According to AS, Mourinho is pursuing the Champions League once again with a third different team, hoping to lead Real Madrid to the final.

Previously, he lost to Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund with Real Madrid, with all three consecutive defeats occurring in the Champions League. He is poised to become the only manager to lead three different teams to Champions League victory.

Guardiola's tactics, Pepe's controversial red card, Mourinho's repeated "whys" in recent hours, Ramos's penalty sent over the bar, and Lewandowski's unforgettable night have likely haunted the Portuguese manager's nightmares for the past 13 years. Since leaving Real Madrid, these images have been tied to three consecutive failures to reach the Champions League final in 2011, 2012, and 2013, when his teams were eliminated respectively by Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund. Football owes Mourinho the chance to play a Champions League final with Real Madrid. It was his two Champions League victories – with Porto in 2004 and Inter in 2010 – that captivated Florentino Pérez. That enthusiasm endures today, and it's partly why he is returning. Since Mourinho left, Real Madrid has won 6 Champions League trophies. As Mourinho himself revealed, Florentino Pérez calls him after every victory, acknowledging that he laid the foundation for these successes.

Mourinho knows better than anyone that the only key to Real Madrid's hall of glory is winning the Champions League. The three trophies won by Zidane and Enrique have set a high bar. However, for Mourinho, who is already a seasoned veteran of Europe's premier club competition, everything remains possible. He has managed 153 Champions League matches, winning 80, ranking fifth in total matches managed, behind only Wenger (178 matches, 82 wins), Guardiola (189 matches, 117 wins), Ferguson (190 matches, 102 wins), and Ancelotti (218 matches, 124 wins). Among these, only Ancelotti (56%) and Guardiola (62%) have a slightly higher win percentage than his 52%. Moreover, none of these managers is currently in charge of a club, giving Mourinho the opportunity to further improve his record.

When asked about his unfinished business with the Champions League and Real Madrid, and the criticism repeatedly leveled against him – three semifinal exits – Mourinho chose to downplay the matter. "I had two different phases at Real Madrid. I finished that job in 2013, we won what we won and we lost what we lost. We gave our all. Now none of this has anything to do with the past. In 2010, Real Madrid hadn't reached the Champions League quarterfinals in many years and hadn't played a semifinal in a long time," he said, emphasizing his accomplishments.

"The current Real Madrid," he continued, "has won in recent years... I don't know, six, seven, eight times... These are two different phases, but it doesn't change my opinion. If you ask me whether I desperately want to lead Real Madrid to win the Champions League, the answer is, of course, yes. But this is completely different from the narrative of 'I didn't do it before.'"

Mourinho is now in an excellent position to make history. He has the opportunity to become the first manager in Champions League history to win the trophy with three different teams. He has already done so with Porto and Inter. Like him, Ancelotti (Real Madrid and AC Milan), Guardiola (Manchester City and Barcelona), Happel (Feyenoord and Hamburg), Hitzfeld (Dortmund and Bayern Munich), and Heynckes (Real Madrid and Bayern Munich) have lifted the Champions League trophy with two different clubs.

Although many managers have won 3 Champions League titles – Guardiola, Enrique, Paisley, and Zidane all have – Ancelotti's 5 trophies still seem far out of reach. None of the three semifinal defeats surrounding Mourinho has been forgotten by history. The one against Barcelona in the 2010-11 season is particularly infamous. In that heated Clásico storm, the Champions League stage witnessed Guardiola's classic "José is the fucking boss, the fucking boss, he's the fucking master of everything," and the Portuguese manager's famous "why" after Pepe received a direct red card in the first leg.

In the next semifinal, Ramos sent his penalty over the bar in the shootout against Bayern Munich; and the following time, in the 2012-13 season, Lewandowski completely dismantled Real Madrid with a four-goal performance at Dortmund. Now, Mourinho has the chance to close the circle 17 years later. This is his key to Real Madrid's hall of glory.

Tradotto dall'IA.

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