Jose Mourinho is one of the most interesting characters in world football. The “Special One” is one of the most well-decorated, well-respected managers in the game, but he’s no stranger to unorthodox moments on the touchlines, in press conferences, and in interviews. He’s one of the managers who wears his heart on his sleeve and is often rather expressive of his emotions.
Back when he was manager of Real Madrid in 2012, Bayern Munich knocked his side out of the Champions League semi-finals. In a recent interview with Spanish outlet MARCA (via Goal), Mourinho admitted that the loss was the first and only time that a defeat made him cry. In the second leg of that semi-final tie at the Santiago Bernabeau, Bayern defeated Real Madrid on penalties after it had finished 3-3 on aggregate (Bayern won first leg 2-1, second leg finished 2-1 to Real).
Bastian Schweinsteiger wound up netting the spot kick that won Bayern the tie and sent them to the final to face Chelsea. With such a star-studded Madrid squad, Mourinho couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with emotion: “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, Madrid assistant at the time] and I pulled up in front of my house, in the car, crying. It was very hard because we were the best that season.”
Despite missing out on the Champions League final that year, Mourinho’s side went on to win the La Liga title with a total of 100 points, which set a record for a single-season points total. Of course, Mourinho had already won the Champions League twice as a manager; once with FC Porto in 2004 and then again with Inter Milan in 2010. Ironically enough, too, he was one of the names mentioned for the Bayern job when Niko Kovac was dismissed, but he wound up taking the Tottenham job vacated by Mauricio Pochettino in the Premier League. How realistic of a candidate he was for Bayern is something we might not ever know. The Bundesliga and Ligue 1 are the only two of Europe’s top five leagues he hasn’t managed in yet.
