Jose Mourinho had a unique punishment for Benfica players after the team lost to Braga on Wednesday in the semi-finals of the League Cup. The manager wanted the players to think of the loss they suffered through the night.
Portuguese top-tier club, Benfica suffered an embarrassing loss to Braga on Wednesday, January 7, 2025, when they lost 3-1 in the League Cup semi-finals. The team was also down to 10 men after Argentine defender Nicolas Otamendi was shown the red card and subsequently, sent-off.
Head coach Jose Mourinho decided to teach the team a lesson and asked them to sleep on the training ground in Seixal all night. He further said that the players would live at the base for days to come.
In a post-match news conference, the Portuguese coach said, "The players will sleep in Seixal, and on Thursday there is training, and the day after there's training. Since there's no final on Saturday, our next game is against Porto next Wednesday".
Mourinho added that he wanted the players to ponder over the loss and not sleep at all. "When we arrive in Seixal, everyone will go to their rooms. I hope the players sleep as well as I do, which is to say that they don't sleep at all. That's what I wish for them. That they don't sleep and instead think a lot, like I'm going to think", the 62-year-old manager said.
Benfica appointed Jose Mourinho as their coach in September, 2025 who returned as coach after 25 years. In 2000, the legendary coach was in charge of only 10 games at the club before he left following a disagreement with the management.
So far, he has won 14 of 23 games in charge and was on an 11-games undefeated streak with Benfica which snapped after the semi-final loss on Wednesday.
Talking about the loss, Jose Mourinho said, "On Thursday we can start talking, which isn't what happened in the locker room. In the locker room it was a monologue, and monologues don't work for me; I like to have a dialogue with the players. We'll talk about the differences between the first and second halves and prepare in the best way possible for the game against Porto".
On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Benfica will visit Porto as the two sides face off in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup.
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