Mourinho's Masterclasses: The Special One's 5 greatest Champions League triumphs

#2 FC Porto vs. Monaco – Final, 2003-04

Mourinho masterminded Porto's unlikely Champions League triumph in 2004

After their huge victory over Manchester United in the round of 16, Mourinho’s Porto put together an unexpected run to the final of the 2003-04 Champions League, defeating Lyon and Deportivo La Coruna along the way.

With the biggest prize in club football on the line, they were faced with an equally unfancied opponent – France’s Monaco – who had defeated both Real Madrid and Chelsea to book their place at the Arena AufSchalke.

The word coming into the match was that whichever side came out on top would see their manager – either Mourinho or Didier Deschamps – appointed as the next boss of Chelsea, meaning the final took on another fascinating dimension.

In the end it was the Portuguese side that came out on top, and it happened in what would later be considered classic Mourinho fashion. Porto were on the back foot for the majority of the game, but thanks to some dogged defending from the likes of Jorge Costa and Ricardo Carvalho, restricted Monaco to just 8 shots, none of them on target.

And when Mourinho’s side hit their French opponents on the break, they did it in style; a first half opener from Carlos Alberto was followed by second half strikes from Deco and Dmitri Alenichev that handed Porto a 3-0 victory and their second ever Champions League triumph. It was a masterclass from Mourinho’s side, who only conceded 4 goals throughout the entire knockout stages.

Just one week later the Portuguese boss moved to Chelsea, and the rest is history.