Around the millennium turning point, Jose Mourinho’s life and career have become shaped by Scotland.
By his own admission, if he had not been to spend time learning his profession on the Riviera de l’Ayrshire, nothing guarantees that something that came after it would have materialized.
These are the intermediate days for the man of Setubal in Portugal. He had worked as an interpreter for Bobby Robson in Sporting Lisbon and Porto, then won a job from the assistant coach under Louis Van Gaal in Barcelona.
But without a real career to play to note on which to withdraw, Mourinho feared that the opportunities in the game he wanted would not come to him.
Having promised that he would do everything in his power to improve his chances of climbing the ladder, he signed up for a coaching class in SFA in Largs and packed his bags.
This is an decision that would play an important role in taking the Séville to Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford in Rome and now in Istanbul, winning 26 major honors along the way, including five European trophies.
It is not an exaggeration to suggest that the most known city for its Vikings battles and its rival ice cream salons was a major springboard in the career of one of the most combative people to have set foot in a technical area. These days of training clearly hold a place dear in his heart.
Jose Mourinho went to Largs at the start of his coach career to learn his job
Mourinho worked with the legendary Bobby Robson in Barcelona in the late 90s
Mourinho then continued to train Porto with great success – before going to Chelsea
“For width pubs, it was a disaster because I only drank sparkling water with lemon,” recalls Mourinho with a smile.
“But for me, it was fantastic from a learning point of view, but also through the human point of view.
“I met the biggest guys in Scottish football at the time. They were very open, they were very good for coaching.
“Sometimes I think the training badges are only” give me the badges and I walk with the badges “.
“It was not that. It was really a learning process for a few weeks at different periods. It was incredible for me.
“This coaching course, in terms of methodology, was very important. It opened different doors to me to enter and develop. So it was very good.
“And after that, so many times, even with friends and younger coaches, they ask me where I should go, where you think could be a good first step. I always say to the guys, the good is to go there.
At the start of his management trip, Mourinho had short stays in charge of Benfica and Uniao de Leiria, but it would be on his return to Porto in 2002 that his star began to increase.
During his first season, he guided the team to the Portuguese title, then an epic confrontation with the Celtic of Martin O’Neill in the final of the UEFA Cup.
In what would become a typical result under his watch in the next two decades, Porto has ahead of a game that could easily have gone in both directions.
All these years and clubs later, he still hears words of gratitude from those who have loyalty to the other half of Glasgow.
“Not in Türkiye, because in Türkiye, I have not yet met a Scottish,” he said.
“But yes, it’s true, especially in London, or in southern Portugal in summer, some fans of the rangers came to me.
“Of course, for me, it was a grand finale. It was my first European final. But I have the greatest respect for the big clubs and the big families of supporters.
“Celtic and the Rangers are two big clubs with an incredible story also in Europe and I have a lot of respect.
“Some of my training was in Scotland. I have so many Scottish friends of both colors, green and blue.
Mourinho now leads Fenerbahce – who faces the Rangers in the Europa League Thursday
Having spent most of his coach days at this point in the top five leagues in Europe, subsequent meetings with Glasgow giants were rare.
He took his Chelsea team to Ibrox for a friendly match in 2007, then locked the horns with Celtic in a friendly pre-season match in the United States as manager of Real Madrid.
In some 22 years in Seville, however, another competitive meeting was long to come.
“I know it will be difficult,” said Mourinho about tonight’s confrontation with the Rangers. “But I’m really happy to play against a Scottish team. I am very happy to go next week to Scotland and play in Ibrox.
For Barry Ferguson’s side, the goal is clearly to make sure they are still in the running in the tie when it happens.
It is not only the disturbing form of visitors who worries the 2,000 fans who made the trip here. Fenerbahce’s last defeat in any competition was to athléter Bilbao in the Europa League on December 11.
“The reason why we have 18 unbeatable games in the three competitions is that we are faced with difficult times with courage, with humility, with a good spirit,” said Mourinho.
“It’s a big sport. It belongs to everyone. It belongs to the manager, it belongs to the coach, it belongs to the assistants, it belongs to the players, it belongs to the fans.
“Therefore, when we are together, when everyone pulls the ball in the same direction, each success will come. And at the moment, we think it is.
Although this race has not yet been good enough to supplant Galatasaray at the top of the Super Lig, the supporters love the ground here on which it stands. And it is not surprising.
Yesterday, his press conference at the stadium was standing entirely an hour before lighting the room with his charisma.
In fashion, the Portuguese held the court, made daring statements, then launched a few shots through the arc to those who had missed it since it was seated for the last time under the sparkle of the lights.
Having one day suspended the carrot to manage perhaps in Scotland, he even addressed the subject of his contract at the end in 2026.
“My future, I don’t think it’s important,” he insisted.
“What is important is the future of Fenerbahce. You know how football is, but I have my contract for one more season after this one and at the moment, I only think of Fenerbahce and my duty and my loyalty to the club.
It was 26 minutes of pure sports theater. After a week and a half of commercial insults with Galatasaray and launched legal action against the Rival club after accused of racist remarks following the recent derby, Mourinho even managed to come the innocent people.
“I don’t know what statements I make,” he said. “I didn’t know much about Fenerbahce before I arrived.
“The only thing I know is that I promised fans when I arrived that I was going to fight for them.
“I always thought that the fight would only be a normal fight to give everything every day, working hard, trying to win as many games as possible in a fair competition.
“In the end, after a few months, I realized that I had to be a little more than that.