Marco Silva, the former head coach of English football club Fulham, has been appointed as the new manager of Benfica on a two-year contract, the Portuguese club announced on Friday.
Silva replaces legendary manager Jose Mourinho, who left Benfica to return to Spanish football giants Real Madrid. The contract includes an option to extend for an additional year, according to the club's official website.
Silva previously managed Fulham from 2021 to 2026, guiding them from the second division of English football to the Premier League. In the most recent season, Fulham finished in 11th place.
Before his tenure at Fulham, Silva managed Estoril (2011-14), Sporting CP (2014-15), Olympiacos (2015-16), Hull City (2017), Watford (2017-18), and Everton (2018-19). Under his leadership, Fulham not only secured a Premier League spot but also became more stable, reaching the FA Cup quarterfinals twice, in the 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons.
In the previous campaign, Benfica finished third in the Primeira Liga under Mourinho, eight points behind champions FC Porto, who topped the table with 88 points.
Club president Rui Costa said on the team's website: "We officially announce Marco Silva as the new coach of Sport Lisboa e Benfica. Welcome to Sport Lisboa e Benfica. Your success will be the success of millions of Benfica fans. It will be the joy of millions of Benfica fans. Welcome to a place very dear to all of us. Let us begin a very beautiful chapter in Benfica's history, and may this Museum have more trophies next year than it has today."
Silva also commented: "We want to be a dominant team, a team capable of connecting Benfica's greatest strength, which is its fans, to the team. That is our main objective: to achieve a very strong connection. The great support that the fans give to the Benfica team will only increase if the team responds. I am not talking about compromise or demandingness, because that is an obligation; it is not even negotiable. I am talking about a positive way of playing, a dominant way of playing, which, in my opinion, is what Benfica represents."
