Mourinho Has Fulfilled His Destiny

The ninth of March in 2004. A day that would shape the destiny of Jose Mourinho and set him on a course to return to Old Trafford 12 years in the future.

Manchester United were out of luck in the Champions League tie against Porto that evening. Paul Scholes had already cancelled out the visitors' first-leg advantage when he had a goal wrongly disallowed, just before half-time. As it stood, Sir Alex Ferguson's side were progressing on the away-goals rule but, true to their manager's ethos, kept attacking.

Porto did enough to ensure a nervous finale and, when Tim Howard could only parry a Benni McCarthy free-kick, Francisco Costinha pounced to deliver the cruellest of sucker punches in stoppage time. Mourinho, the impressive young coach attracting great credit for his work in his homeland, raced off manically down the touchline in celebration.

The Old Trafford crowd was stunned in disbelief. Some of the fans admired the chutzpah and passion of a rival boss who had barely registered in their consciousness before but was now attracting all the attention on the big stage. Against Manchester United, on our home patch, he had stolen the glory and, understandably, enjoyed the moment in emotional fashion.

Sir Alex and his captain Gary Neville interrupted the jubilant scenes in the visiting dressing room to offer congratulations and pass on their best wishes for the rest of the competition. Maybe it was this act of real sportsmanship that struck a nerve with the coach, engendering a respect for the club that has endured. "It was something we are not used to in our Portuguese culture but it was something I kept and, during my career, I have done it," he later revealed. "I kept it as something from big people that can make others feel special."

It is highly unlikely that Mourinho, at 41, would have anticipated the ripples that would ultimately follow from that one seismic goal and celebration. He continued to steer Porto all the way to the Champions League final in Gelsenkirchen and lifted the trophy with a comfortable 3-0 win over Monaco. By then, he was already earmarked for the Premiership. Chelsea quickly completed a deal for the Portuguese coach, even though there had been some talk their ex-midfielder Didier Deschamps was an option if Monaco had prevailed, and his first game as Blues boss was, of course, against United. With the Reds' injury problems forcing Roy Keane to play at centre-half, a 1-0 defeat was suffered due to Eidur Gudjohnsen's goal. Stamford Bridge saluted their new idol and, again, he had masterminded victory on the big occasion.

The Londoners went on to enjoy a record-breaking campaign and won the league title at a stroll. They only conceded one goal in their opening eight games as their confident young manager hit the ground running in England. Further barnstorming battles with United followed, with Sir Alex and Mourinho competing like chess grandmasters on the touchlines. There was always a healthy respect between them and the fans, generally, appeared to feel likewise.

Mourinho may have been a rival but he was clearly a serial winner. Even the United supporters' chant: "Mourinho are you listening? You'd better keep the trophy glistening, because we'll be back in May, to take it away, walking in a Fergie Wonderland," in 2006/07 carried no open animosity towards the self-proclaimed 'Special One'.

It was as if a gauntlet was thrown down by the Chelsea man, something acknowledged by Sir Alex, who admitted United needed to start seasons in top gear in order to deal with this new domestic landscape, rather than merely strive to hit peak form in the latter half of the campaign. Mourinho raised the bar and forced the Reds to improve, the epitome of every sporting contest and, thankfully, the challenge was met.

When he later returned to Old Trafford with Real Madrid in 2013, one of his players received great adulation as Cristiano Ronaldo was hero-worshipped but there was still light-hearted banter with Mourinho. Even when he was told to "sit down" by the Stretford End, he duly did and commented afterwards that the "best team lost" following the controversial decision to send Nani off. When back at Chelsea, he later praised United's supporters for their backing for Wayne Rooney at a time when he courted the England striker, suggesting it was impossible to act against them when their will was so strong.

If you consider the fact Mourinho has been a huge threat to United's quest for silverware, both domestically and in Europe ever since that fateful night in 2004, he has always been afforded the respect of a winner by the Old Trafford crowd. But from now, that grudging respect will quickly be transformed into something far more visceral. As we embark on a new era under one of the best managers of his generation, things will have come full circle since his Porto side overcame the odds and kept going all the way to lifting the greatest club prize in the game.

There is the sense that Jose Mourinho is made for Manchester United. Similar to when Sir Alex said Eric Cantona looked around an empty Old Trafford and puffed out his chest, asking if an arena that intimidates many was big enough for him. This is the grandest stage that Jose craves. The club's faithful supporters love a winner and, even more, a winner with attitude. Let's eagerly anticipate what the next chapter brings.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be considered as representative of Manchester United Football Club.

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