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Jose Mourinho recently took charge of his 1000th professional game as a manager; a testament to his longevity at the highest level of the game. The fallen angel and antithesis persona aside, Mourinho is nothing short of a serial winner, having won almost consistently in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain. His decorated career has had more than its fair share of thrills, spills and heartache.
Here are Jose Mourinho’s 5 most iconic games.
#5 Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea, Premier League 2013/14
Perhaps the definitive "us versus the world" game of Jose Mourinho’s career, the 2013/14 title race was decided by a classic smash and grab by a largely second-string Chelsea side.
With Liverpool already behind title rivals Manchester City, anarchist Jose was the architect of Liverpool's implosion. Jose set up a deep defensive structure to frustrate a desperate Liverpool with the majority of the first team resting for their Champions League semi-final clash.
As the likes of Suarez and Sturridge were stifled, Anfield was silenced by Steven Gerrard's unfathomable slip that led to a Demba Ba goal largely against the run of play. Willian proceeded to score another goal right from a Liverpool corner to all but resign Anfield to their fate, as Mourinho celebrated by pointing at the Chelsea club crest.
#4 Manchester United 1-1 PORTO (2-3 on aggregate), Champions League 2003/04
The match that announced Mourinho to the world as the new maverick manager, as Jose's Porto played the plucky underdog against the mighty Manchester United led by Sir Alex Ferguson. Having won the home leg by a goal, Mourinho's iconic Porto team, with the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Benni McCarthy pulled off a massive upset.
Manchester United stood in Porto's route to unlikely Champions League glory that season and following Paul Scholes' 32nd-minute strike in the second leg, Mourinho's team were headed for the exit on away goals.
Against all odds (and a famous goalkeeping error from Tim Howard), Porto's Costinha pulled a goal back in the 90th minute, sparking pandemonium and wild celebrations on the Old Trafford touchline. Porto would go on to win the Champions League, but it was at this exact moment that the Legend of Jose was born.
#3 Copa del Rey: Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona, 2011
Having been the most obvious foe of Pep Guardiola, Jose was lured to the Santiago Bernabeu to crush the Blaugrana dominance. His defiant "anti tiki taka" style was a mixed success as he won a single yet memorable League title.
His first trophy, however, was the 2011 Copa Del Rey, one of five classicos in the 2010-11 season. Having already lost 5-0 in their first encounter, pressure was on to deliver in Real Madrid. In classic Mourinho fashion, Pepe, Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira were fielded as a midfield destroyer trio to counter Leo Messi.
A dirty encounter heading to penalties was turned on its head by Cristiano Ronaldo who leapt onto Angel Di Maria's deep cross to win the game 1-0. It was Real Madrid's first trophy since 2008, and that over their bitter arch rivals, meant Jose had delivered joy to the Los Blancos faithful.
#2 Chelsea 3-0 Manchester United, Premier League 2005/06
The self-proclaimed "Special One" arrived on the shores of England and shocked the core of English football as he led Chelsea to their first-ever Premiership title, turning the status quo on its head.
The second season title victory in 2005-06 was perhaps even more impressive and was memorably punctuated by a 3-0 drubbing of title rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.
A William Gallas header put Chelsea in front early on, before two outstanding second-half goals from individual brilliance by both Joe Cole and Ricardo Carvalho showed the might of Chelsea's dominance and style.
#1 Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan (2-3 on aggregate), Champions League 2009/10
Perhaps the most famous and celebrated defeat of Jose's career was the 1-0 loss of Inter Milan to Barcelona. Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, however, went on to win on aggregate (2-3) in the Semi Finals of the 2010 Champions League.
Facing his philosophical nemesis and soon to be constant rival for the first time over a two-legged clash, Jose's industrious Inter Milan team outwitted the famous attacking flair of Barcelona's tiki taka football. Despite holding a 3-1 lead, a Thiago Motta red card meant Inter battled with 10 men against a determined Barcelona.
A defensive masterclass with Samuel Eto'o at left wing back and Materazzi in fine form meant Inter scraped through to keep the likes of Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic at bay, going on to win a historic treble.
Mourinho's full-time celebrations angered the irate Nou Camp, as he shushed the whole stadium with a defensive masterclass.
