Jose Mourinho loves to go out with a bang. He did it at Porto, winning the Champions League. He did it at Inter, with the treble.
Report by Daily Mail
He didn’t do it at Chelsea —this “unfinished business” Didier Drogba recently alluded to is a reason for him to return in the summer. With Real Madrid’s 3-0 victory over Galatasaray on Wednesday night, the chance presents itself yet again.
The chance to go out with a bang. The chance to make history by being the first manager to win the Champions League three times, each time in a different country.
Currently his successes with Porto and Inter puts him alongside Ernst Happel (Feyenoord and Hamburg).
The only other man to win with two teams is Ottmar Hitzfeld (Dortmund and Bayern Munich) but both were from Germany.
Mourinho is destined to leave in the summer — his manipulation machine is already in motion (does it ever stop?) — and he has been linked with several top jobs.
But to continue the careful upkeep of his reputation as a winner, as someone who unerringly provides success, he will need to win the Champions League again.
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Barcelona have kicked his team to the kerb in La Liga; they are 13 points clear with nine games to go.
So to leave with his head held high, his only option is to win Europe’s premier competition, the Holy Grail.
It’s not that he’s been unsuccessful in Spain even if he doesn’t win the Champions League. Wrestling the title from rivals Barcelona last season was an incredible feat.
But Mourinho is Hollywood and in Hollywood there’s always a happy ending.
His charisma, personality and confidence are part of his management style and all will be bolstered if he triumphs again.
If he leaves Spain clutching the Champions League trophy, Mourinho will be ready to take on the world again.
If his next job is in England, with Chelsea, he will need that extra sheen for what will no doubt be testing months ahead.
What better way to announce his return to England than by winning the Champions League in our national stadium. Winning in the Bernabeu with Inter in 2010 certainly made an impression before his Madrid switch.
Mourinho is just three games from a Wembley final. The first, the away tie with Galatasaray, is of no concern.
Madrid dispatched their Turkish opposition with consummate ease, the three goal lead seemingly enough to guarantee them passage to the semi-finals.
Playing the second leg in Istanbul is not easy, but Mourinho will be confident of qualification.
Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso picked up yellow cards and will be banned for the game, the former for kicking the ball away, the latter for dissent.
While there is no evidence that Mourinho encouraged them to get booked, that they will now not risk missing the semi-final or final is suspicious at the very least.
Mourinho will be thinking about the semi-finals, where probability dictates they will face one of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund or Bayern Munich.
They came undone at the semi-final stage against the German side last season, on penalties.
As fate would have it, Chelsea then went on to beat Bayern in the final, with the core of Mourinho’s former side still intact. Mourinho will fear no team, but has good reasons for hoping his side will be drawn against Dortmund.
In charge of Bayern is Jupp Heynckes, the manager with the best win rate in Champions League history, out of those who have been in charge for 20 matches or more.
Heynckes has won 64% of his ties in the competition, while Mourinho is sixth on the list with a 55% success rate.
He will also not want to face Barcelona, because the main negative regarding his time in Spain has been his frustration with Madrid’s main rivals.
Most of Mourinho’s erratic behaviour in Spain has been El Clasico related, including when he poked the now-manager Tito Vilanova in the eye during a melee last year.
The prospect of blowing the chance to make history against Barcelona would be unbearable for the Portguese boss. He has won five games in 17 against them.
Of course, by avoiding them in the semi-final it could merely result in a showpiece showdown at Wembley, but Mourinho’s side are more likely to beat their Catalan foes in a one-off scrap than a two-legged affair.
The only manager in history to win three European Cups is Bob Paisley, who triumphed with Liverpool in 1977, 1978 and 1981. Winning this time around would elevate Mourinho above, amongst others, Sir Alex Ferguson, Vincente Del Bosque and, deliciously for him, Pep Guardiola.
Love him or hate him, Mourinho is always a story, always drama. And the path for him to earn another, historic, personal victory is opening up.
