Three years ago, Wolves started promisingly under Bruno Lage.
Fans had been rocked by the news that Nuno Espirito Santo was to leave Molineux after a successful four-year spell at the club, which saw Wolves gain promotion to the Premier League, finish seventh twice in the Premier League, play Europa League football and reach the semi-final of the FA Cup.
The little-known Bruno Lage came in and after some initial struggles, the Portuguese managed to string some good results together.
By January, Wolves were looking good and actually in competition for European football.
But then the wheels came off. Wolves lost five of their last seven games of the 2021/22 season, drawing the other two to finish 10th.
Lage would then only last until the start of October in 2022/23.
Lage then became manager of Botafogo. But after only a couple of months in charge, he was sacked after an eight-match winless run.
That was a humbling experience for Lage, but the 48-year-old is now about to return to management.
Former Wolves boss Bruno Lage set to become Benfica manager… again
It is being widely reported that Lage is now set to become the new manager of Benfica, which is the club he made his name in management.
Roger Schmidt was sacked as Eagles boss last week after a 1-1 draw at Moreirense.
Benfica had looked a shadow of the side that won the 2022/23 Primeira Liga in Schmidt’s first season in charge.
Last season Benfica finished 10 points behind champions Sporting CP and also got knocked out of the Taça de Portugal by them in the semi-finals. And they only came third in their Champions League group.
Benfica reportedly consider Leonardo Jardim to be their next head coach. But Lage is now set to be unveiled for his second stint, and he will hope to be as successful as he was the first time around.
Lage won the 2018/19 league title with Benfica, after being appointed in January 2019. He oversaw an exciting brand of football, getting the best out of the likes of Joao Felix.
Record report that Benfica’s announcement of Lage should arrive soon.
Lage has chance to rebuild his image after Wolvs and Botafogo failures
So Lage will get another crack at management with Benfica and this is a good chance for him to restore his reputation, which has taken a hit after his stints with Wolves and Benfica.
Things went pretty badly for Lage at Wolves towards the end.
He did pull off some really good results during his time at Molineux. His brilliant 1-0 tactical victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in January 2022 was a result to remember, with the club having not won there for 40 years.
But Lage struggled for a couple of reasons at Wolves. Reportedly, he was not the warmest character and when things got difficult at the end, some players were said to have checked out and did not like his methods.
Lage had also said several times that he needed reinforcements, which has been a running theme for Wolves managers under Fosun, and he did not get the best backing.
There was potential there with him but it just didn’t work out in the end. But he now has the chance to do good things at a huge club and many Wolves fans will wish him well.
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