According to AS, José Mourinho is once again targeting the Champions League with a third club, hoping to guide 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 win the Champions League with three different clubs.

Guardiola, Pépé's controversial red card, José Mourinho's infamous "Why?" questions, Ramos's missed penalty shootout, and Lewandowski's unforgettable performance have likely haunted the Portuguese manager's nightmares for the past 13 years. Since leaving Real Madrid, these moments are tied to his management of a team that came agonizingly close to the Champions League final three consecutive times in 2011, 2012, and 2013, falling to Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund respectively. José Mourinho's pedigree in the Champions League is precisely what attracted Florentino Pérez to Real Madrid. His two Champions League victories—with Porto in 2004 and Inter in 2010—captivated the club president. That enthusiasm remains to this day, which is why Mourinho is returning. Since José Mourinho's departure, Real Madrid has won six Champions League trophies. As Mourinho himself has revealed, Florentino Pérez calls him after each victory, acknowledging that Mourinho laid the foundation for these successes.

José Mourinho knows better than anyone that the only path to Real Madrid's hall of fame is winning the Champions League. Zidane and Enrique's three trophies have set a high bar. However, for José Mourinho, already a veteran of Europe's premier club competition, it remains achievable. He has managed 153 Champions League matches, winning 80, ranking fifth in 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 them, only Ancelotti (56%) and Guardiola (62%) have a marginally higher win percentage than his 52%. Moreover, none of these managers currently oversee a club, giving Mourinho the opportunity to continue climbing the rankings.

When asked about his unfinished business with the Champions League and Real Madrid, and the criticism often leveled against him—three semifinal eliminations—José Mourinho preferred to downplay the matter. "I had two different periods at Real Madrid. I finished that job in 2013. We won what we won and lost what we lost. We gave everything. Now this has absolutely nothing to do with the past. In 2010, Real Madrid hadn't reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League in many years and hadn't played in the semifinal for a long time," he said, emphasizing his achievements during his first stint.

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

José Mourinho is now in a prime position to etch his name in history. He has the opportunity to become the first manager ever to win the Champions League with three different clubs. He has already done so with Porto and Inter. Like him, Ancelotti (Real Madrid and 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.

While many managers have won three Champions League titles—Guardiola, Enrique, Paisley, and Zidane—Ancelotti's five trophies still seem out of reach. None of José Mourinho's three semifinal defeats have been forgotten by history. The most famous was against Barcelona in the 2010-11 season. In that turbulent Clásico, the Champions League witnessed Guardiola's classic phrase: "José is the boss, a fucking special boss," and Mourinho's unforgettable "Why?" questions after Pépé received a straight red card in the first leg.

In the subsequent semifinal, Ramos missed from the penalty spot in the shootout against Bayern Munich; the next time, in the 2012-13 season, Lewandowski completely dismantled Real Madrid, scoring four goals for Borussia Dortmund. Now José Mourinho has the chance to close the circle 13 years later. This is his key to Real Madrid's hall of fame.

Переведено ИИ.

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