Lunchtime in Seixal and after Jose Mourinho’s training session with Benfica, we are awaiting his pre-match press conference. In Restaurante Impala, a stone's throw from the training complex and hidden in the narrow streets of Seixal, inevitably the conversation over grilled sardines from the nearby Tagus River revolves around Mourinho’s homecoming - 25 years on from his first stint as Benfica boss.
The man on the table next to us overhears our discussion and mentions proudly that he was once a teammate of Mourinho. Jorge Batista, 62, shows us an image of them alongside each other from when they were 15 in the nearby town of Setubal - where Mourinho grew up.