Jose Mourinho is no doubt one of the greatest managers to grace the sport of football, but that’s not to say he’s not had his fair share of upsets, too.
Mourinho’s only time crying after a defeat
In 2020, Mourinho spoke to Marca – a Spanish news outlet – and revealed the only time that a defeat made him cry, which was the Champions League semi-finals in 2012 against Bayern Munich while at Real Madrid.
“That night is the only time in my career as a coach that I’ve cried after a defeat. I remember it well…” Mourinho said.
“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.”
During his tenure as the manager of Real Madrid, the Portuguese tactician had to face the mighty Bavarian squad in a crucial competition. Unfortunately, his team was unable to progress to the next stage of the tournament, as they were knocked out by the formidable opponents.
Nevertheless, the manager highlighted that his team’s defeat was largely due to the fact that three of his key players missed their penalties during the shootout, which ultimately led to their downfall.
“Unfortunately, that’s football. Cristiano, Kaka, Sergio Ramos… three complete monsters of football, there’s no doubt about that, but they’re also human.”
Later, on Portuguese TV channel Sic, he revealed that the Bayern Munich loss was the saddest moment of his managerial career.
“If I have to choose the worst moment, it’s that elimination with Real Madrid,” the 60-year-old 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.”
It was a bitter pill to swallow – as Mourinho mentioned, the Santiago Bernabeu-based outfit reigned supreme in Spain that season, breaking the points and goals record.