Every UEFA Champions League Final Ranked From Worst To Best
20. Porto 3-0 Monaco (2004)
Jose Mourinho had already announced himself on the European stage earlier in the competition after Porto dumped out Manchester United in the quarter-finals, but it was this 3-0 victory over AS Monaco that secured his status as the continent’s hottest managerial property.
Things might have been different had Didier Deschamps’ Monaco, who eliminated Real Madrid and Chelsea en route to final, not lost star man and talismanic captain Ludovic Giuly to injury after just 23 minutes.
A dull first half sprang into life six minutes before the break when Carlos Alberto gave Porto the lead. In truth, it was possibly the worst thing that could have happened for the game as a spectacle, allowing Mourinho’s team to sit back in the second half and soak up pressure before twice catching Monaco on the break. Still, there were at least a few more goals to enjoy.
Though the Principality club created chances in the second half, the introduction of Dmitri Alenichev helped put the game beyond all doubt for the Portuguese with the Russian teeing up Deco for Porto’s second before adding an emphatic third to seal the win.
Mourinho took the plaudits, moving to Chelsea a few weeks later. A classic Jose win but not necessarily a classic game.