"I want to continue coaching. I have been involved in football for many years but I am still very young. I will stay where I belong, which is at the highest level, and that is where I will stand," Mourinho said in January 2019, not long after leaving Man Utd.

However, "the special one" seems to have lost his magic since winning the treble with Inter Milan, at least in the Champions League. The Portuguese coach, born in 1963, once shocked Europe by leading Porto (2004) and Inter (2010) to end their continental title droughts of 17 and 45 years, respectively. "But for the past 16 years, he has not reconnected with the 'big-eared trophy'," Marca (Spain) commented.

Coach Jose Mourinho received a red card in Benfica's 0-1 loss to Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League play-off at Da Luz stadium, Lisbon, Portugal on 17/2. *Photo: AFP*

In the past 16 years, Mourinho has won one European trophy, leading AS Roma to the Conference League title in 2022, becoming the first coach to claim all current European titles. He also reached the Europa League final once in 2023, when his Man Utd team lost to Sevilla in a penalty shootout. But the Champions League has remained elusive for him.

Following Benfica's defeats in both the first leg (0-1 loss at home at Da Luz) and the second leg (1-2 loss at Santiago Bernabeu) to Real Madrid in this season's play-off round, Mourinho made Champions League history as the first coach to reach 10 consecutive winless matches in the knockout stages, comprising 6 losses and 4 draws.

The last time Mourinho led a team past a Champions League knockout round was 12 years ago. That was in the 2013-2014 season when his Chelsea team defeated PSG in the quarterfinals (losing 1-3 in Paris but winning 2-0 in London), before falling in the semifinals to Atletico Madrid.

This season, Mourinho has even been "knocked out" of the Champions League twice. Earlier in the season, while managing Fenerbahce, the 63-year-old coach and the Turkish club lost to Benfica – Mourinho's current team – in the qualifying round.

Nevertheless, Mourinho's greatest pain remains in the past, from the 2012 Champions League semifinals, when his Real team lost to Bayern.

"If I had to choose the worst moment, it would be that elimination with Real. At that time, we were the strongest team in Europe. I was sure we would win the final. The cruelest part was that we entrusted the penalty shootout responsibility to Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Sergio Ramos. They were guaranteed to score from the penalty spot, but the fact that those who never miss failed crushed me," Mourinho once admitted.

"A Mourinho who once reigned supreme is no longer 'the special one' in the Champions League sanctuary," Marca wrote.

Hoang Thong