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

He previously lost to Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund with Real Madrid, with those three consecutive defeats occurring in the Champions League. He would become the only manager to lead three different clubs to win the Champions League.

Guardiola's controversial red card for Pepe, Mourinho's unforgettable "why" gesture, Sergio Ramos's penalty sailing over the crossbar, and Robert Lewandowski's devastating performance may have haunted the Portuguese coach's nightmares for the past 13 years. Since his departure from Real Madrid, these memories are linked to three consecutive seasons (2011, 2012, and 2013) when he came agonizingly close to reaching the Champions League final with the club, only to be eliminated by Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund. Football owes Mourinho the opportunity to reach a Champions League final with Real Madrid. His two Champions League victories—leading Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010—are what captivated Florentino Pérez. That enthusiasm continues to this day, which is why he is back. Since Mourinho left, Real Madrid has won 6 Champions League titles. As Mourinho himself has revealed, Florentino Pérez called him after each victory, acknowledging that he had laid the foundation for this success.

Mourinho knows better than anyone that the only path to Real Madrid's glory is winning the Champions League. Zidane and Enrique, with their three titles each, have set a very high bar. However, for Mourinho, a seasoned veteran of Europe's top club competition, everything is still possible. He has managed 153 Champions League matches, with 80 wins, ranking fifth among managers by appearances, behind only Arsène Wenger (178 matches, 82 wins), Pep Guardiola (189 matches, 117 wins), Sir Alex Ferguson (190 matches, 102 wins), and Carlo Ancelotti (218 matches, 124 wins). Among them, only Ancelotti (56%) and Guardiola (62%) have win percentages slightly higher than his 52%. Furthermore, none of these managers currently coach a club competing in the Champions League, giving Mourinho the opportunity to continue climbing the rankings.

When asked about his unfinished business with the Champions League and Real Madrid, as well as the repeated criticism leveled at him—three semifinal eliminations—Mourinho chose to downplay the topic. "I had two different periods at Real Madrid. I finished that job in 2013, and we won what we won and lost what we lost. We gave our best. Now, all of this is completely irrelevant to the past. In 2010, Real Madrid hadn't reached the Champions League quarterfinals in years, nor had they played in a semifinal for a long time," he said, emphasizing his achievements.

"Real Madrid today," he continued, "has won several times in recent years... I don't know, six, seven, eight times... These are two different periods, but that doesn't change my mind. If you ask me whether I'd like to lead Real Madrid to win the Champions League, the answer is of course yes. But this is completely different from the context of 'I didn't do it before.'"

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

Although many managers have won three Champions League titles—Guardiola, Enrique, Paisley, and Zidane are all examples—Ancelotti's five titles still seem very difficult to match. None of Mourinho's three semifinal defeats have been forgotten by history. The most famous was against Barcelona in the 2010-11 season. In that tumultuous and fiery El Clásico, the Champions League stage witnessed Guardiola's classic line, "José is a fucking boss, a fucking boss," and Mourinho's unforgettable "why" gesture after Pepe received a direct red card in the first leg.

In the next semifinal, Sergio Ramos missed a penalty in the shootout against Bayern Munich; on another occasion, in the 2012-13 season, Robert Lewandowski's four goals for Borussia Dortmund completely destroyed Real Madrid. Now, Mourinho has the chance to close this circle 17 years later. This is the key to entering Real Madrid's hall of glory.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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