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Greatest European Nights

My greatest European night - FC Porto

Porto fan José Mendes was only seven when his side famously knocked out United, but the memory will last forever

Manchester United 1-1 Porto

Round of 16, second leg
9 March 2004

I remember watching the game on TV with my older brother António. There are two sofas in the living room and since our UEFA Cup final win against Celtic the previous year we always sat in the same places for every game; even today I sit on the left one and my brother on the right. We each wore Porto shirts and scarves and had blue-and-white blankets sewn by our grandmother. On the left a Porto flag commemorates our five straight titles between 1995 and 1999; on the right is the Portuguese flag.

The scoreboard shows 1-0 to Manchester United with just one minute to play. United lost the first leg 2-1, but are now ahead on away goals. Porto have a free-kick and one last chance. Benni McCarthy, who scored twice in the first leg, stands over the ball. Tim Howard waits in the United goal. This is it, the moment of the truth. McCarthy runs up to the ball and hits it; Howard can’t hold his shot and palms it out, but only to Costinha who smacks in the rebound. Porto have stolen the game at the death! Porto coach José Mourinho is running down the touchline to celebrate with his players at the corner flag. We are jumping up and down on the sofas and making so much noise that the neighbours below are soon banging on the ceiling to tell us to shut up. This is my first Champions League memory. We repeated our ritual for the final, but bizarrely my parents didn’t join us, opting instead to have dinner in the kitchen and watch us beat Monaco on a smaller TV. We still ask them how they could have done that…

Manchester United 1-1 Porto

Round of 16, second leg
9 March 2004

I remember watching the game on TV with my older brother António. There are two sofas in the living room and since our UEFA Cup final win against Celtic the previous year we always sat in the same places for every game; even today I sit on the left one and my brother on the right. We each wore Porto shirts and scarves and had blue-and-white blankets sewn by our grandmother. On the left a Porto flag commemorates our five straight titles between 1995 and 1999; on the right is the Portuguese flag.

The scoreboard shows 1-0 to Manchester United with just one minute to play. United lost the first leg 2-1, but are now ahead on away goals. Porto have a free-kick and one last chance. Benni McCarthy, who scored twice in the first leg, stands over the ball. Tim Howard waits in the United goal. This is it, the moment of the truth. McCarthy runs up to the ball and hits it; Howard can’t hold his shot and palms it out, but only to Costinha who smacks in the rebound. Porto have stolen the game at the death! Porto coach José Mourinho is running down the touchline to celebrate with his players at the corner flag. We are jumping up and down on the sofas and making so much noise that the neighbours below are soon banging on the ceiling to tell us to shut up. This is my first Champions League memory. We repeated our ritual for the final, but bizarrely my parents didn’t join us, opting instead to have dinner in the kitchen and watch us beat Monaco on a smaller TV. We still ask them how they could have done that…

Read the full story
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Manchester United 1-1 Porto

Round of 16, second leg
9 March 2004

I remember watching the game on TV with my older brother António. There are two sofas in the living room and since our UEFA Cup final win against Celtic the previous year we always sat in the same places for every game; even today I sit on the left one and my brother on the right. We each wore Porto shirts and scarves and had blue-and-white blankets sewn by our grandmother. On the left a Porto flag commemorates our five straight titles between 1995 and 1999; on the right is the Portuguese flag.

The scoreboard shows 1-0 to Manchester United with just one minute to play. United lost the first leg 2-1, but are now ahead on away goals. Porto have a free-kick and one last chance. Benni McCarthy, who scored twice in the first leg, stands over the ball. Tim Howard waits in the United goal. This is it, the moment of the truth. McCarthy runs up to the ball and hits it; Howard can’t hold his shot and palms it out, but only to Costinha who smacks in the rebound. Porto have stolen the game at the death! Porto coach José Mourinho is running down the touchline to celebrate with his players at the corner flag. We are jumping up and down on the sofas and making so much noise that the neighbours below are soon banging on the ceiling to tell us to shut up. This is my first Champions League memory. We repeated our ritual for the final, but bizarrely my parents didn’t join us, opting instead to have dinner in the kitchen and watch us beat Monaco on a smaller TV. We still ask them how they could have done that…

My greatest European night - FC Porto
Greatest European Nights

My greatest European night - FC Porto

Porto fan José Mendes was only seven when his side famously knocked out United, but the memory will last forever

Manchester United 1-1 Porto

Round of 16, second leg
9 March 2004

I remember watching the game on TV with my older brother António. There are two sofas in the living room and since our UEFA Cup final win against Celtic the previous year we always sat in the same places for every game; even today I sit on the left one and my brother on the right. We each wore Porto shirts and scarves and had blue-and-white blankets sewn by our grandmother. On the left a Porto flag commemorates our five straight titles between 1995 and 1999; on the right is the Portuguese flag.

The scoreboard shows 1-0 to Manchester United with just one minute to play. United lost the first leg 2-1, but are now ahead on away goals. Porto have a free-kick and one last chance. Benni McCarthy, who scored twice in the first leg, stands over the ball. Tim Howard waits in the United goal. This is it, the moment of the truth. McCarthy runs up to the ball and hits it; Howard can’t hold his shot and palms it out, but only to Costinha who smacks in the rebound. Porto have stolen the game at the death! Porto coach José Mourinho is running down the touchline to celebrate with his players at the corner flag. We are jumping up and down on the sofas and making so much noise that the neighbours below are soon banging on the ceiling to tell us to shut up. This is my first Champions League memory. We repeated our ritual for the final, but bizarrely my parents didn’t join us, opting instead to have dinner in the kitchen and watch us beat Monaco on a smaller TV. We still ask them how they could have done that…

Penalty Pedigree

Etiam erat velit scelerisque in dictum non. Dictum non consectetur a erat nam at. Scelerisque felis imperdiet proin fermentum leo. Nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh nisl. Nulla at volutpat diam ut venenatis. At urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id nibh tortor id aliquet. Leo a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi. Dui vivamus arcu felis bibendum ut. Pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna molestie. Adipiscing at in tellus integer feugiat scelerisque. In arcu cursus euismod quis. Dictum non consectetur a erat nam at lectus urna duis. Facilisi nullam vehicula ipsum a arcu cursus. At tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum sed arcu non. Ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit pellentesque habitant. Vitae sapien pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus. Eget nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis. Ipsum consequat nisl vel pretium lectus quam. Elit sed vulputate mi sit amet mauris commodo quis. Pretium fusce id velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti.

Manchester United 1-1 Porto

Round of 16, second leg
9 March 2004

I remember watching the game on TV with my older brother António. There are two sofas in the living room and since our UEFA Cup final win against Celtic the previous year we always sat in the same places for every game; even today I sit on the left one and my brother on the right. We each wore Porto shirts and scarves and had blue-and-white blankets sewn by our grandmother. On the left a Porto flag commemorates our five straight titles between 1995 and 1999; on the right is the Portuguese flag.

The scoreboard shows 1-0 to Manchester United with just one minute to play. United lost the first leg 2-1, but are now ahead on away goals. Porto have a free-kick and one last chance. Benni McCarthy, who scored twice in the first leg, stands over the ball. Tim Howard waits in the United goal. This is it, the moment of the truth. McCarthy runs up to the ball and hits it; Howard can’t hold his shot and palms it out, but only to Costinha who smacks in the rebound. Porto have stolen the game at the death! Porto coach José Mourinho is running down the touchline to celebrate with his players at the corner flag. We are jumping up and down on the sofas and making so much noise that the neighbours below are soon banging on the ceiling to tell us to shut up. This is my first Champions League memory. We repeated our ritual for the final, but bizarrely my parents didn’t join us, opting instead to have dinner in the kitchen and watch us beat Monaco on a smaller TV. We still ask them how they could have done that…

Read the full story
Sign up now to get access to this and every premium feature on Champions Journal. You will also get access to member-only competitions and offers. And you get all of that completely free!
Manchester United 1-1 Porto

Round of 16, second leg
9 March 2004

I remember watching the game on TV with my older brother António. There are two sofas in the living room and since our UEFA Cup final win against Celtic the previous year we always sat in the same places for every game; even today I sit on the left one and my brother on the right. We each wore Porto shirts and scarves and had blue-and-white blankets sewn by our grandmother. On the left a Porto flag commemorates our five straight titles between 1995 and 1999; on the right is the Portuguese flag.

The scoreboard shows 1-0 to Manchester United with just one minute to play. United lost the first leg 2-1, but are now ahead on away goals. Porto have a free-kick and one last chance. Benni McCarthy, who scored twice in the first leg, stands over the ball. Tim Howard waits in the United goal. This is it, the moment of the truth. McCarthy runs up to the ball and hits it; Howard can’t hold his shot and palms it out, but only to Costinha who smacks in the rebound. Porto have stolen the game at the death! Porto coach José Mourinho is running down the touchline to celebrate with his players at the corner flag. We are jumping up and down on the sofas and making so much noise that the neighbours below are soon banging on the ceiling to tell us to shut up. This is my first Champions League memory. We repeated our ritual for the final, but bizarrely my parents didn’t join us, opting instead to have dinner in the kitchen and watch us beat Monaco on a smaller TV. We still ask them how they could have done that…

Penalty Pedigree

Etiam erat velit scelerisque in dictum non. Dictum non consectetur a erat nam at. Scelerisque felis imperdiet proin fermentum leo. Nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh nisl. Nulla at volutpat diam ut venenatis. At urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id nibh tortor id aliquet. Leo a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi. Dui vivamus arcu felis bibendum ut. Pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna molestie. Adipiscing at in tellus integer feugiat scelerisque. In arcu cursus euismod quis. Dictum non consectetur a erat nam at lectus urna duis. Facilisi nullam vehicula ipsum a arcu cursus. At tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum sed arcu non. Ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit pellentesque habitant. Vitae sapien pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus. Eget nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis. Ipsum consequat nisl vel pretium lectus quam. Elit sed vulputate mi sit amet mauris commodo quis. Pretium fusce id velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti.

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