The day Mourinho’s Porto started their unremitting run of success at Estádio da Luz | OneFootball

Deco the difference-maker in 2003 Clássico clash

Game. Set. Match. Come early March 2003, FC Porto were cruising to a memorable season. It seemed forever since they had looked lost under Octávio Machado’s leadership on course for a third consecutive year without winning the league, a record in what was then Pinto da Costa’s twenty-year era.

The trip to Lisbon to face Benfica was effectively a title decider. With ten matches to go in José Mourinho’s first full season in charge of Porto, the Dragons were ten points clear at the top and knew if they came out alive of the Estádio da Luz, nothing and no-one would be able to prevent them from celebrating come April. More than a match, it was the final Primeira Liga test in a season of epic proportions.

Mourinho back to haunt former employer

José Mourinho had gotten his first big break with Benfica in the summer of 2000. Two and a half years later, he was one step closer to becoming one of the youngest managers ever to win the league, but not as Benfica coach. It was with their historical rivals FC Porto that history was about to be made. Mourinho had resigned as Benfica manager with his eyes on the Sporting job, a day after the Eagles had hammered the then league champions 3-0, in a succession of events that would shape the very history of Portuguese football. Mourinho was forced to lick his wounds and go back to near anonymity. He had played his cards poorly and ended up unemployed, but he wasn’t about to let that get in the way of his dreams. And Mourinho was someone who always dreamed big.

In the summer, he was surprisingly appointed as União de Leiria manager, a move that the club’s former coach, Manuel José, did not take kindly to at all. José had guided Leiria to their highest ever finish, fifth in the league, and it seemed difficult that the newcomer would top that with a club of such modest means. Come January, Leiria sat third in the table, above Porto and Benfica, only six points adrift from first place and in a fight for a Champions League position.

It seemed mad, and it probably was, but up north Porto president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa for sure sympathised with the decision made by Leiria. He knew all about Mourinho when Bobby Robson made it clear that he would not accept the Porto head coaching job if he was prevented from taking his young assistant, who was much more than just a mere translator, with him. Mourinho spent two and a half years in Porto, impressing Pinto da Costa and many at the club, and then moved with Robson to Barcelona. When the Englishman was replaced by van Gaal, he managed to win the heart of the Dutchman, who took him even more seriously than Robson had done.

José Mourinho was happy to take centre stage upon his return to the Estádio da Luz

Pinto da Costa makes his move

In January 2002, Porto were in a dismal position. The team were playing poorly under Octávio Machado. The coach had sent away the club captain Jorge Costa after a row about the captain’s armband, and the fans had turned against him. With the side languishing in fourth place, seven points adrift from the top of the league. Mourinho had already been talking with Pinto da Costa since late December, and in the following month events unfolded quickly. He was named Porto manager and won his first match at home, against Marítimo. In the next fixture he toppled his former side Leiria and on the last day of the campaign managed to claim third place from Benfica to clinch a ticket for the UEFA Cup the following season.

Crucially, his third match as Porto manager ended up being a Clássico against Benfica, at home. A 3-2 win was decisive for that final league position and also bought him time to experiment by winning the supporters’ trust. The following months were tricky with Porto playing poorly, Mourinho rotating players to see who fitted his idea of a title contender for the next season and with supporters looking in despair more than in hope to what was to come.

Porto rebuild

In the summer, with Porto in deep financial troubles, Mourinho set his eyes not only on his former club Leiria, bringing in the likes of Nuno Valente, Tiago and Derlei, but also by signing Paulo Ferreira from his hometown Vitória de Setúbal and a former player of his during his Benfica days, Maniche. Pedro Emanuel also came on a free transfer came from Boavista, who would be key in the first half of the campaign. With Jorge Costa back in the picture but without Carlos Paredes and Jorge Andrade, sold to allay the financial woes, and Benny McCarthy, whose loan ended after a brilliant short stint, he managed to formulate a competitive first eleven that supporters knew by heart by the time the side reached Christmas top of the league.

Many imagined Porto would struggle to keep the same pace in the second half of the campaign, particularly as the UEFA Cup campaign fared positively, and there was already talk that the Dragons could go all the way in the competition. With rivals Sporting and Benfica stumbling repeatedly, Porto seemed destined for glory, having lost a single match in round 23, against Belenenses, while dropping points in only three other matches.

The 2002/2003 Liga clash was the final Clássico at the old Estádio da Luz, with reduced capacity as work began on the new stadium

Last Clássico at the old Estádio da Luz

In comparison, Benfica had been defeated on four occasions and Sporting on six, as the Lisbon duo hoped for a miraculous turnaround. For the Eagles, that miracle would have to start with winning the battle at the Luz. The old ground was ready to host its last Clássico with the new ground being built next door for the following year’s European Championship.

On a dreadfully chilly night, on 4th March, Porto descended on the capital knowing they had their fate in their own hands. Mourinho didn’t have Nuno Valente available and went with Ricardo Costa as left-back, as Pedro Emanuel – not Ricardo Carvalho, who was mainly used a substitute that season – and Jorge Costa lined up alongside Paulo Ferreira in front of a reborn Vítor Baía. With Maniche playing as a holding midfielder, instead of a suspended Costinha, and Dimitri Alenitchev chosen to partner Deco, in support of both Nuno Capucho, on the right, and Derlei on the left, and with Hélder Postiga as the sole striker, it was probably the most offensive lineup the Mourinho could conjure.

Midfielders Maniche and Zahovic were playing against their former clubs

Camacho makes Benfica competitive

José Antonio Camacho, the former Spain manager who had been signed by Luís Filipe Vieira at the beginning of the season, and the only manager who prevented José Mourinho from winning a trophy during his glorious two-year stint at Porto, went with José Moreira in goal, with Miguel, Hélder, Ricardo Rocha and Argel playing in the back line. Petit and Tiago partnered Zlatko Zahovic in the midfield, while wide players Geovanni and Simão, alongside centre-forward Nuno Gomes, were expected to make a difference in front of goal. It was one of the best Benfica XIs in recent years, and the fanatical crowd at the Estádio da Luz were expecting them to be able to do what few had done during the campaign: stop Porto from dominating possession, and control the game.

The previous week, Benfica had come from two goals down against Setúbal and ended up winning 6-2 in a match that exposed their defensive frailties, often repeated during the campaign, but also showcased their offensive prowess. When the two sides stepped onto the pitch, it was a shocking view to grasp the once immense Luz ground already half its size due to the construction works of the new ground right next door. Only 50,000 fans were able to attend the match, and from the first minute it became clear that Porto would not be biding their time.

Nuno Gomes hits the post, Deco strikes

They went for the kill early on. Mourinho’s men got hold of the ball, moved it faster and with precision and quickly started to test Moreira’s goal in search of the opener. Deco was operating freely in the middle, always finding someone to play with, particularly Alenitchev, who was key to pushing Benfica into their own half from the get-go. Every time the hosts tried to pick off the Dragons on the break, the visitors would always find a way of getting the ball back and press again. The only time Benfica’s plan worked, Nuno Gomes hit the post after shooting from distance. Two minutes later, Porto scored.

Paulo Ferreira crossed from the right, and as the ball was cleared by Benfica’s defence. Maniche came running from behind and saw Deco unmarked before placing a perfect pass that the former Alverca and Salgueiros man – who had come to Portugal to play for Benfica but never did – executed a beautiful goal after receiving the ball, advancing and shooting while sliding on the grass. It was the perfect definition of what Porto were all about. High pressing, clear-minded and aesthetic at times. The strength of Maniche and the quality of Deco. Moreira was helpless.

Nuno Gomes was unlucky to see a long-range shot cannon off the post and back into play

No way back for Benfica

The second half wasn’t much different. Porto kept control of events, creating chance after chance with the Eagles goalkeeper denying them as much as he could. At half-time, Camacho sent Tomislav Sokota on for Zahovic to try and change the game’s dynamics, but that only left his side even more exposed. Armando and Andersson came afterwards from the bench to replace Argel and Petit, both on yellow cards, but then Ricardo Rocha was sent off after a terrible foul on Deco. A minute prior Camacho had spent his last substitution, and by then he knew it was game over.

Mourinho, who had already replaced Alenitchev with Tiago, moving Maniche up the pitch, decided to play it safe and sent on Marco Ferreira and Edgaras Jankauskas for Capucho and Postiga to keep legs fresh in attack, but without pressing too much for the kill. He knew both the match and the league were done and dusted. Until the final whistle, Porto were always closer to scoring a second than Benfica to drawing level, and when it was all over, as the players ran towards the visiting supporters with Mourinho coolly rehearsed what would become his usual winning celebration, everyone was aware that his side had already become one for the ages.

Porto’s glorious treble

Porto went on to win the league easily a month later with a 5-2 thrashing of Santa Clara at home, to celebrate an almost perfect campaign. By then, they had already found themselves on the road to the Portuguese Cup Final, where they beat União de Leiria, Mourinho’s former side, at Jamor. The season was crowned with a brilliant display in the UEFA Cup. After a poor home result against Panathinaikos and turning around the results in Athens, Porto did the unthinkable and came back from an early goal at home to smash Lazio 4-1 before a draw in Rome settled the score and sent them to their third continental final in Seville. In a breathtaking match, twice Celtic managed to equalise a Porto goal before Marco Ferreira and Derlei set up the winner in extra time.

It was the first time since 1987 that any Portuguese side had lifted a UEFA competition and only the fifth time it had happened, after Benfica’s back-to-back European Cup wins, Sporting’s Cup Winner’s Cup triumph and Porto’s own European Cup success. Few could imagine what would happen a year later. It seemed the zenith of a brilliant generation and a golden period for Portuguese football in general, a year before hosting the Euros.

Benfica begin road to redemption

Benfica finished the season second to claim a passport to the Champions League for the first time in six seasons, with Sporting finishing third. Camacho would stay for another season, during which he again led the Eagles to a second-place finish, with Porto going one better and claiming the Champions League trophy to crown José Mourinho’s astonishing stint at the Dragão. Days before the final in Gelsenkirchen, Benfica beat them at Jamor in the Portuguese Cup final. It was the only silverware available to Mourinho’s Porto in two seasons that they did not win.

Camacho admitted Porto were better in 2003 but the Spaniard got the better of Mourinho in the 2004 Portuguese Cup final

It was also a sign that the Eagles were coming back to their former, greater self. A season later, under Giovanni Trapattoni, they would win their first league trophy in eleven seasons, thus putting an end to the so-called Vietnam era. That year’s triumph was the first in the post-Mourinho era as the manager rocked the Premier League as Chelsea manager, a period when, for a brief time at least, Portuguese football had proved itself ahead of the game.