The Portuguese José Mourinho won his 26th title as head coach today, leading Roma to victory in the first edition of the Europa League, five years and one day after the last ‘caneco’.
A 1-0 victory over Dutch club Feyenoord in Tirana, Albania, ended a wait that had lasted since May 24, 2017, the day when, at the helm of Manchester United, he had beaten Ajax in the Europa League final. (2-0).
In the 1050th game of his career, Mourinho returns to the titles and becomes the first to win the new UEFA competition, and, in his curriculum, he still had three more victories in European competitions, two in the Champions League and one in the UEFA Cup. .
The 59-year-old Portuguese coach won the first ‘Champions’ for FC Porto (2003/04), the club for which he won the UEFA Cup (2002/03), and became European champion for the second time , and until now last, in charge of Inter Milan (2009/10).
In addition to the five international titles, in a curriculum that lacks the Club World Cup, which he never played, and the European Super Cup, in which he lost three, Mourinho won 21 national competitions, in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain.
After playing ‘white’ at Benfica (2000/2001) and União de Leiria (2001/02), the Portuguese coach began to win at FC Porto (2001/02 to 2003/04), namely two championships, a Portugal and a Super Cup, in addition to the two European competitions.
This was followed by the ‘millionaire’ Chelsea, at whose service, in his first spell, between 2004/05 and 2007/08, he won two editions of the Premier League, one of the FA Cup, two of the English League Cup and one of the Super Cup. .
In the two following seasons (2008/09 and 2009/10), he traveled to Italy, where, at the helm of Inter, he won the Serie A twice, the Coppa Italia and the Super Cup, in addition to the ‘Champions’, the ‘ Cherry on top of the cake’.
Mourinho led the ‘Nerazzurri’ to the European title at the Bernabéu, where he ‘lived’ for the following three years (2010/11 to 2012/13), to add three more scepters, a championship, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup, in a difficult ‘battle’ with Pep Guardiola and Lionl Messi’s FC Barcelona.
He then decided to return to Chelsea, in order, between 2013/14 and 2015/16, to win more ‘pots’, the English League, his third – and eighth, and even last, championship, in 2014/15 -, and the English League Cup.
After being fired from the ‘blues’ for the second time, José Mourinho was chosen by Manchester United, in which he was between 2016/17 and 2018/19, accumulating, in the first season, another League Cup and a Super Cup, in addition to the Europa League. .
The Portuguese coach won nothing in the last two seasons at United, the last incomplete, and also did not add titles to his curriculum for Tottenham (2019/20 and 2020/21), but today, he returned to the titles, in the first season in charge of Roma .
At a time when he celebrated his 1,000th game, with a 2-1 victory against Sassuolo, in round 3 of Serie A, on 12 September 2021, Mourinho also helped Roma to end a ‘drought’ of titles that had lasted since the victory in the Coppa Italia 2007/08.
José Mário Santos Mourinho Félix, who started his career with a 1-0 defeat against Boavista, at Bessa, in charge of Benfica, on September 23, 2000, has 662 wins, 217 draws and 171 defeats, with 2,045 goals scored. and 913 suffered.
Roma, who commanded today for the 55th time in 2021/22, is the ninth club that Mourinho coaches, after Benfica (11 games), União de Leiria (20), FC Porto (127), Chelsea (185 in the first spell). and 136 in the second, for a total of 321), Inter Milan (108), Real Madrid (178), Manchester United (144) and Tottenham (86).