The Portuguese football association is looking for José Mourinho to replace Fernando Santos as coach of the Portuguese national team.
As reported by gazzetta.it, the Portuguese Football Federation has put Mourinho at the top of its list to succeed the outgoing Santos.
Santos will step down as national coach after Portugal’s World Cup dream ended at the quarterfinal stage, at the hands of Morocco.
The upset loss came after either team’s tournament performance in the previous round, with Portugal looking firmly as contenders after dismantling Switzerland 6 goals to one.
However, it was not meant to be for Portugal and Santos, whose time as head coach now appears to be over.
Santos will leave having delivered Portugal’s first and only international trophy, after winning the Euro Cup in 2016.
Now eyes have turned to the most successful Portuguese club manager of all time: former United boss José Mourinho.
Mourinho is currently managing in Italy, with his Roma sitting seventh in the table but just six points off second in what is a competitive Serie A.
The Roma boss has long been proposed for a season in international football, having been hounded by the English FA to take charge of England on a few occasions in previous years.
Since his treble achievements at Inter Milan, Mourinho’s powers at club level appear to be on the wane, with a new wave of high-intensity, high-energy, high-pressure football taking over the top tier of European football.
However, Mourinho’s pragmatic, organized and hard-to-beat style seems perfectly suited to international football, which is generally played at a pace more suited to Mourinho’s philosophy.
This, along with his unique style of man management and his ability to influence unique games, on and off the pitch, make him the ideal candidate to lead this talented Portuguese team to the 2024 European Championship.
