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Nuno Espírito Santo will face the man who gave him his spirit of victory for the fourth time.
It was with José Mourinho that Nuno Espírito Santo learned to win. Six were the trophies that the then goalkeeper won under his command, more than a third of those he won in his entire professional life, first as a player and now as a coach.
In those two magical blue and white seasons, the coach awarded the Porto players two national championship titles, a Portuguese Cup, an internal Super Cup, a Champions League and a UEFA Cup. All of them were also won by Nuno Espírito Santo (who had previously only won one Spanish cup in A Coruña), despite being the chronic substitute for Vítor Baía, who had little chance of competing directly.
Even so, Nuno was number two in goal, almost always playing in the Portuguese Cup and starting to play several games in the I League and the UEFA Cup. In total, Nuno played 24 games for FC Porto de Mourinho, which speaks volumes for the manager’s great confidence in this goalkeeper who simply had the misfortune (or luck?) Of being covered by one of the best in history.
“I’m not saying he was a bad player, but he’s a much better coach than as a player,” José Mourinho said about the former student, now a direct competitor in the Premier.
Nuno, in turn, thanks the coach who soon awakened the spirit of victory. “They were two fantastic seasons at FC Porto. We won everything there was to win and the desire to win is something I will always remember about Mourinho. He is a natural winner,” said the now coach.
After those moments of joint happiness, the pair would meet again in the following season, for the Champions League: Mourinho as Chelsea manager and Nuno still in dragons, with the latter winning in the 2-1 victory in the group stage in the both teams qualified.
The reunion would take place just 18 years later, both as coaches. Nuno at Wolverhampton and Mourinho at Manchester United. 1-1 was the result, which set the tone for the two games that followed, both in 2019/20. A victory for each side was the balance, each obtained away from home, which well illustrates the comfort they feel when defending, then exploring the counterattack, especially in relation to Nuno. “Against teams like the Wolves, who play incredibly well on the counterattack, you have to be relentless,” said Mourinho after the last game, won by the Wolves 3-2. Did you learn your lesson?
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