THE LOST DREAM
In many ways, Jose Mourinho and Sir Walter Raleigh have always been alike.
An experienced explorer of foreign lands, Raleigh spent years in search of El Dorado. The lost city, allegedly laden with gold, was a legendary location throughout the Spanish Empire. It was believed to be somewhere in South America, and numerous adventurers had tried to find it. Raleigh may have been from Devon, but he fancied a go as well. During the middle of the Anglo-Spanish War, he sailed west to Trinidad, captured a Spanish governor and grilled him for information about the previous expeditions to El Dorado. In 1595, Raleigh set off up the Orinoco river in neighbouring Venezuela.
Mourinho has repeatedly likened his quest to win Europe’s greatest club competition with this pursuit for the fabled city. “The Champions League is El Dorado,” he’s said – and he doesn’t mean the failed BBC soap opera.
He has sampled El Dorado’s riches twice before. The last time was now a decade ago, when Inter beat Bayern Munich in 2010’s final. Mourinho burst into tears as Howard Webb blew for full-time in Madrid’s Bernabeu. He’d become only the third manager to win the European Cup with two clubs. Ernst Happel had been a manager for 21 years when he achieved it; Ottmar Hitzfeld, 18. Mourinho did it in just 10. In that moment – beaming with joy, holding the matchball as a souvenir, son perched on his shoulders – Mourinho had everything he ever wanted. Yet his ambition wasn’t sated. “I want to be the only coach to win the Champions League with three clubs,” he announced that very night, confirming he was leaving Inter: destination, Real Madrid.
Ten years on, he’s yet to achieve that dream, and there are major doubts he ever will. Mourinho has drifted further and further from more Champions League glory, in a decade of drama, disputes and disappointments. It’s six years since he even won a knockout tie. If Spurs lose to RB Leipzig in the last 16 of this season’s competition, it could be two years or more before their boss gets another chance.
Now 57, is it all over for Mourinho as a Champions League force? Given Tottenham’s past six months, no one expects his new side to progress far. But then, not many fancied Porto or Inter, either.
PORTO vs MANCHESTER UNITED 2004
“I understand why Ferguson is emotional – you’d be sad if your team was dominated by an opponent on a tenth of the budget”
For Vitor Baia, Mourinho’s ascent to Champions League stardom really began on December 12, 2003.
That morning, goalkeeper Baia and the rest of Porto’s squad were huddled around a television at their training ground in Vila Nova de Gaia, waiting to discover their opponents in the last 16. The draw provided a daunting answer: Manchester United. “Mourinho started jumping in a festive mood,” Baia tells FourFourTwo with a smile. “He said, ‘Finally, a proper rival for us! Finally, a decent challenge. We’re going to beat them!’ We were shocked – we didn’t understand that happiness, because we were apprehensive when we drew United. But then we thought, ‘OK, the boss is happy – we can make it.’ Right after the draw, Mourinho started to work on those games.”
Mourinho’s Champions League debut as a manager had come at the Bernabeu two seasons earlier against Real Madrid’s Galacticos, having taken over Porto midway through the 2001-02 campaign. “Only a gun will stop Real Madrid,” he said – though his side nearly did it without recourse to firearms, losing to a late Santi Solari goal.
Porto’s performance in Madrid gave encouragement to a team who had lost to Barry Town in one leg of a qualifying tie earlier that season, under Octavio Machado. Porto were 5th in the Primeira Liga when
