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Aware that much needed to be changed, Mourinho decided to schedule a joint practice with Benfica's B team.  He was still getting to know the club, and so he placed the B players on one side, and the seniors who hadn't played against Boavista on the other, together with a few others.  As he had been sent off at Bessa Stadium, Maniche was one of the players to be called up.  Jose Mourinho wanted to this match to be as realistic as possible, and had therefore asked the referee to carry out his duties seriously.  Everything was set up so that Mourinho could have a better understanding of the real potential of the B players.

A mere two minutes into the match, Maniche was responsible for a very hard tackle on an 'opponent'.  That the referee didn't have to think twice and immediately sent him off.  Mourinho was watching from the top of the stands at Luz when he saw the player on his way to the changing rooms.  He reached for his mobile at once, and told one of his assistants to order Maniche to jog around the pitch until the end of the first half.  The order was given and Maniche made a point of making it known that he was not happy about this- so much so, that eight minutes later he'd only done two laps, clearly showing his lack of interest in training.  Mourinho told him to head for the showers.

When Maniche arrived for practice the next day, Jose Mourinho was waiting for him.

"It took you 8 minutes to run 800 meters yesterday.  That means one of two things: you either have a problem on your mind that needs to be solved, or you have a physical problem, and you still need to find a solution for it.  So, you're going to train with the B team, and when you feel that you no longer have a mental or physical problem, come and see me."

Maniche went to the B team, and at the end of the fourth day, he spoke to Jose Mourinho, apologising for his unprofessional attitude, and telling him that he had no problems at all.  Mourinho placed him in Benfica's main team again, but made him pay a fine of 1,000 Euros.

A few weeks later, Maniche was Benfica's captain, and today he is one of the players who is vitally important to FC Porto's success.

Pgs 37-38