Jose Mourinho led Porto to Champions League success in 2004, catapulting his name amongst the world’s elite, with his swagger, arrogance and endearing charm.
Now often a former shadow of himself for Manchester United, glimpses of the once-dubbed ‘Special One’ are few and far between.
After United pulled off an astonishing turnaround last month in Turin, beating Juventus 2-1 in injury time, Mourinho seemed to relight the fire he is so renowned for.
Cupping his ear in defiance to Juventus’s fans, Mourinho ensured his name was to be etched across every headline.
This was the Mourinho of the past, the Mourinho that Manchester United fans expected when the Portuguese was appointed.
But weeks after that night in Turin, Mourinho once more has cast a gloomy and disgruntled figure on the touchline – although his mood would have been lifted by United’s 4-1 win over Fulham at the weekend.
Even with a multi-million-pound squad at his disposal, Mourinho’s side sit sixth in the Premier League – and what he said about Sir Alex Ferguson in 2004 has come back to haunt him:
“I understand why Ferguson is a bit emotional. He has some top players in the world and they should be doing a lot better than that.”
“You would be really sad if your team gets as clearly dominated as that by an opponent who has been built on maybe ten per cent of the budget.”
