At the Estadio da Luz on Saturday, Jose Mourinho stood on the touchline and then broke down into tears.
It would have been interesting if this had happened because of the result in Benfica’s game against Vitoria Guimaraes. But no, Mourinho’s side actually won comfortably at home, Gianluca Prestianni opening the scoring with 15 minutes played, before Vangelis Pavlidis made it 2-0 shortly before the hour and an own goal by Vitoria’s Beni Mukendi wrapped up the victory in the closing stages.
The moment was in fact before the game. A minute’s silence was held in memory of Silvino Louro, the former goalkeeper and long-time member of Mourinho’s coaching staff, who passed away at the age of 67 after a long illness.
As the stadium paid tribute, Mourinho struggled to contain his grief, staring at the big screen where Louro’s image was displayed before wiping tears from his face and returning to the dugout.
Louro was more than a colleague to the famed Portuguese coach. Across nearly two decades, he was a constant presence alongside Mourinho, working with him at the various clubs he has coached, including Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
O minuto de silêncio por Silvino. pic.twitter.com/N845kdB1n0
— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) March 21, 2026
Mourinho had some time to share his emotions to the media after the game.
“My wife told me yesterday that it was hard to believe he was gone, and it still is,” Mourinho said. “He’s gone, but the memories remain. It’s still time to mourn him, but I hope there are still many years ahead for me and many of his friends from Setubal to laugh and cry together again.
“We spent 18 years together; that means so many memories. Living with him meant laughing a lot; he was one of those people it was easy to fall in love with. He was at home with my wife, my daughter and my son, but now it’s about looking after those left behind.
“His children are part of our lives; they grew up with us and we must try to give them strength at this time. Before the match, after not being able to attend his funeral, seeing him on the screen was very hard, but I will always remember his words: before every match he would always say to me, ‘Brother, everything will be fine today’.”
Earlier in the day, Mourinho had also paid tribute publicly to his long-time colleague.
“I’m crying now, but I’ll manage to laugh, to laugh a lot, to talk about you, to remember every moment,” Mourinho said. “In the Mourinho family, you are loved and you will live on. I’ll keep listening to you before every match: ‘Brother, everything will be alright’. Rest in peace, little brother.”
