more than a skilled assistant. He let Mourinho develop his own independent coaching style and entrusted him with the coaching duties of Barcelona B. Van Gaal also let Mourinho take charge of the first team (acting as Mourinho's assistant himself) for certain trophies, like the Copa Catalunya, which Mourinho won in 2000. Managerial career Benfica The chance to become a top-tier manager arrived in September 2000 when Mourinho moved up from his role as assistant manager at Benfica to replace manager Jupp Heynckes after the fourth week of the Primeira Liga. The Benfica hierarchy wanted to appoint Jesualdo Ferreira as the new assistant coach, but Mourinho refused and picked Carlos Mozer, a retired Benfica defender, as his right-hand man instead. Mourinho was highly critical of Ferreira, whom he had first encountered as his teacher at ISEF and later lambasted the veteran coach by stating, "This could be the story of a donkey who worked for 30 years but never became a horse." Only weeks after being given the job at Benfica, Mourinho's mentor, Sir Bobby Robson, offered him the assistant manager's role at Newcastle United. Such was Robson's desperation for Mourinho to join him he offered to step down after two years in charge and hand over the reins to Mourinho. Mourinho turned the offer down and said he knew Robson would never step down at the club he loved. Mourinho and Mozer proved a popular combination, enjoying a 3–0 win against rivals Sporting CP in December. Their reign appeared to be at risk after Benfica's election turned against club president João Vale e Azevedo and the newly elected Manuel Vilarinho said that he would instate ex-Benfica player Toni as his new coach. Although Vilarinho had no intention of firing him immediately, Mourinho used the victory over Sporting to test the president's loyalty and he asked for a contract extension. Vilarinho refused the demand and Mourinho resigned from his position immediately. He left the club on 5 December 2000 after just nine league games in charge. Upon later reflection, Vilarinho rued his poor judgement and expressed his frustration at losing Mourinho: União de Leiria Mourinho found a new managerial post in July 2001 with União de Leiria. During his time at União de Leiria, the team was on a run contesting places as high as third and fourth. After a 1–1 draw against Santa Clara on 20 January 2002, Mourinho