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In a gala ceremony celebrating 100 years of Portuguese football, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was awarded the Coach of the Century award for his immense contribution to the game, on Wednesday
The 51-year-old first started as an assistant manager at Benfica in 2000 but found recognition as the first team manager for FC Porto, after he led them to UEFA Cup and Champions League triumphs in consecutive years.
Following that success, Mourinho was roped in by Chelsea in 2004 and that move brought success as the Blues went on to win the Premier League title on two consecutive occasions in 2005 and 2006, apart from winning the FA Cup in 2007.
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After a three-year spell at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho switched countries and headed to Italy to manage Inter Milan in 2008. He once again had a very good time over there, leading the side to the Serie A title in 2009 and then won the League, Cup and Champions League treble in 2010.
Following the 2009-10 season, he left the Nerazzurri to coach Real Madrid in Spain and helped them break Barcelona’s stranglehold as he led them to the Copa del Rey in 2010-11 season and the La Liga title in 2012. After a trophyless 2012-13 season, he returned to England for a second spell at Chelsea.
The spell at Porto was the most important one: Mourinho
When he was asked about the period that was the most special on a personal level, Mourinho rated his time as the manager of Porto as the most satisfying spell of his career.
“Obviously the titles I won with FC Porto, are the most important for me during my career because they were titles won with a Portuguese team and for the Portuguese football,” he said.
"And in the case of FC Porto it was a unique situation which was winning a final of a Champions League with nine Portuguese players. I would like this to happen again, and I also would dare to challenge, in a risky way, the next Portuguese coach to win a Champions League with a Portuguese team playing with a majority of Portuguese players who can feed the national team as Porto did at the time of Euro 2004. If so, I will give him this trophy," he added.
