Jose Mourinho is a serial winner, having lifted over 20 trophies in a career that has seen him manage Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham and Roma.
Picking the perfect match from his 20-plus years as a manager, therefore, is a difficult one. There have been multiple high-profile matches Mourinho has been involved in, with plenty standing out for the Portuguese boss.
Now 61 and managing Fenerbahce in Turkey, Mourinho eventually manages to find the answer he was looking for – though one involves one of his former sides in what proved a dominant display.
Jose Mourinho picks the perfect match of his career
“Hard to answer…”, Mourinho told Corriere dello Sport when asked what the perfect match he’s managed in is.
“Porto vs Lazio, 4-1, 2002/03 UEFA Cup semi-final. They scored after 50 seconds and didn’t touch the ball after that. Inter vs Bayern, 2-0 [2010 Champions League final], after a minute we already knew who would win.
“Manchester United vs Tottenham, 1-6 [2020/21 Premier League] and it could have been 7, 8, 9. It’s equally difficult not to find a perfect match in my Chelsea who ate up the Premier League.”
That 6-1 win inflicted embarassment on then-Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who replaced Mourinho in the Old Trafford dugout a few years prior. Though Bruno Fernandes managed to give the hosts the lead after just two minutes, Spurs were in the lead by the seventh minute and then dominated once Anthony Martial was sent off in the 28th.
As Mourinho suggests, a number of games during his time at Chelsea would certainly qualify, especially considering how resolute defensively they were.
In FourFourTwo‘s opinion, though, the 2004 Champions League final victory over Monaco for Porto is hard to look past. Not only did it prove his credentials having already knocked out Manchester United earlier in the competition, but it catapulted him onto the world stage.