Mourinho targets unprecedented Champions League triumph with Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho has the chance to make Champions League history with Real Madrid by becoming the first manager to win Europe’s premier club competition with three different teams.

The Portuguese has already lifted the trophy with Porto and Inter Milan, and will begin this season’s campaign against Inter at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

Spanish newspaper AS highlighted Mourinho’s opportunity to complete an achievement that has never been accomplished in the competition’s history. Victory with Real Madrid would give him a third European Cup success with a different club, following his triumphs with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010.

Mourinho is among a select group of managers to have guided two different clubs to European glory. The list also includes Carlo Ancelotti, who won the competition with Real Madrid and Milan; Pep Guardiola, who lifted it with Manchester City and Barcelona; Ernst Happel, who achieved the feat with Feyenoord and Hamburger SV; Ottmar Hitzfeld, who won with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich; and Jupp Heynckes, who triumphed with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

His two previous Champions League victories also played a significant part in attracting the attention of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who decided to appoint Mourinho as the club’s manager.

AS believes Mourinho deserves another opportunity to reach the Champions League final with Real Madrid after coming close during three successive seasons. However, his team fell short in each of those campaigns, losing to Barcelona in 2011, Bayern Munich in 2012 and Borussia Dortmund in 2013.

Mourinho has built an impressive record in the competition over the course of his managerial career. He has taken charge of 153 Champions League matches and secured 80 victories, placing him fifth in the all-time ranking for appearances by a manager in the tournament.

Only Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti have managed more Champions League matches than Mourinho. His win rate stands at 52%, a figure bettered among that group only by Ancelotti, on 56%, and Guardiola, on 62%.

The fixture against Inter offers Mourinho the first step towards a potential return to the summit with Real Madrid. His previous spell at the Spanish club ended without a Champions League final appearance, despite three consecutive near-misses between 2011 and 2013.

Now, 17 years after his first European triumph with Porto, Mourinho has the opportunity to complete the circle at Real Madrid. Success would transform his earlier disappointments with the club into one of the defining achievements in Champions League history, making him the first manager to win the competition with three different teams.

The match against Inter will open Real Madrid’s campaign at Santiago Bernabeu, where Mourinho’s pursuit of an unprecedented third club triumph begins.