Jose Mourinho boasts a managerial career spanning over 1,000 games to date. Despite his ‘Special One’ moniker, he’s only shed tears once post-defeat.
The 61-year-old, presently without a club following his departure from AS Roma, is celebrated for his extensive trophy haul, garnered from triumphant stints at Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid.
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During his three-year tenure at the Bernabeu, he achieved an impressive win rate of 71.9%, securing 128 victories, 28 draws, and 22 losses.
Notably, three of those losses occurred during the Champions League semi-finals.
One poignant moment arose in 2012 when Real Madrid faced Bayern Munich and suffered a heartbreaking defeat in a penalty shoot-out, marked by a rare miss from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mourinho, expressing his emotions, confessed to shedding tears in the aftermath of the match, as revealed in an interview with Spanish news outlet Marca.
He said: “Unfortunately, that’s football. Cristiano, Kaka, Sergio Ramos… three complete monsters of football, there’s no doubt about that, but they’re also human.
“That night is the only time in my career as a coach that I’ve cried after a defeat. I remember it well…
“Aitor [Karanka] and I pulled up in front of my house, in the car, crying. It was very hard because we were the best that season.”
In a subsequent interview with Portuguese TV channel Sic, Mourinho disclosed that the loss to Bayern was the most sorrowful moment of his career.
“If I have to choose the worst moment, it’s that elimination with Real Madrid,” he said.
“We were the best team in Europe, without a doubt, we won La Liga smashing all the records for points and goals and we would’ve won that final, I don’t have any doubt.
“What was most cruel for me was that in the shoot-out we chose Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos, they were dead certs from the penalty spot and the guys who missed were those who never miss, it sunk me.”
