José Mourinho: A look at The Special One's extraordinary European finals record

José Mourinho and AS Roma parted ways in January 2024, as announced by the club on its website and social media. The Portuguese's time in the Italian capital was marked by highs and lows, most notably Roma's defeat in the Europa League final against Sevilla FC on 31 May 2023. The tears of the Italians filled Budapest's Puskás Arena, but perhaps the man most disappointed was 'The Special One' himself.

Before the final against Sevilla FC, Mourinho had a perfect record in European finals: he won five of the five finals in his career. The sixth, however, ended that amazing run.

However, five out of six is still an amazing record that deserves to be talked about. So, let's have a look at the European finals Mourinho contested in his trophy-laden career.

The last European chapter of Mourinho's career is the most painful. After beating Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals, AS Roma qualified for the final, where it would meet Sevilla FC.

Roma took the lead in the first half through Paulo Dybala, but Sevilla hit back after the break and equalised through a Gianluca Mancini own goal. The game went into extra time, but no one scored, so the match would be decided on penalties.

Sevilla remained calmest and won the penalty kick shoot-out with 4-1. For Mourinho, it was his first defeat in a European final.

The year before, Roma also qualified for a European final, but this time in the Conference League. On this occasion, the opponent was Dutch side Feyenoord.

In an intense match, Roma took the lead in the 32nd minute through a goal by Nicolo Zaniolo. Feyenoord chased the equaliser, but Roma and Mourinho held on to their narrow lead, with the Portuguese taking his fifth European trophy. "We made history," said Mourinho at the post-match press conference, according to a Sky Sports video on YouTube.

In 2017, Mourinho was in charge of Manchester United, with whom he reached the Europa League final that year.

This time, the opponent was another Dutch team: Ajax. United took the lead through an early goal by Paul Pogba in the 18th minute, after which Henrikh Mkhitaryan doubled the score just after the break and secured the win for United. Once again, European glory for Mourinho, who could celebrate his fourth continental trophy.

Winning the Europa League is nice, but every manager's dream is to conquer the Champions League. Mourinho did that twice, and for the last time with Inter Milan in 2010.

Inter took on a strong Bayern Munich at Santiago Bernabéu. The Germans had most of the ball possession, but Inter struck twice mercilessly through striker Diego Milito. It was an extraordinary year for Inter and Mourinho, who won the treble that year.

Even more impressive perhaps was Mourinho's Champions League triumph with Portuguese side FC Porto in the 2003/04 campaign. On the way to the final, Porto eliminated Manchester United, Olympique Lyon and Deportivo La Coruña.

The opponent in the final was AS Monaco, another surprising name. Mourinho and Porto were far too strong for the French, winning 0-3 and writing club history.

Porto's Champions League success came just one season after they also won the UEFA Cup. The Portuguese team showed they were a European force to be reckoned with in those years.

Porto faced Celtic and Henrik Larsson. The Swede scored twice, but could not prevent Porto from scoring three: 3-2. It was a magical night for Porto and the start of an exceptional European story for Mourinho.

With a full trophy cabinet, José Mourinho is one of the greatest managers the game of football has ever seen. 'The Special One' does not yet seem ready to retire and wants to win a few more prizes. Will he succeed?