Fatih Terim, the veteran coach at the helm of Türkiye's national football team, received a formal job offer from Portuguese club Benfica approximately three months before the news emerged in the Turkish press in May 2008. The daily Vatan described it as the first official club approach Terim had received.
The offer was delivered through Rui Costa, who was serving as manager at the Lisbon club at the time. Costa brought a personal dimension to the outreach: he had played under Terim during stints at both Fiorentina and AC Milan, making him a natural choice to carry the proposal.
Terim acknowledged Benfica's interest warmly but made clear he was not in a position to negotiate at that stage. His focus, he said, was fixed entirely on preparing Türkiye for the 2008 European Championship. He asked the club for patience and indicated he would be willing to revisit the conversation once the tournament had concluded.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2008, in its own words.