José Mourinho UEFA Champions League Football Coach
The Early Years
José Mourinho was born into a football-mad family in Setúbal, Portugal in 19631. Mourinho's father was a professional goalkeeper for a local football club and his godfather was the manager of local professional football clubs.
Coaching Career
Mourinho's major break came when he was invited to join his hometown club Vitória de Setúbal after working for several years as a school football coach. During his tenure at the club as a staff member, Mourinho had the good fortune to become acquainted with English team manager Bobby Robson, who became reliant on Mourinho's ability to act as an interpreter. In 1996 Robson was invited to join Barcelona as their head coach and invited Mourinho to join him.
At Barcelona Mourinho quickly rose through the ranks, becoming manager of the Barcelona B team shortly after Robson's departure from the Spanish club. Mourinho spent another four years working in assistant coaching positions before being nominated as head coach for Lisbon-based club Benfica.
Mourinho was soon replaced at Benfica by a popular former player and was snapped up by another local side before being recruited to coach a struggling FC Porto side in 2002.
UEFA Champions League Coach
Jose Mourinho had an immediate impact at Porto, guiding the club to the Super Liga title and Porto's first UEFA Cup final victory in 2003. The UEFA Champions League coach's first two years at Porto saw the club build up impressive momentum as they powered their way to a second domestic league win whilst destroying all opposition in the UEFA Champions League.
In 2004 Jose Mourinho claimed the biggest prize in European club football when his side thrashed co-finalists AS Monaco 3-0 to claim the Champions League title. Mourinho's coaching achievements in 2004 brought him to the attention of the Chelsea administrators who offered him £4 million a year to join the club. After publicly stating his preference for Liverpool, Mourinho agreed to move to Stamford Bridge.
Recent Controversy
Despite an excellent coaching reputation and a near perfect trophy record, Mourinho lasted only three seasons at Chelsea. During this time he coached Chelsea to the Premier League title twice, winning an additional two League Cups and an FA Cup.
Mourinho endured an uneasy relationship with Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich and left the club suddenly in September of 2007. At present the Champions League coach is taking a sabbatical and is considering several offers to coach national teams.
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