinho returned to coaching in his native country, when he left Porto to take over at Chelsea.
The 62-year-old won two league titles, the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) and the Champions League during his time at Porto.
Mourinho stated that his return to Benfica had nothing to do with his former club, and the head coach does not expect a hot reception when his direction travel to Porto on 5 October.
“I didn’t come to Benfica to make Porto upstairs,” said Mourinho. “I came to Benfica to enjoy the chance to coach another club with winning ambitions at a high level.
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“I have not made anyone up. By saying that Benfica is one of the largest clubs in the world, I do not say that Porto is not.
“If someone asks me if Porto is one of the biggest clubs in the world, I would say yes. If someone asks me if Porto is a gigantic club, I would say yes. If someone asks me if I, not a coach of Benfica, have a special affection for Porto, I would say yes.
“Of course I don’t expect that I would be welcomed in the Dragao in two weeks. I played in the Dragao while I was in charge of Chelsea, and I did not welcomed at all, let alone go to the Dragao as the coach of Benfica, but it is part of life.
“FC Porto is a very important part of my history, and I am a very important part of the history of FC Porto. FC Porto wants to win, we want to win, there is no more history.”
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