Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho has opened up about his experiences as an elite manager and revealed the worst moment of his career.
Mourinho got his first big break at Porto in 2002, where he won the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League in consecutive seasons before moving to Chelsea in 2004, winning back-to-back Premier League titles in his first two years in England.
Another Champions League triumph followed in 2010, this time with Inter, which saw Mourinho land the Real Madrid job – but it wasn’t all joy.
Marca report that the Portuguese manager has highlighted their Champions League semi-final penalty shootout defeat to Bayern Munich in 2012 as his worst moment in management.
In an interview with Portuguese outlet Sic, he said: “If I had to choose the worst moment, it’s the end with Real Madrid.
“We were the best team in Europe, without a doubt, we won La Liga and broke all the records for points and goals and we will win that final, I have no doubt.
“The most cruel thing for me was that in the shoot-out we chose Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos, they were dead certificates from the penalty spot and the ones who missed were the ones who never quit, it sank me. “Given.”
The shootout literally brought Mourinho to his knees / DANI POZO/Getty Images
Bayern Munich won the first leg 2-1 at the Allianz Arena, meaning the pressure was on for Mourinho’s Real Madrid to turn it around at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Two goals from Ronaldo, with Arjen Robben also netting for Bayern, also ended the second leg 2-1 after extra time. Chelsea were awaiting the winners of that tie and Mourinho, who had just begun one of the most successful periods in the club’s history, was eager to take on them.
However, Bayern scored three of their five spot-kicks to win the shootout 3-1 and head to their home ground for the final – where Chelsea spoiled the party.