Jose Mourinho celebrated on Wednesday night as his Roma side defeated Feyenoord 1-0 in Tirana to win the first ever Europa Conference League.
The triumph was the first major European trophy ever lifted by the Italian side, and ended a season that at times threatened to go off the rails, with the capital side ultimately finishing a disappointing sixth place in Serie A.
However, the victory in Albania renewed the sense of optimism at the Stadio Olimpico, with Mourinho insisting after the match that he would refuse any offers from elsewhere that might see him leave the club.
The Conference League was the first trophy he has won with his current club, ending a five-year drought of honours for the Portuguese, and marking a fifth European trophy for his CV. Here is everything you need to know about his previous victories.
UEFA Cup 2003, Celtic 2-3 Porto
The first European trophy of Mourinho’s career and in many ways one which summed up his approach to the game.
Porto produced a provocatively cynical performance in the final, playing for time when they needed too, exaggerating contact to buy fouls, and operating with Mourinho’s philosophy of moulding a collection of players into far more than the sum of their parts, not only using the technical brilliance of players like Deco, but also using the brutal cynicism and defensive nous of others.
Henrik Larsson scored twice for the Scottish side but goals from Derlei and Dmitri Alenichev left the two teams evenly matched before extra time, with Brazilian striker Derlei popping up with five minutes of time left for a winning extra time strike.
Champions League 2004, Monaco 0-3 Porto
After breaking Manchester United’s hearts - for the first, but not the last time - Porto moved into the final of the Champions League where they swatted aside a hugely impressive Monaco who had similarly pulled off remarkable upsets on their way to the last game of the season.
Mourinho had added Pepe to his squad after winning the UEFA Cup and had an even more effective and ruthless Porto side, who were playing to his counter-attacking strengths, willing to give up the ball in order to make fewer mistakes, and who would rest on the ball to strike at their opponents. Alenichev was on the scoresheet again, scoring last after youngster Carlos Alberto and playmaker Deco had grabbed a goal of their own. The win announced Mourinho to a wider stage and earned him the Chelsea job in Roman Abramovich’s second year as owner.
Champions League 2010, Bayern Munich 0-2 Inter Milan
After departing Chelsea in acrimonious circumstances for the first time, Mourinho then moved to Italy for his own Serie A debut. His 2010 Champions League triumph is perhaps no less impressive than his first time lifting the trophy, as he beat perhaps the greatest team ever, Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.
That rivalry would flourish when he then switched to Real Madrid later, bringing out some of the most brutal and horrible football of the modern era, but while Mourinho is clearly able to dabble in the dark arts, the same could be said for Guardiola’s Barca.
The second leg was marked by a backs-to-the-wall effort from Inter who were reduced to 10 men by some blatant but effective playacting from Sergio Busquets, but that was not enough for Lionel Messi and co to score an equaliser as they trailed from the first leg.
In the final, Diego Milito scored twice for the Italians, again playing to their strengths on the counter as instructed by their manager. The Germans, managed by Louis van Gaal - who Mourinho would later replace at United - were well beaten.
Europa League 2017, Ajax 0 Manchester United 2
2017 proved the high point for Mourinho in Manchester. In 2018 he would achieve second place in the league behind Manchester City, something he would proclaim as a serious managerial success, but would be rewarded with Fred, Lee Grant and Diogo Dalot, which perhaps unsurprisingly precipitated his exit.
The previous year had offered plenty to be optimistic about. In an enjoyable comeback they won the League Cup over Southampton, and then found themselves in the final of the Europa League against a young Ajax side, managed by the current United boss, Erik ten Hag.
A win would give them Champions League football the following season, and Mourinho played not just to his usual strengths of direct football, but to his opponent’s weakness too. With a number of teenagers in the Ajax line up he deliberately employed long balls and a tough, physical approach to targeting their youngsters. It worked, with Paul Pogba and Henrik Mkhitaryan scoring either side of half-time.
Europa Conference League 2022, Roma 1 Feyenoord 0
Mourinho joined Roma after an unsuccessful stint at Tottenham, a rare job where he failed to land silverware of any kind, and after a miserable end at United before then, there were questions about his ability to manage at the top.
Finishing sixth with an inconsistent Roma, in a season that saw them dismantled by Bodo/Glimt 6-1 in the Europa League (and another 2-1 defeat would follow in the Conference), it was by far a straightforward Mourinho season. Indeed, there was speculation that he would not see out the season at some stages, only for him to pull it around in Albania.
A single goal from Nicolo Zaniolo gave the Italians a win, their first trophy since a Coppa Italia in 2008. Mourinho says he will stay, but whether he can land the first Serie A trophy in more than two decades for the club remains to be seen.