When you’ve had the career that José Mourinho has, it’s harder than you might think to avoid crossing paths with one of your former clubs. Especially in the Champions League, where he has had so much success over the years.
Twice a winner of the competition – with FC Porto in 2003/04 and Inter Milan in 2009/10 – Mourinho has been in the dugout for six different clubs in the Champions League, so his Stamford Bridge return on Tuesday evening will hardly be a new sensation.
“When I left Porto, my first European match coaching Chelsea was against Porto; while coaching Inter, I played a zillion times against Barcelona [where I had been assistant coach]. As the coach of Fenerbahçe, I played against Manchester United, I played against Benfica.
“It’s something that happens to me, and where I think I have the ability of, during 90 minutes, completely forgetting where I am, who I’m playing with, the city I’m in, if this stadium was ‘mine’ [in the past].”
But for Mourinho, Chelsea is different to his other former haunts. More than any of those other giants of the game, the Portuguese coach feels quite literally at home, as he still has a house in the British capital.
“For you to have an idea, my son goes to the match and he walks from home. He’s as close as we are. When we are at home, we understand the results just by the noise because the noise arrives at home. I’m just there. So, it’s really, really [like going] home. Then, it’s a stadium where I won three Premier Leagues, I made history with Chelsea. Chelsea belongs to my history, I belong to Chelsea history.”
Mourinho is set to bring up his 150th game in the Champions League by the end of the league phase – becoming just the fifth manager to do so – but there is no questioning his hunger. In fact, remembering a conversation with one of those other four stalwarts of the competition, Mourinho is insistent that he is just as passionate about the game as he ever has been.
“If one day I feel less joy, when I wake up, early in the morning, to come to work; if one day I feel less joy for winning a game; if one day I feel less sadness for losing a game; if something changes, then that will be like a red light that's turned on.
“I recall a Champions League game, Manchester United versus Real Madrid, where I was at Real Madrid and Sir Alex [Ferguson] was at Manchester United. I was at his office before the game and asked him: ‘Sir Alex, does this ever change – in terms of the tension and the adrenaline that we feel before such an important game?’ He said: ‘No, it never changes. It's the same until the end.’ More than ten years have passed [since then], and my feelings don't change. meaning, there are no red lights; I’m still the same as I’ve always been.”
In his time away from the competition, Mourinho has hardly been idle. He lifted the Conference League trophy with AS Roma to become the only coach in history to have each of the continent’s crowns in his trophy cabinet. This is a man who simply lives and breathes football.
But what is different about this modern-day Mourinho compared to his confident, younger counterpart who first swaggered onto the scene 25 years ago?
“The main difference I recognise in myself is the fact that, maybe, in the beginning, I was more self-centred, and I changed… I feel like I’m more altruistic,’ he claims. “I feel like I’m in football to help others, rather than to help myself. I’m here to help my players, more than to think about what’s going to happen in my life within the next few years. I think more about the club, I think more about the fans’ joy, more than about me.”
Tuesday’s game comes at the start of a new chapter in this enigmatic, mercurial coach’s career, ready to prove that he can still teach the Champions League a thing or two, starting off at the place where he truly established himself as one of the best in the world.
There isn’t a football fan in the world who would argue that the Special One is not right where he truly belongs – nor would they bet against him making a mark on his Stamford Bridge return.
When you’ve had the career that José Mourinho has, it’s harder than you might think to avoid crossing paths with one of your former clubs. Especially in the Champions League, where he has had so much success over the years.
Twice a winner of the competition – with FC Porto in 2003/04 and Inter Milan in 2009/10 – Mourinho has been in the dugout for six different clubs in the Champions League, so his Stamford Bridge return on Tuesday evening will hardly be a new sensation.
“When I left Porto, my first European match coaching Chelsea was against Porto; while coaching Inter, I played a zillion times against Barcelona [where I had been assistant coach]. As the coach of Fenerbahçe, I played against Manchester United, I played against Benfica.
“It’s something that happens to me, and where I think I have the ability of, during 90 minutes, completely forgetting where I am, who I’m playing with, the city I’m in, if this stadium was ‘mine’ [in the past].”
But for Mourinho, Chelsea is different to his other former haunts. More than any of those other giants of the game, the Portuguese coach feels quite literally at home, as he still has a house in the British capital.
“For you to have an idea, my son goes to the match and he walks from home. He’s as close as we are. When we are at home, we understand the results just by the noise because the noise arrives at home. I’m just there. So, it’s really, really [like going] home. Then, it’s a stadium where I won three Premier Leagues, I made history with Chelsea. Chelsea belongs to my history, I belong to Chelsea history.”
Mourinho is set to bring up his 150th game in the Champions League by the end of the league phase – becoming just the fifth manager to do so – but there is no questioning his hunger. In fact, remembering a conversation with one of those other four stalwarts of the competition, Mourinho is insistent that he is just as passionate about the game as he ever has been.
“If one day I feel less joy, when I wake up, early in the morning, to come to work; if one day I feel less joy for winning a game; if one day I feel less sadness for losing a game; if something changes, then that will be like a red light that's turned on.
“I recall a Champions League game, Manchester United versus Real Madrid, where I was at Real Madrid and Sir Alex [Ferguson] was at Manchester United. I was at his office before the game and asked him: ‘Sir Alex, does this ever change – in terms of the tension and the adrenaline that we feel before such an important game?’ He said: ‘No, it never changes. It's the same until the end.’ More than ten years have passed [since then], and my feelings don't change. meaning, there are no red lights; I’m still the same as I’ve always been.”
In his time away from the competition, Mourinho has hardly been idle. He lifted the Conference League trophy with AS Roma to become the only coach in history to have each of the continent’s crowns in his trophy cabinet. This is a man who simply lives and breathes football.
But what is different about this modern-day Mourinho compared to his confident, younger counterpart who first swaggered onto the scene 25 years ago?
“The main difference I recognise in myself is the fact that, maybe, in the beginning, I was more self-centred, and I changed… I feel like I’m more altruistic,’ he claims. “I feel like I’m in football to help others, rather than to help myself. I’m here to help my players, more than to think about what’s going to happen in my life within the next few years. I think more about the club, I think more about the fans’ joy, more than about me.”
Tuesday’s game comes at the start of a new chapter in this enigmatic, mercurial coach’s career, ready to prove that he can still teach the Champions League a thing or two, starting off at the place where he truly established himself as one of the best in the world.
There isn’t a football fan in the world who would argue that the Special One is not right where he truly belongs – nor would they bet against him making a mark on his Stamford Bridge return.
When you’ve had the career that José Mourinho has, it’s harder than you might think to avoid crossing paths with one of your former clubs. Especially in the Champions League, where he has had so much success over the years.
Twice a winner of the competition – with FC Porto in 2003/04 and Inter Milan in 2009/10 – Mourinho has been in the dugout for six different clubs in the Champions League, so his Stamford Bridge return on Tuesday evening will hardly be a new sensation.
“When I left Porto, my first European match coaching Chelsea was against Porto; while coaching Inter, I played a zillion times against Barcelona [where I had been assistant coach]. As the coach of Fenerbahçe, I played against Manchester United, I played against Benfica.
“It’s something that happens to me, and where I think I have the ability of, during 90 minutes, completely forgetting where I am, who I’m playing with, the city I’m in, if this stadium was ‘mine’ [in the past].”
But for Mourinho, Chelsea is different to his other former haunts. More than any of those other giants of the game, the Portuguese coach feels quite literally at home, as he still has a house in the British capital.
“For you to have an idea, my son goes to the match and he walks from home. He’s as close as we are. When we are at home, we understand the results just by the noise because the noise arrives at home. I’m just there. So, it’s really, really [like going] home. Then, it’s a stadium where I won three Premier Leagues, I made history with Chelsea. Chelsea belongs to my history, I belong to Chelsea history.”
Mourinho is set to bring up his 150th game in the Champions League by the end of the league phase – becoming just the fifth manager to do so – but there is no questioning his hunger. In fact, remembering a conversation with one of those other four stalwarts of the competition, Mourinho is insistent that he is just as passionate about the game as he ever has been.
“If one day I feel less joy, when I wake up, early in the morning, to come to work; if one day I feel less joy for winning a game; if one day I feel less sadness for losing a game; if something changes, then that will be like a red light that's turned on.
“I recall a Champions League game, Manchester United versus Real Madrid, where I was at Real Madrid and Sir Alex [Ferguson] was at Manchester United. I was at his office before the game and asked him: ‘Sir Alex, does this ever change – in terms of the tension and the adrenaline that we feel before such an important game?’ He said: ‘No, it never changes. It's the same until the end.’ More than ten years have passed [since then], and my feelings don't change. meaning, there are no red lights; I’m still the same as I’ve always been.”
In his time away from the competition, Mourinho has hardly been idle. He lifted the Conference League trophy with AS Roma to become the only coach in history to have each of the continent’s crowns in his trophy cabinet. This is a man who simply lives and breathes football.
But what is different about this modern-day Mourinho compared to his confident, younger counterpart who first swaggered onto the scene 25 years ago?
“The main difference I recognise in myself is the fact that, maybe, in the beginning, I was more self-centred, and I changed… I feel like I’m more altruistic,’ he claims. “I feel like I’m in football to help others, rather than to help myself. I’m here to help my players, more than to think about what’s going to happen in my life within the next few years. I think more about the club, I think more about the fans’ joy, more than about me.”
Tuesday’s game comes at the start of a new chapter in this enigmatic, mercurial coach’s career, ready to prove that he can still teach the Champions League a thing or two, starting off at the place where he truly established himself as one of the best in the world.
There isn’t a football fan in the world who would argue that the Special One is not right where he truly belongs – nor would they bet against him making a mark on his Stamford Bridge return.
When you’ve had the career that José Mourinho has, it’s harder than you might think to avoid crossing paths with one of your former clubs. Especially in the Champions League, where he has had so much success over the years.
Twice a winner of the competition – with FC Porto in 2003/04 and Inter Milan in 2009/10 – Mourinho has been in the dugout for six different clubs in the Champions League, so his Stamford Bridge return on Tuesday evening will hardly be a new sensation.
“When I left Porto, my first European match coaching Chelsea was against Porto; while coaching Inter, I played a zillion times against Barcelona [where I had been assistant coach]. As the coach of Fenerbahçe, I played against Manchester United, I played against Benfica.
“It’s something that happens to me, and where I think I have the ability of, during 90 minutes, completely forgetting where I am, who I’m playing with, the city I’m in, if this stadium was ‘mine’ [in the past].”
But for Mourinho, Chelsea is different to his other former haunts. More than any of those other giants of the game, the Portuguese coach feels quite literally at home, as he still has a house in the British capital.
“For you to have an idea, my son goes to the match and he walks from home. He’s as close as we are. When we are at home, we understand the results just by the noise because the noise arrives at home. I’m just there. So, it’s really, really [like going] home. Then, it’s a stadium where I won three Premier Leagues, I made history with Chelsea. Chelsea belongs to my history, I belong to Chelsea history.”
Mourinho is set to bring up his 150th game in the Champions League by the end of the league phase – becoming just the fifth manager to do so – but there is no questioning his hunger. In fact, remembering a conversation with one of those other four stalwarts of the competition, Mourinho is insistent that he is just as passionate about the game as he ever has been.
“If one day I feel less joy, when I wake up, early in the morning, to come to work; if one day I feel less joy for winning a game; if one day I feel less sadness for losing a game; if something changes, then that will be like a red light that's turned on.
“I recall a Champions League game, Manchester United versus Real Madrid, where I was at Real Madrid and Sir Alex [Ferguson] was at Manchester United. I was at his office before the game and asked him: ‘Sir Alex, does this ever change – in terms of the tension and the adrenaline that we feel before such an important game?’ He said: ‘No, it never changes. It's the same until the end.’ More than ten years have passed [since then], and my feelings don't change. meaning, there are no red lights; I’m still the same as I’ve always been.”
In his time away from the competition, Mourinho has hardly been idle. He lifted the Conference League trophy with AS Roma to become the only coach in history to have each of the continent’s crowns in his trophy cabinet. This is a man who simply lives and breathes football.
But what is different about this modern-day Mourinho compared to his confident, younger counterpart who first swaggered onto the scene 25 years ago?
“The main difference I recognise in myself is the fact that, maybe, in the beginning, I was more self-centred, and I changed… I feel like I’m more altruistic,’ he claims. “I feel like I’m in football to help others, rather than to help myself. I’m here to help my players, more than to think about what’s going to happen in my life within the next few years. I think more about the club, I think more about the fans’ joy, more than about me.”
Tuesday’s game comes at the start of a new chapter in this enigmatic, mercurial coach’s career, ready to prove that he can still teach the Champions League a thing or two, starting off at the place where he truly established himself as one of the best in the world.
There isn’t a football fan in the world who would argue that the Special One is not right where he truly belongs – nor would they bet against him making a mark on his Stamford Bridge return.
When you’ve had the career that José Mourinho has, it’s harder than you might think to avoid crossing paths with one of your former clubs. Especially in the Champions League, where he has had so much success over the years.
Twice a winner of the competition – with FC Porto in 2003/04 and Inter Milan in 2009/10 – Mourinho has been in the dugout for six different clubs in the Champions League, so his Stamford Bridge return on Tuesday evening will hardly be a new sensation.
“When I left Porto, my first European match coaching Chelsea was against Porto; while coaching Inter, I played a zillion times against Barcelona [where I had been assistant coach]. As the coach of Fenerbahçe, I played against Manchester United, I played against Benfica.
“It’s something that happens to me, and where I think I have the ability of, during 90 minutes, completely forgetting where I am, who I’m playing with, the city I’m in, if this stadium was ‘mine’ [in the past].”
But for Mourinho, Chelsea is different to his other former haunts. More than any of those other giants of the game, the Portuguese coach feels quite literally at home, as he still has a house in the British capital.
“For you to have an idea, my son goes to the match and he walks from home. He’s as close as we are. When we are at home, we understand the results just by the noise because the noise arrives at home. I’m just there. So, it’s really, really [like going] home. Then, it’s a stadium where I won three Premier Leagues, I made history with Chelsea. Chelsea belongs to my history, I belong to Chelsea history.”
Mourinho is set to bring up his 150th game in the Champions League by the end of the league phase – becoming just the fifth manager to do so – but there is no questioning his hunger. In fact, remembering a conversation with one of those other four stalwarts of the competition, Mourinho is insistent that he is just as passionate about the game as he ever has been.
“If one day I feel less joy, when I wake up, early in the morning, to come to work; if one day I feel less joy for winning a game; if one day I feel less sadness for losing a game; if something changes, then that will be like a red light that's turned on.
“I recall a Champions League game, Manchester United versus Real Madrid, where I was at Real Madrid and Sir Alex [Ferguson] was at Manchester United. I was at his office before the game and asked him: ‘Sir Alex, does this ever change – in terms of the tension and the adrenaline that we feel before such an important game?’ He said: ‘No, it never changes. It's the same until the end.’ More than ten years have passed [since then], and my feelings don't change. meaning, there are no red lights; I’m still the same as I’ve always been.”
In his time away from the competition, Mourinho has hardly been idle. He lifted the Conference League trophy with AS Roma to become the only coach in history to have each of the continent’s crowns in his trophy cabinet. This is a man who simply lives and breathes football.
But what is different about this modern-day Mourinho compared to his confident, younger counterpart who first swaggered onto the scene 25 years ago?
“The main difference I recognise in myself is the fact that, maybe, in the beginning, I was more self-centred, and I changed… I feel like I’m more altruistic,’ he claims. “I feel like I’m in football to help others, rather than to help myself. I’m here to help my players, more than to think about what’s going to happen in my life within the next few years. I think more about the club, I think more about the fans’ joy, more than about me.”
Tuesday’s game comes at the start of a new chapter in this enigmatic, mercurial coach’s career, ready to prove that he can still teach the Champions League a thing or two, starting off at the place where he truly established himself as one of the best in the world.
There isn’t a football fan in the world who would argue that the Special One is not right where he truly belongs – nor would they bet against him making a mark on his Stamford Bridge return.
When you’ve had the career that José Mourinho has, it’s harder than you might think to avoid crossing paths with one of your former clubs. Especially in the Champions League, where he has had so much success over the years.
Twice a winner of the competition – with FC Porto in 2003/04 and Inter Milan in 2009/10 – Mourinho has been in the dugout for six different clubs in the Champions League, so his Stamford Bridge return on Tuesday evening will hardly be a new sensation.
“When I left Porto, my first European match coaching Chelsea was against Porto; while coaching Inter, I played a zillion times against Barcelona [where I had been assistant coach]. As the coach of Fenerbahçe, I played against Manchester United, I played against Benfica.
“It’s something that happens to me, and where I think I have the ability of, during 90 minutes, completely forgetting where I am, who I’m playing with, the city I’m in, if this stadium was ‘mine’ [in the past].”
But for Mourinho, Chelsea is different to his other former haunts. More than any of those other giants of the game, the Portuguese coach feels quite literally at home, as he still has a house in the British capital.
“For you to have an idea, my son goes to the match and he walks from home. He’s as close as we are. When we are at home, we understand the results just by the noise because the noise arrives at home. I’m just there. So, it’s really, really [like going] home. Then, it’s a stadium where I won three Premier Leagues, I made history with Chelsea. Chelsea belongs to my history, I belong to Chelsea history.”
Mourinho is set to bring up his 150th game in the Champions League by the end of the league phase – becoming just the fifth manager to do so – but there is no questioning his hunger. In fact, remembering a conversation with one of those other four stalwarts of the competition, Mourinho is insistent that he is just as passionate about the game as he ever has been.
“If one day I feel less joy, when I wake up, early in the morning, to come to work; if one day I feel less joy for winning a game; if one day I feel less sadness for losing a game; if something changes, then that will be like a red light that's turned on.
“I recall a Champions League game, Manchester United versus Real Madrid, where I was at Real Madrid and Sir Alex [Ferguson] was at Manchester United. I was at his office before the game and asked him: ‘Sir Alex, does this ever change – in terms of the tension and the adrenaline that we feel before such an important game?’ He said: ‘No, it never changes. It's the same until the end.’ More than ten years have passed [since then], and my feelings don't change. meaning, there are no red lights; I’m still the same as I’ve always been.”
In his time away from the competition, Mourinho has hardly been idle. He lifted the Conference League trophy with AS Roma to become the only coach in history to have each of the continent’s crowns in his trophy cabinet. This is a man who simply lives and breathes football.
But what is different about this modern-day Mourinho compared to his confident, younger counterpart who first swaggered onto the scene 25 years ago?
“The main difference I recognise in myself is the fact that, maybe, in the beginning, I was more self-centred, and I changed… I feel like I’m more altruistic,’ he claims. “I feel like I’m in football to help others, rather than to help myself. I’m here to help my players, more than to think about what’s going to happen in my life within the next few years. I think more about the club, I think more about the fans’ joy, more than about me.”
Tuesday’s game comes at the start of a new chapter in this enigmatic, mercurial coach’s career, ready to prove that he can still teach the Champions League a thing or two, starting off at the place where he truly established himself as one of the best in the world.
There isn’t a football fan in the world who would argue that the Special One is not right where he truly belongs – nor would they bet against him making a mark on his Stamford Bridge return.
