Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe will go head-to-head with a manager he believes should be considered one of the game’s greats as he prepares to lock horns with Jose Mourinho.
The 62-year-old Portuguese takes his Benfica side to St James’ Park, where his mentor Sir Bobby Robson remains such a favourite, in the Champions League on Tuesday ready to resume hostilities with Howe.
Asked if Mourinho should be considered one of the all-time greats, the 47-year-old Howe said: “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.
“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.”
Mourinho may have a certain affinity with Newcastle because of his links with Robson, but St James’ has not always been a happy hunting ground for him with 12 visits in all competitions with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham resulting in three wins, five defeats and four draws.
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Howe has fond memories of his first encounter with the then-Chelsea boss when his newly-promoted Bournemouth side won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in December 2015, although that remains his only victory against him.
Howe said: “Any Premier League win is savoured regardless of where you are. 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 bounced back from 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.
The Magpies are sweating on the fitness of key midfielder Sandro Tonali, who missed training on Monday through illness and is considered to be “touch and go” by Howe with Lewis Miley and Jacob Ramsey standing by.
Meanwhile, Mourinho spoke of his love for St. James’ Park and how he revels playing there.
“I told them [Benfica players] that it’s beautiful even as an opponent it’s beautiful. We have to be strong enough to cope with it. We have to be ready to suffer on the pitch because it’s going to be difficult for us,” he told a news conference.
“I adore to play here. Even as a rival, it’s fantastic to play here. It’s an incredible atmosphere. It’s not just the stadium, it’s the club, the history, the passion of the fans, the economic power that allows them to emerge from a difficult situation and win for the first time in decades, as they did the League Cup.
“That allows them to play two seasons in the Champions League. They’re a team close to greater things, which these people deserve. The culture of Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham is different from this area. I love playing here. I told the players that even as opponents, it’s fantastic to play here.”
Information from ESPN’s Adriana Garcia contributed to this report.
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