José Mourinho

The chance to become a top-tier manager arrived in September 2000 when Mourinho moved up from his role as assistant manager at Benfica to replace manager Jupp Heynckes after the fourth week of the Primeira Liga.[28] The Benfica hierarchy wanted to appoint Jesualdo Ferreira as the new assistant coach, but Mourinho refused and picked Carlos Mozer, a retired Benfica defender, as his right-hand man instead.[29]

When I spoke with Van Gaal about going back to Portugal to be an assistant at Benfica, he said: "No, don't go. Tell Benfica if they want a first-team coach you will go; if they want an assistant you will stay."[30]

Mourinho was highly critical of Ferreira, whom he had first encountered as his teacher at ISEF and later lambasted the veteran coach by stating, "This could be the story of a donkey who worked for 30 years but never became a horse."[31] Only weeks after being given the job at Benfica, Mourinho's mentor, Sir Bobby Robson, offered him the assistant manager's role at Newcastle United. Such was Robson's desperation for Mourinho to join him he offered to step down after two years in charge and hand over the reins to Mourinho. Mourinho turned the offer down and said he knew Robson would never step down at the club he loved.[32]

Mourinho and Mozer proved a popular combination, enjoying a 3–0 win against rivals Sporting CP in December.[33][34] Their reign, however, appeared to be at risk after Benfica's election turned against club president João Vale e Azevedo, and the newly elected Manuel Vilarinho said that he would instate ex-Benfica player Toni as his new coach.[24] Although Vilarinho had no intention of firing him immediately, Mourinho used the victory over Sporting to test the president's loyalty and he asked for a contract extension.[33] Vilarinho refused the demand and Mourinho resigned from his position immediately. He left the club on 5 December 2000[35] after just nine league games in charge. Upon later reflection, Vilarinho rued his poor judgement and expressed his frustration at losing Mourinho:

[Put me] back then [and] I would do exactly the opposite: I would extend his contract. Only later I realised that one's personality and pride cannot be put before the interest of the institution we serve.[33]

Mourinho found a new managerial post in July 2001 with União de Leiria.[36] During his time at União de Leiria, the team was on a run contesting places as high as third and fourth. After a 1–1 draw against Santa Clara on 20 January 2002, Mourinho recorded eight matches unbeaten in the league (six wins, two draws) since 25 November 2001.[37] And the team was in fourth place, one point ahead of Porto, one point behind of Benfica and six points behind the top of the league table.[38][39] Mourinho's successes at Leiria did not go unrecognised and he caught the attention of larger Portuguese clubs.[24]

Mourinho was then hand-picked by Porto to replace Octávio Machado on 23 January 2002.[40] At this time, Porto was in fifth place in the Liga (behind Sporting CP, Boavista, União de Leiria and Benfica), had been eliminated from the Taça de Portugal and was in last place in their UEFA Champions League second group stage. Mourinho guided the team to third place that year after a strong 15-game run (including 11 wins) and gave the promise of "making Porto champions next year".

He quickly identified several key players whom he saw as the backbone of what he believed would be a perfect Porto team: Vítor Baía, Ricardo Carvalho, Costinha, Deco, Dmitri Alenichev and Hélder Postiga. He recalled captain Jorge Costa after a six-month loan to Charlton Athletic. The signings from other clubs included Nuno Valente and Derlei from União de Leiria; Paulo Ferreira from Vitória de Setúbal; Pedro Emanuel from Boavista; and Edgaras Jankauskas and Maniche, who both had been out of contract at Benfica.

During the pre-season, Mourinho put detailed reports of the team training on the club website. The reports were filled with formal vocabulary, as, for instance, he referred to a 20-kilometre (12 mi) jog as an extended aerobic exercise. One of the key aspects in Mourinho-era Porto was the pressuring play, which started at the offensive line, dubbed "pressão alta" ("high pressure"). The physical and combative abilities of the teams' defenders and midfielders allowed Porto to apply pressure from the offensive lines and forced opponents either to concede the ball or try longer, uncertain passes.

In 2003, Mourinho won his first Primeira Liga with a 27–5–2 record, 11 points clear of Benfica, the team he quit two years earlier. The total of 86 points out of the possible maximum of 102 was a Portuguese record, until the 2015–16 season won by Benfica (88 points), since the rule of three points per win was introduced. Mourinho also won the Taça de Portugal, beating former club Leiria in the final, and the UEFA Cup final against Celtic, both in May 2003.

The following season witnessed further successes: he led Porto to victory in the one-match Portuguese Super Cup, beating Leiria 1–0. They lost, however, the UEFA Super Cup 1–0 to Milan, with Andriy Shevchenko scoring the solitary goal. The team was dominant in the Primeira Liga and finished the season with a perfect home record, an eight-point advantage, and an unbeaten run that only ended against Gil Vicente; they secured the title five weeks before the end of the season. Porto lost the 2004 Taça de Portugal Final to Benfica in May 2004, but two weeks later, Mourinho won a greater prize: the UEFA Champions League, with a 3–0 win over Monaco in Germany. The club had eliminated Manchester United, Lyon and Deportivo de La Coruña and their sole defeat of the competition came against Real Madrid in the group round.

In the first leg between Manchester United and Porto, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confronted Mourinho after Roy Keane received a red card for stamping on Vítor Baía.[41] In the second leg at Old Trafford, Porto were on the verge of an away-goals defeat when Costinha scored a goal in the 89th minute to win the tie. Mourinho flamboyantly celebrated the goal by leaving his dugout, fists punching the air as he sprinted down the sideline near to his celebrating players – this dramatic celebration is regarded as the moment when Mourinho announced himself to the game.[42] Mourinho's Porto win over Ferguson's United was a preview of his move to the Premier League managing Chelsea, where the two men would enjoy a competitive but respectful relationship. In 2005, after Chelsea clinched the Premier League title, Ferguson had his players form a guard of honour at Chelsea's next game at Old Trafford,[43] a favour that Mourinho returned in 2007 at Stamford Bridge after Ferguson's squad were confirmed league champions.[44][45]

Liverpool are a team that interests everyone and Chelsea does not interest me so much because it is a new project with lots of money invested in it. I think it is a project which, if the club fail to win everything, then [Roman] Abramovich could retire and take the money out of the club. It's an uncertain project. It is interesting for a coach to have the money to hire quality players but you never know if a project like this will bring success.[46]

Liverpool offered their managerial position to Rafael Benítez and Mourinho instead accepted a large offer from Roman Abramovich and pledged his immediate future to Chelsea.[46]

On 2 June 2004, Mourinho moved to Chelsea on a three-year contract, after a £1.7 million compensation package was agreed with Porto.[47] In a press conference upon joining the English side, Mourinho spoke on Chelsea's credentials, stating, "We have top players and, sorry if I'm arrogant, we have a top manager", before adding,

Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one.[48]

This comment resulted in the media dubbing him "The Special One".[49][50] Mourinho recruited his backroom staff from Porto, consisting of assistant manager Baltemar Brito, fitness coach Rui Faria, chief scout André Villas-Boas, and goalkeeping coach Silvino Louro. He retained Steve Clarke, a long-serving former player at Chelsea, who had also performed an assistant managerial-type role under previous managers at the club. In terms of spending, Mourinho carried on where his predecessor Claudio Ranieri left off, as, bankrolled by Roman Abramovich, he spent in excess of £70 million in transfer fees on players such as Tiago (£10 million) from Benfica, Michael Essien (£24.4 million) from Lyon, Didier Drogba (£24 million) from Marseille, Mateja Kežman (£5.4 million) from PSV, and Porto pair Ricardo Carvalho (£19.8 million) and Paulo Ferreira (£13.3 million).

Under Mourinho, Chelsea built on the potential developed in the previous season. By early December, they were at the top of the Premier League table and had reached the knock-out stages of the Champions League.

He secured his first trophy by winning the League Cup against Liverpool 3–2 (AET) in Cardiff. Towards the end of the match, Mourinho was escorted from the touchline after putting his finger to his mouth in the direction of Liverpool fans, as a response to taunts directed towards him whilst Liverpool were leading, before the equalising goal.

Chelsea met Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16, a highly contested match where the Blues lost away in the first leg 2–1 but advanced on aggregate, winning at home 4–2. In the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich, Mourinho who was banned from attending the stadium, waited in the dressing room before the match to talk to his players, then he hid in a laundry basket to leave stadium.[51] Later on, he missed the chance of back-to-back Champions League successes when Chelsea were knocked out of the competition by a controversial goal in the semi-finals by eventual winners Liverpool.[52]

Under Mourinho, Chelsea secured their first top-flight domestic title in 50 years, setting a string of English football records in the process, including the most points ever achieved in the Premier League (95) and the fewest goals conceded (15).

Chelsea started the next season well: they defeated Arsenal 2–1 to win the 2005 FA Community Shield, and topped the Premier League from the first weekend of the 2005–06 season. Chelsea beat rivals Manchester United 3–0 to win their second consecutive Premier League title and Mourinho's fourth domestic title in a row. After the presentation of his championship medal, Mourinho threw his medal and blazer into the crowd. He was awarded a second medal within minutes, which he also threw into the crowd.

The 2006–07 season saw growing media speculation that Mourinho would leave the club at the season's conclusion, due to alleged poor relations with owner Roman Abramovich and a power struggle with sporting director Frank Arnesen and Abramovich advisor Piet de Visser. Mourinho later cleared doubts regarding his future at Stamford Bridge, stating that there would only be two ways for him to leave Chelsea: if Chelsea were not to offer him a new contract in June 2010, and if Chelsea were to sack him.[53]

The signing of Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko in the summer of 2006 for a club record fee would also prove to be a point of contention between Mourinho and Abramovich. Shevchenko, at the time of his signing, was one of the most highly regarded strikers in Europe during his time with Milan, where he won the Champions League, Scudetto and Ballon d'Or awards in his seven years in Milan. Chelsea had attempted to sign Shevchenko in the preceding two years but Milan rebuffed Abramovich's interest in him. Shevchenko's first season at Chelsea was viewed as a major disappointment by the Chelsea fans, as he only scored four league goals and 14 in all competitions.

Mourinho with Chelsea in 2007

Shevchenko's strike partner, Didier Drogba, had the highest scoring season of his career that year and this led Shevchenko to be dropped from the starting line-up towards the end of the season by Mourinho. Notably, in the Champions League semi-final match against Liverpool at Anfield, Shevchenko was not even included on the bench. Abramovich's insistence on Mourinho playing the Ukrainian was widely viewed as a further source of friction between the two men. The other high-profile arrival besides Shevchenko was German captain Michael Ballack, a free agent from Bayern Munich who was signed to strengthen the midfield. The Icelandic striker Eiður Guðjohnsen departed the club for Barcelona.

Despite the unrest, Chelsea won the League Cup again by defeating Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium. The possibility, however, of the quadruple was brought to an end on 1 May 2007 when Liverpool eliminated Chelsea from the Champions League on penalties at Anfield, following a 1–1 aggregate draw. Days later, Chelsea drew 1–1 with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, which secured the Premier League title for Manchester United. This was Mourinho's first season without a league title win in five years. Mourinho led Chelsea to a 1–0 victory against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Cup Final, winning in the first final to be played at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium. This was his first FA Cup win which meant that he had won every domestic trophy available to a Premier League manager.

There was, however, to be further friction between Mourinho and Abramovich when Avram Grant was appointed as director of football, despite objections from Mourinho. Grant's position was further enhanced by being given a seat on the board. In spite of these tensions, the 2007–08 transfer season would see the departure of Dutch winger Arjen Robben to Real Madrid and the arrival of French midfielder Florent Malouda from Lyon.

In the first match of the 2007–08 season, Chelsea beat Birmingham City 3–2 to set a new record of 64 consecutive home league matches without defeat. Despite surpassing the record set by Liverpool between 1978 and 1981,[54] the start to the 2007–08 Chelsea season was less successful than previous starts. The team lost at Aston Villa and followed this with a goalless draw at home to Blackburn Rovers. Their opening game in the UEFA Champions League saw them only manage a 1–1 home draw against the Norwegian team Rosenborg BK in front of only 24,973 (an almost half-empty stadium) which included an unimpressed owner Roman Abramovich.[55]

Mourinho unexpectedly left Chelsea on 20 September 2007 "by mutual consent", although there had been a series of disagreements with owner Abramovich.[5] The Chelsea board held an emergency meeting and decided it was time to part with their manager. Mourinho left as the most successful manager in Chelsea's history, having won six trophies for the club in three years. He was also undefeated in all home league games. Avram Grant succeeded Mourinho as Chelsea manager but failed to win any trophies in his year in charge and would be sacked at the end of the 2007–08 season. Grant's squad managed to reach the final of the Champions League (something Mourinho failed to achieve in his three years at Chelsea), reach the final of the League Cup and maintained the unbeaten home streak at Stamford Bridge. Grant's Chelsea also finished second in the Premier League.

On 2 June 2008, Mourinho was appointed the successor of Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan on a three-year contract, and brought along with him much of his backroom staff who had served him at both Chelsea and Porto.[56][57] He chose Giuseppe Baresi, a former Inter player and ex-head coach of their youth academy, as his assistant.[58] He spoke solely in Italian in his first press conference as Inter boss, claiming to have learnt it "in three weeks".[59] Mourinho stated that he only intended to make a few major signings in the summer.[60] By the end of the transfer window, he had brought three new players to the side: Brazilian winger Mancini (€13 million),[61][62] Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari for a reported €14 million[63] and Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma for a cash/player exchange fee of €18.6 million plus young Portuguese midfielder Pelé.[64][65]

Mourinho in 2008.

In his first season as Inter head coach, Mourinho won the Supercoppa Italiana, beating Roma on penalties,[66] and finished top of Serie A. Inter, however, were eliminated 2–0 on aggregate by Manchester United in the first knock-out round of the Champions League, and he also failed to win the Coppa Italia, being defeated 3–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria in the semi-finals.[67] As UEFA was beginning to push the larger clubs in top leagues to play more homegrown players, Mourinho regularly played 18-year-old Italian forward Mario Balotelli and promoted academy defender Davide Santon to the first team permanently, installing an Italian contingent into a team previously composed of mostly foreign players. Both teenagers played a part in the Scudetto-winning season and played enough games to earn their first senior trophy.

Despite his domestic successes in winning the Scudetto by a 10-point margin, Mourinho's first season in Italy was viewed as disappointing by some Inter fans, as the club failed to improve on the performances of his predecessor Roberto Mancini in the Champions League. Inter put in a series of lacklustre group stage performances that included a shock 1–0 home loss to Panathinaikos and an away draw with Cypriot minnows Anorthosis Famagusta. Inter qualified, however, for the knockout stages of the Champions League but failed to make it to the quarter-finals after being defeated by Manchester United.

Mourinho also caused immediate ripples in Italian football through his controversial relationships with the Italian press and media, as well as his feuds with major Serie A coaches, including Carlo Ancelotti, then of Milan, Luciano Spalletti of Roma and Claudio Ranieri of Juventus. At a press conference in March 2009, he insulted the first two rivals by claiming they would end the season with no honours, and accused the Italian sport journalists of "intellectual prostitution" on their behalf.[68] This rant promptly became popular in Italy, especially regarding the "zero titles" quote used by Mourinho, and incorrectly pronounced by him as zeru tituli (in correct Italian it would have been zero titoli), which was later extensively referred to by football journalists in Italy. It also became the title's catchphrase used by fans to celebrate Inter's 17th Scudetto later that season.[69][70] The catchphrase was even used by Nike to present the celebration shirts for Inter's Serie A title.[71] After the Coppa Italia final in May, fans of Roma's cross-town rivals Lazio, the new Coppa Italia winners, wore shirts with Io campione, tu zero titoli ("I'm a champion, you have no honours") on it,[72] quoting Mourinho's "zeru tituli" statement.

On 16 May 2009, Inter mathematically won the Serie A title after runners-up Milan lost to Udinese. This loss left the Nerazzurri seven points above their crosstown rivals with only two games remaining. They would eventually finish 10 points clear of Milan.[73]

Mourinho during his tenure as Inter Milan manager

On 28 July 2009, Mourinho was reported to have shown interest in taking over at Manchester United when Alex Ferguson retired. He was quoted as saying, "I would consider going to Manchester United but United have to consider if they want me to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson. If they do, then of course."[74]

Adriano left Inter in April 2009, and the exit of the Brazilian striker was followed by the Argentine duo Julio Cruz and Hernán Crespo. Legendary Portuguese attacking midfielder and veteran Luís Figo retired. Figo was on the verge of leaving Inter under Mancini due to a lack of playing time, but in his final season Mourinho used him frequently. Mourinho signed Argentine striker Diego Milito, who fell just one goal short of winning the top scorer award with Genoa, as well as Thiago Motta and Wesley Sneijder, to bolster the midfield. Perhaps his most notable signing of the summer of his second season was a swap deal of Zlatan Ibrahimović in exchange for Barcelona's Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o and a reported £35 million. This transfer was the second most expensive in the history of the transfer market, after Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid earlier in the summer. Eto'o got off to a promising start with Inter by scoring two goals in the first two matches of the season.

Ricardo Quaresma's signing from Mourinho's old club Porto was viewed as a missing link in the Inter squad, but his play disappointed the club and led him to be loaned off to Chelsea midway through the season, ironically Mourinho's other former club. Mancini also failed to dominate in the midfield and addressing these shortcomings in the transfer market became a priority for Inter. Inter's lack of a creative playmaker, or trequartista, had been blamed for the Champions League failure. In an attempt to deal with this issue, Inter signed Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder from Real Madrid.[75]

Mourinho once again sparked controversy in the summer with his argument with Italy national team coach Marcello Lippi. Lippi predicted that Juventus would win the Scudetto in the 2009–10 season, which Mourinho viewed as disrespectful to Inter. The previous year, Lippi predicted Inter would win the title and Mourinho did not respond to his prediction. Lippi responded by saying that Mourinho was equal to Ciro Ferrara and Leonardo at Juventus and Milan, respectively, only that he was more experienced. After the row with Lippi, he clashed with Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro over Davide Santon's place in the Inter squad. Cannavaro had said that Santon might have to leave Inter to get regular playing time to gain selection for Italy in the upcoming World Cup. Mourinho responded by saying that Cannavaro was acting like a coach.

Inter struggled in their first two matches of the new season. The team lost the Supercoppa to Lazio 2–1 and drew 1–1 with newly promoted Bari at the San Siro. Mourinho's team improved dramatically after that, however, as he built a formidable midfield with Sneijder at the heart of it and the likes of new signing Thiago Motta and veterans Javier Zanetti and Dejan Stanković. Inter went on to score more than 30 goals before the end of November, thrashing derby rivals Milan 4–0, with new signings Diego Milito and Motta both scoring, and hammering Genoa 5–0, the largest margin of victory in the Serie A that season. Mourinho was sent off in the December Derby d'Italia away fixture after he sarcastically applauded the referee for what he felt was a dubious free-kick given to Juventus and Inter went on to lose 2–1, courtesy of a Claudio Marchisio winner in the second half.[76]

Mourinho in 2009

Later during the season, Mourinho maintained a strongly critical position against refereeing in Italy, which reached its peak during the league game on 22 February 2010 against Sampdoria, which ended in a 0–0 tie, with two Inter players being sent off in the first half. At the end of the first half, Mourinho made a handcuffs gesture towards a camera which was considered by the Italian Football Federation as violent and critical of the refereeing performance, and caused a three-game ban against Mourinho.[77] Also, his difficult relationship with young striker Mario Balotelli and the team's loss of form that led Inter to achieve only seven points in six games (with three of those games, including a shock 1–3 defeat at the hands of Sicilian minnows Catania, happening during Mourinho's ban) were heavily criticised by the media and pundits. Despite this, Mourinho achieved what was hailed as one of his career highlights after Inter managed to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals by defeating his former team Chelsea in both legs (2–1 win at San Siro, then followed by a 1–0 win at Stamford Bridge).[78]

On 6 April 2010, José Mourinho became the first manager in history to take three different teams to the semi-finals of the Champions League (this record was equalled by Bayern Munich manager Louis van Gaal a day later) after Inter managed to overcome CSKA Moscow 1–0 in Russia in the second leg of their quarter-final tie, which ended 2–0 on aggregate. Wesley Sneijder's goal in the sixth minute proved the difference in a match played in laid-back style. This marked the first time in seven years that Inter managed to make it to the semi-finals of the competition.[79] On 13 April, Inter continued their good season, having managed to reach the Coppa Italia final, for the first time under Mourinho, by beating Fiorentina 1–0 away (2–0 on aggregate).[80]

On 28 April 2010, José Mourinho reached the Champions League final for the second time in his career after Inter beat holders Barcelona 3–2 on aggregate, despite losing 1–0 at Camp Nou (which Mourinho called "the most beautiful defeat of my life"). This brought Inter back into a European Cup final 38 years after their last (a defeat by Ajax).[81] Mourinho was involved in a brief scuffle with Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés while attempting to join in the Inter celebrations.[82] Mourinho afterwards stated that "anti-Madridismo" had motivated the Barça fans, suggesting that they were obsessed with reaching the final and winning the tournament in their arch-rival's home ground. Marca proclaimed that Mourinho had passed the test to become the next head coach of Real Madrid, as their fans celebrated the elimination of Barcelona.[83]

On 2 May, after a 2–0 away win at Rome against Lazio, Inter almost secured the Serie A title. On 5 May 2010, the team won the Coppa Italia, defeating Roma 1–0, and on 16 May 2010, Inter beat Siena 1–0 to secure the domestic double, accomplishing the feat of winning all trophies available for a manager in the Serie A.[84][85]

On 22 May 2010, Inter won the 2010 Champions League after beating Bayern Munich 2–0, and in doing so became the first Italian club to complete the treble, with Mourinho personally celebrating the second Champions League title in his managerial career.[86]

The day after having won the Champions League, Mourinho said that he was "sad, as almost for sure it's my last game with Inter". He then added that "if you don't coach Real Madrid then you will always have a gap in your career".[87]

After days of discussions between Real Madrid and Inter, a world record breaking compensation package was successfully agreed on 28 May 2010, and Mourinho was consequently released by Inter.[88][89]

On 28 May 2010, it was confirmed that Mourinho would take over from Manuel Pellegrini at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.[90] On 31 May 2010, Mourinho was unveiled as the new manager of Real Madrid after signing a four-year contract, and became the 11th manager in the past seven years at the club.[91] Mourinho was appointed sporting manager as well as first-team coach, and he was referred to as a Galáctico (a term more often used for star players instead of coaches).[92][93]

Prior to Mourinho's arrival, Real Madrid had underperformed despite paying record transfer fees for Galácticos such as Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo. Their 2009–10 season was marked by disappointments such as Alcorconazo, a shock 2009–10 Copa del Rey round-of-32 knockout by Segunda División B team Alcorcón, and elimination from the Champions League by Lyon in the round of 16, though they finished second in La Liga with a club record 96 points.[93] By the end of the transfer window, after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Mourinho had brought four new players to the squad: the Germans Sami Khedira (€13 million) and Mesut Özil (€15 million), Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho (€8 million) and Argentine winger Ángel Di María (€25 million plus €11 million on incentives).

Mourinho with Real Madrid in August 2010

On 29 August 2010, Real Madrid drew 0–0 at Mallorca in Mourinho's first La Liga game as manager.[94] When asked about all the missed opportunities against Levante in La Liga and Auxerre in the Champions League, Mourinho said, "One day some poor rival is going to pay for the chances we've missed today." The following match at the Bernabéu ended with a 6–1 victory over Deportivo de La Coruña. The following league games confirmed Mourinho's statement, defeating Málaga 4–1 and Racing Santander 6–1.

On 29 November 2010, Mourinho's Madrid were defeated in his first Clásico encounter against Barcelona. The match, held in Camp Nou, ended 5–0 to the hosts, with Real Madrid director Florentino Pérez regarding it the worst game in the history of Real Madrid.[95] Sporting director Jorge Valdano also criticised Mourinho for his "inability to bring a major correction to the game" and "not leaving his bench for the [majority] of the match".[96] When asked by a media reporter, however, Mourinho refused to call the loss a "humiliation".[97]

On 30 November 2010, Mourinho was fined £33,500 for appearing to instruct Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos to attempt to receive a tactical second yellow card in the 4–0 Champions League win against Ajax.[98] He was also banned for two Champions League matches, the second of which is suspended for three years.[99] On 22 December 2010, Mourinho won a match by the widest margin in his career, winning 8–0 against Levante, also of La Liga, in the first leg of their quarter-final of the Copa del Rey.[100]

On 20 April 2011, Mourinho won his first trophy in Spanish football as Real Madrid defeated arch-rivals Barcelona 1–0 in the Copa del Rey final held at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, ending Real Madrid's 18-year-long Copa del Rey drought.[101] It was also Real's first trophy since their 2007–08 La Liga title. One week later, the two teams met again in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Champions League, Real Madrid's furthest advance in the tournament since the 2003 semi-finals, as the club was knocked out in the 2004 quarter-finals, and then from 2005 to 2010 the club had suffered six consecutive exits at the round of 16. At the Bernabéu, Real's Pepe was dismissed in the 61st minute and Mourinho was sent to the stands for protesting; afterward, Barça's Lionel Messi scored two late goals to take control of the tie. The second leg at Camp Nou finished 1–1, which eliminated Real from the tournament.[102][103]

On 7 December 2011, Real Madrid defeated Ajax with a 3–0 scoreline and concluded the Champions League group stage with six victories,[104] becoming the fifth team in Champions League history to accomplish the feat.[105] The victory was the team's 15th consecutive win to equal a club record set 50 years earlier, in 1961.[106]

On 21 April 2012, Real Madrid won 2–1 against Barcelona in El Clásico at Camp Nou, extending their lead in La Liga to seven points with four matches remaining. This was the first victory for Real Madrid in La Liga against their archrivals since 2008 and the first overall at Camp Nou since 2007. Also, in this match Real Madrid broke the record for most goals scored in the championship, with 109.[107][108] Barça manager Pep Guardiola conceded the title to Real Madrid.[109]

Mourinho's side advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second consecutive year.[110] The first leg away finished with a 2–1 win to Bayern Munich. In the second leg at home, Real Madrid took a 2–0 lead from two Cristiano Ronaldo goals but Bayern's Arjen Robben (a former Real player whom Mourinho previously managed at Chelsea) converted a penalty to level the aggregate score at 3–3, and Madrid was eliminated in the shootout with Ronaldo, Kaká and Ramos all failing to convert their spot kicks.[111] Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes said that Mourinho "came to the dressing room to congratulate my players and coaching staff after the game. It was very noble".[112][113]

On 2 May 2012, Real Madrid won 3–0 against Athletic Bilbao to clinch the Liga title for the first time in four years.[114] On 13 May 2012, Real Madrid defeated Mallorca 4–1 in their last league match of the season, which set records for most games won in a La Liga season (32), most away wins (16), most points obtained in any of the top European leagues (100), improving the most goals scored record they already had set earlier (121) and finishing the season with the highest goal difference (+89).[115][116] Real Madrid topped the league nine points clear of runners-up Barcelona.

Mourinho with A.C. Milan players prior to a pre-season match with Real Madrid in New York City, August 2012

On 22 May 2012, Mourinho signed a new four-year contract to remain as Real Madrid manager through to 2016.[117] After losing 3–2 in Barcelona in the first leg of the 2012 Supercopa de España, Real Madrid won the return leg in Madrid 2–1. Real Madrid won the competition on the away goals rule after a tie of 4–4 on aggregate. This meant Mourinho had won every domestic title available for a manager in the Spanish top division within two years. He became the only coach who has won the national super cups in four European countries.[118] This also made Mourinho the first manager in history to win every domestic title, the league championship, cup, super cup and league cup (if available) in four European leagues.

Real Madrid reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the third consecutive year under Mourinho's management. The club, however, was defeated 4–1 in the first leg away at Borussia Dortmund. In the second leg at home, Real managed to score two goals in the last 10 minutes, but the team could not get the third goal that would have levelled the aggregate score and sent them through on away goals.[119]

In the post-game press conference after the second leg with Dortmund, Mourinho hinted that the 2012–13 season with Real Madrid would be his last, saying, "I am loved by some clubs, especially one. In Spain it is different, some people hate me, many of you in this [press] room."[120] Mourinho's fraught relationships with Sergio Ramos and club captain Iker Casillas (a popular player whom Mourinho sidelined in 2013) caused divisions between fans in the "Mourinhistas" and "Madridistas" (the more traditional Real Madrid fans) camps.[119] His relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo became difficult because, according to Mourinho, the player "maybe thinks that he knows everything and that the coach cannot improve him anymore", so was unwilling to accept constructive criticism.[121] Mourinho was also criticised[122] for controversial incidents, including poking Tito Vilanova (then assistant coach at Barcelona) in the eye during a brawl, continual complaints about refereeing bias, clashes with journalists and Real officials, and frequent hints that Barça received favourable treatment from UEFA.[120]

Following the 2013 Copa del Rey final loss to Atlético Madrid on 17 May, Mourinho called the 2012–13 season "the worst of my career".[123] Three days later, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez announced Mourinho would leave the club at the end of the season by "mutual agreement", a year after signing a contract extension to 2016.[124]

Mourinho (left) with his assistant José Morais

On 3 June 2013, Chelsea appointed Mourinho as manager for the second time, on a four-year contract.[125] Mourinho told Chelsea TV, "In my career I've had two great passions – Inter and Chelsea – and Chelsea is more than important for me." "It was very, very hard to play against Chelsea, and I did it only twice which was not so bad." "Now I promise exactly the same things I promised in 2004 with this difference to add: I'm one of you."[126] On 10 June 2013, Mourinho was officially confirmed as Chelsea manager for the second time at a press conference held at Stamford Bridge.[127]

Mourinho's first competitive game back in charge of Chelsea ended in a 2–0 home victory against Hull City on 18 August 2013.[128]

On 29 January 2014, following a 0–0 draw at home to West Ham United, Mourinho described the Hammers as playing "19th century football", saying, "This is not the best league in the world, this is football from the 19th century," and, "The only [other] thing I could bring was a Black and Decker to destroy the wall."[129] On 19 April 2014, Mourinho suffered his first ever home league defeat as Chelsea manager in a 2–1 loss to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.[130] He consistently played down Chelsea's title chances throughout the season and referred to it as a transitional season,[131] slowly moulding his squad and most significantly dropping (and eventually selling) Chelsea's player of the year of the two previous seasons, Juan Mata.[132] Chelsea went on to finish third in the 2013–14 Premier League, four points behind champions Manchester City, and was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2013–14 Champions League by Atlético Madrid.

Mourinho with Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard in 2015. Their relationship soured in the following season.[133]

Chelsea started their 2014–15 Premier League campaign with a 3–1 victory against Burnley on 18 August at Turf Moor. This match marked the first competitive action for new signings Diego Costa, Cesc Fàbregas and Thibaut Courtois, the latter starting in goal after a three-year loan spell at Atlético Madrid. Didier Drogba also made his return appearance to the Chelsea squad, coming off the bench in the second half.

On 24 January 2015, Chelsea were knocked out of the fourth round of the FA Cup with a surprise 2–4 defeat to League One side Bradford City, ending their hopes of a potential quadruple. Mourinho described the defeat as a "disgrace".[134]

On 1 March 2015, Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 in the League Cup final to claim their first trophy of the season, and Mourinho's first trophy since returning to Chelsea.[135] On 11 March 2015, Chelsea were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 after losing to Paris Saint-Germain on away goals.[136]

On 3 May 2015, Chelsea were crowned Premier League champions after beating Crystal Palace with three games to spare.[137] Mourinho was subsequently named as Premier League Manager of the Season, with Chelsea losing just three matches all season.[138]

On 7 August 2015, Mourinho signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea, keeping him at Stamford Bridge until 2019.[139] On 29 August, Mourinho reached his 100th Premier League home match at Chelsea, which ended in a 2–1 loss to Crystal Palace.[140] Chelsea started the season by picking up just 11 points in their first 12 games in the Premier League. They also went out of the League Cup to Stoke City on penalties on 27 October.[141][142]

On 17 December 2015, after losing 9 of 16 Premier League matches, Chelsea announced that they had parted company with Mourinho "by mutual consent". The club went on to state, "The club wishes to make clear Jose leaves us on good terms and will always remain a much-loved, respected and significant figure at Chelsea."[143]

Wikinews has related news: Manchester United appoints José Mourinho as new manager

On 27 May 2016, Mourinho signed a three-year contract with Manchester United, with an option to stay at the club until at least 2020.[144] On 7 August 2016, Mourinho won his first trophy, the FA Community Shield, beating reigning Premier League champions Leicester City 2–1.[145] Mourinho was victorious in his first Premier League game as United boss, winning 3–1 away to Bournemouth on 14 August 2016.[146]

Mourinho speaking to his players during a Europa League game against Anderlecht at Old Trafford in April 2017

On 11 September 2016, Mourinho lost his first Manchester derby as a manager in a 2–1 defeat to Manchester City; this was also his eighth loss against his rival manager while with Real Madrid, former Barça manager Pep Guardiola.[147] On 23 October 2016, Mourinho made his first visit back to Chelsea with Manchester United since leaving in December 2015. The match ended in a 4–0 defeat which left them six points off the top of the table.[148] Mourinho won his second Manchester derby as a manager on 26 October 2016 in a 1–0 victory at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup. Juan Mata scored the only goal of the game in the 54th minute, with the victory being Mourinho's fourth against Guardiola (four wins, six draws, eight losses).[149][150]

Following the charges made by the FA over Mourinho's comments about referee Anthony Taylor,[151] Mourinho once again got into trouble with a referee on 29 October when he was sent to the stands by Mark Clattenburg during the 0–0 home draw against Burnley.[152] On 29 January 2017, despite a 2–1 second leg loss away to Hull City, Mourinho's United reached the final of the EFL Cup by virtue of a 3–2 aggregate win.[153] Manchester United won 3–2 over Southampton in the EFL Cup Final at Wembley. With the victory, he became the first United manager to win a major trophy in his debut season.[154]

On 24 May 2017, Manchester United won the Europa League courtesy of a 2–0 win over Ajax.[155] This was Mourinho's second major trophy of his first season as Manchester United manager. It also maintained his 100% record of winning every major European Cup final as a manager.[155]

Mourinho with United in 2017

Mourinho strengthened his side further in the summer of 2017, with the signings of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, defender Victor Lindelöf, and midfielder Nemanja Matić.[156] United made a strong start to the season before a difficult winter schedule widened the gap between them and city rivals Manchester City.[157]

Mourinho was criticised for Manchester United's Champions League exit to Sevilla at the last-sixteen stage, which resulted in a surprise twelve minute rant from Mourinho defending his United career.[158]

Manchester United finished second in the table after a 1–0 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion, finishing nineteen points behind Manchester City.[159] United also lost the 2018 FA Cup Final to Mourinho's former club Chelsea after an Eden Hazard penalty sealed a 1–0 win for the Blues.[160]

After a poor start to the 2018–19 season which saw Manchester United lose two of their opening three league games for the first time in 26 years, including a 3–0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur – the heaviest home defeat of his career – an animated Mourinho demanded "respect" from critical journalists, and held up three fingers (one for each Premier League trophy he had won as coach), adding: "I won more Premier Leagues alone than the other 19 managers [in the league] together."[161] At his next press conference four days later, he said: "I am the manager of the one of the greatest clubs in the world but I'm also one of the greatest managers in the world."[161]

"Of course. Did you never spend time reading the philosopher Hegel? He said: 'The truth is in the whole. It's always in the whole that you find the truth."

— Mourinho’s response to being asked if he would still be a great coach if he did not win the Premier League title with Manchester United.[161]

At the end of a Manchester United league game at Mourinho's former club Chelsea on 20 October 2018, Mourinho was involved in a tunnel incident. With Chelsea's Ross Barkley scoring a 96th-minute equaliser, a Chelsea coach, Marco Ianni, celebrated the goal by running across the Manchester United bench and clenching his fists close to Mourinho's face.[162] An incensed Mourinho leapt up and attempted to chase Ianni down the tunnel, with security intervening. As he sat back down, some Chelsea fans repeatedly (and loudly) started chanting against Mourinho.[163] At full-time, Mourinho walked over to United fans and applauded, and on his way back to the tunnel he held up three fingers towards Chelsea fans, reminding them he won three Premier League titles for the club.[162][163]

After starting the 2018–19 season with just seven wins in the first 17 Premier League games, leaving Manchester United 19 points behind the league leaders, Mourinho was sacked by the club on 18 December 2018.[164]

On 20 November 2019, Mourinho was appointed as the manager of Tottenham Hotspur on a four-year contract, replacing the sacked Mauricio Pochettino.[165][166]

On 23 November 2019, Mourinho managed his first match with Tottenham Hotspur in a 3–2 away win against West Ham United.[167] He later sparked media attention on 26 November 2019, when he claimed that ball boy Callum Hynes 'assisted' Spurs' second goal in a 4–2 win over Olympiacos in the Champions League.[168] In the Champions League round of 16, Tottenham Hotspur lost both matches to be defeated 0–4 on aggregate against RB Leipzig.[169]

Mourinho recorded his 300th win in English football when Tottenham beat West Ham United 2–0 on 23 June 2020.[170] He secured his first ever win as a manager at St James' Park on 15 July 2020 when Tottenham defeated Newcastle by a scoreline of 3–1.[171] However, Mourinho finished his first season with Tottenham Hotspur at sixth position in the Premier League.[172]

On 4 October 2020, he managed Tottenham Hotspur to a 6–1 win against his former club Manchester United at Old Trafford.[173]

Porto[244]

• Primeira Liga: 2002–03, 2003–04
• Taça de Portugal: 2002–03
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2003
• UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
• UEFA Cup: 2002–03

Chelsea

Mourinho on the touchline against Leicester City in August 2014

• Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2014–15[245]
• FA Cup: 2006–07[244]
• Football League Cup: 2004–05, 2006–07,[244] 2014–15
• FA Community Shield: 2005[244]

Inter Milan[244]

• Serie A: 2008–09, 2009–10
• Coppa Italia: 2009–10
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2008
• UEFA Champions League: 2009–10

Real Madrid[244]

• La Liga: 2011–12
• Copa del Rey: 2010–11
• Supercopa de España: 2012

Manchester United

• EFL Cup: 2016–17
• FA Community Shield: 2016
• UEFA Europa League: 2016–17

Individual

• Onze d'Or Coach of the Year: 2005[246]
• FIFA World Coach of the Year: 2010[7]
• IFFHS World's Best Club Coach: 2004,[247] 2005,[247] 2010,[247] 2012[247]
• Premier League Manager of the Season: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2014–15[245]
• Premier League Manager of the Month: November 2004, January 2005, March 2007,[245] November 2020[248]
• Serie A Manager of the Year: 2008–09,[249] 2009–10[250]
• Albo Panchina d'Oro: 2009–10[251]
• Miguel Muñoz Trophy: 2010–11,[252] 2011–12[253]
• UEFA Manager of the Year: 2002–03,[254] 2003–04[254]
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2003,[254] 2004,[254] 2005,[254] 2010[254]
• World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year: 2004,[255] 2005,[255] 2010[255]
• World Soccer 3rd Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
• ESPN 9th Greatest Manager of All time: 2013[256]
• France Football 13th Greatest Manager of All time: 2019[257]
• European Coach of the Year – Alf Ramsey Award: 2010
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2005[258]
• La Gazzetta dello Sport Man of the Year: 2010[259]
• International Sports Press Association Best Manager in the World: 2010[260]
• Prémio Prestígio Fernando Soromenho: 2012[261]
• Football Extravaganza's League of Legends (2011)[262]
• Globe Soccer Awards Best Coach of the Year: 2012[263]
• Globe Soccer Awards Best Media Attraction in Football: 2012[264]
• Portuguese Coach of the Century: 2015[13]
• PFA Portuguese Manager of the Year: 2017
• LMA Performances of the Week:[upper-alpha 1] 2 December 2017 (Arsenal 1–3 Man.Utd),[265] 7 April 2018 (Man.City 2–3 Man.Utd)[266]

• Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry[267]
• Doctor Honoris causa – for his accomplishments in football from Lisbon Technical University[235]

Guinness World records

• Former record holder for most points achieved in a Premier League season (95 points)[upper-alpha 2][268]
• Youngest manager to reach 100 Champions League games (49 years 12 days)[268]
• Most games unbeaten at home in the Premier League (77)[268]
• Fewest goals conceded in a Premier League season (15 goals)[269]
• Longest football unbeaten home run by a manager (9 years)[268]

Others

• Most Champions League titles with different clubs (two)[268][upper-alpha 3]