Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is eager to go up against a football great when his side play Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The tie sees Mourinho taking his team to St James’ Park, where Bobby Robson, his mentor in football management, remains a revered figure.
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Portuguese boss Mourinho has won 26 major trophies in his exceptional managerial career, a haul that includes three Premier League titles, four League Cups, an FA Cup and the Europa League during his spells with Chelsea and Manchester United.
Howe is in no doubt about the former Inter Milan and Real Madrid manager’s impact upon English football.
The 47-year-old Howe, asked during a pre-match press conference on Monday if Mourinho should be classed as an all-time great, replied: “I think you have to. Look what he did.
“I’m not just saying that because we are playing them tomorrow, I genuinely believe it. The impact he made initially was incredible, really. He had an aura around him and his teams. His teams were always very difficult to beat.”
Howe, who made his name in management at Bournemouth, added: “I remember watching his teams in my very early days as a head coach, when I was looking to mould the way I wanted to play and what I was thinking about coaching-wise, he had a big impact.”
Howe’s first encounter with the then-Chelsea manager came when his newly-promoted Cherries won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in December 2015, although that remains his only victory against Mourinho.
“Any Premier League win is savoured regardless of where you are,” he said. “It’s so difficult to do it in the Premier League and especially at that stage of my career.
“Chelsea were one of the strongest teams in the league and there were some great wins for us that, at the time, being Bournemouth manager, gave us the belief that we could compete in the Premier League.
“Being a newly-promoted team, you need every shot of confidence you can get. I look back fondly on those games.
“But obviously this game is very different. It’s a different kind of experience. We now — I said this before the previous Champions League game — we’re desperate to qualify in the competition.
“We know the importance of our home games, so after the disappointment of Barcelona, we’re looking forward to this one.”
Newcastle responded to their opening defeat by Barcelona with a 4-0 win at Union Saint-Gilloise, while Benfica have lost their opening two fixtures to Qarabag and Chelsea.
AFP