Jose Mourinho has been mobbed by reporters after landing in Portugal for a training camp with Roma.
The Portuguese boss has been heavily linked with replacing Fernando Santos as head coach of his country's national team. Santos left his role on Thursday after seeing A Selecao crash out in the quarter-finals of the World Cup to Morocco in stunning fashion.
The Portuguese Football Federation are on the search for their next boss, with Mourinho thought to be a top target. The Roma coach is the most successful Portugal-born manager in club history, winning eight league titles and two Champions Leagues.
The timing of his arrival at Faro Airport could not have been better for the amassed media, with Santos' departure announced just hours beforehand. Mourinho was greeted by a throng of reporters, with the former Chelsea boss yet to publicly speak on the possibility of taking the Portugal job.
As he made his way out of the airport's perimeter fence and onto the team bus, Mourinho was immediately surrounded by reporters. The Special One did not answer any questions, but he did stop to hand back a microphone cover to one reporter.
Roma are in Portugal for a week of training, as well as three friendlies, as they return to action for the Serie A winter break. But the trip is set to be overshadowed by talk of Mourinho's future, with Portugal increasingly keen to bring him in.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Jose Mourinho take the Portugal national team job? Comment below.
According to A Bola, they are exploring the possibility of appointing Under-21s coach Rui Jorge until the end of the season before making a push to take Mourinho away from the Italian capital.
That would give them a better chance of being able to prise him out of his contract at the Stadio Olimpico, which runs until 2024. In their statement announcing Santos' exit, the Portuguese federation gave no indication as to who their targets for his replacement are.
"The Portuguese Football Federation and Fernando Santos agreed to end the highly successful journey started in September 2014," their statement read.
"After one of the best participations ever by the National Team in the final stages of the World Championship, in Qatar, FPF and Fernando Santos understand that this is the right time to start a new cycle.
"It was an honor to have a coach and a person like Fernando Santos at the head of the National Team. The FPF thanks Fernando Santos and his technical team for the services provided over eight unique years. The FPF Board will now begin the process of choosing the next national coach."
Mourinho's candidacy for the job has been backed by former Portugal international Maniche. He played under Mourinho at Porto and believes his former boss is the perfect man to take over.
" Jose Mourinho makes perfect sense for the position, for everything he has already conquered and has been conquering. He has already been to the best clubs in the world, he has won titles in all of them and he lacks the national team," Maniche told Radio Renascenca.
"He is an experienced coach who is very prepared for difficulties because he knows our football and football abroad, he is intelligent and knows how to deal with young people. I think he would gather consensus to be a selector."
