Following Portugal’s shocking World Cup quarterfinal loss to Morocco on Thursday, Fernando Santos resigned as coach, with the colorful and contentious Jose Mourinho being mentioned as a potential contender to replace him.
The 68-year-old Santos and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) have come to an agreement “to finish the voyage of great success that began in September 2014,” according to a statement from the FPF.
The FPF continued, saying that it “will now begin the selection process for the next national coach.”
Fernando Santos resigned as coach of Portugal following their heartbreaking World Cup semifinal defeat to Morocco on Thursday, and the controversial and colorful Jose Mourinho was named as a possible replacement.
According to a statement from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), the 68-year-old Santos and the FPF have reached an agreement “to conclude the voyage of great achievement that began in September 2014.”
“We will now start the selection process for the next national coach,” the FPF stated.
Beginning in March is qualification for Euro 2024.
Among the other prospective candidates mentioned by local media are the Portuguese coaches Rui Jorge (under-21s), Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras), Paulo Fonseca (Lille), Rui Vitoria (Egypt), and Jorge Jesus (Fenerbahce).
Mourinho, 59, has a strong track record with some of Europe’s top clubs but has not yet coached at the international level.
He has served as manager of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Porto, Chelsea twice, and Chelsea.
Mourinho won two Serie A championships with Inter, a Liga title at Real, three Premier League championships with Chelsea, and one Ligue 1 trophy.
He led Porto to the Champions League title in 2004 and Inter Milan to the title in 2010.
He helped Roma win the Europa Conference League Championship in May of this year, the team’s first-ever major championship.
He became the first coach to win every current UEFA competition with that win, which was his fifth European championship.
The Roma team has Mourinho under contract until 2024. The squad is presently 14 points behind league leaders Napoli in seventh place in Serie A.
Santos had been sure that despite Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the historic Moroccans in Qatar, he would not be pulled out of the Portuguese position he has held for eight years.
He acknowledged that not everyone agreed with his World Cup decisions, which included benching Cristiano Ronaldo in the later games.
“I’m leaving with the feeling of enormous gratitude,” he said in a video posted on the federation’s website.
“When you lead a group, you have to make some difficult decisions. It’s normal that not everyone is happy with the choices I made.”
Santos, who took over as Portugal’s head coach in September 2014, led his team to its first major victory at Euro 2016 and then the 2019 Nations League.
However, the 2018 World Cup and the 2020 Euro both ended in the round of 16 during his tenure as manager.
