Bruno Lage has been waiting a long time for this moment. Eighteen months, to be exact, but 45-year-old Lage has been working towards managing a Premier League club since he was in his teens. Just like Jose Mourinho – another product of the Portuguese city Setubal – Lage didn’t enjoy a career as a professional footballer . When quizzed about why his coaching journey started so early.
Bruno Lage said: “Because I didn’t have the ability to play football.”
The new head coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers continued
Bruno Lage said: “I was studying. My plan was to be a P.E teacher in Portugal and my father came with the idea that maybe one day I could be a manager or an assistant coach. He talked with his friend and said, ‘If you need a kid to start learning, he’s trying to do his degree in Physical Education’, and I went there. I started working at 17 in Vitoria Setubal and I enjoyed it.”
Bruno Lage said: “I talked with him once or twice a week when I was in Benfica, he was watching my games. When he was in Braga, I was watching his games. He is a good friend and we will always talk about football. The time I spent with him was very important for me – the way he worked, and the way he allowed his staff to work with a lot of freedom and responsibility in your tasks.”
Lage stepped out of Carvalhal’s shadow spectacularly in 2019 to lead Benfica to an unlikely Primeira Liga title following a run of 18 wins from 19 matches.
