The Portuguese coach claimed an historic treble with Inter, clinching Serie A in the last week of the season and lifting the Coppa Italia. When Jose Mourinho left Inter Milan for Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, after leading the Italian outfit to Champions League glory, he was at the peak of his powers. Inter beat Bayern 2-0 in the Champions League final at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium, winning the trophy for the first time since 1965 and becoming the first Italian team to win the treble.
Fished out of the relative wilderness by Madrid president Florentino Perez this summer after two seasons without a major trophy for Los Blancos, Mourinho’s main task is to return the club to their European throne. Now 16 years on, and beginning his second stint at Madrid, Mourinho kicks off the record 15-time Champions League winners’ European campaign against Inter on Tuesday at the Bernabeu. Mourinho was unable to help Real Madrid past the semi-finals and after leaving the club in 2013 has mainly spent his time competing in lower levels of European competition. The 63-year-old led Manchester United to the Europa League in 2017 and won the Conference League with Roma in 2022.
The day after the final Mourinho said it was likely his last match in charge and around a week later his appointment at Real Madrid was finalised. “My attraction to Real Madrid is due to its history, its frustrations in recent years and its expectations to win,” said Mourinho in 2010, although the same holds true now, after a remarkable period of success ended.
