Jose Mourinho has confessed he was reduced to tears following Real Madrid’s emotional Champions League semi-final defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich. The current Tottenham manager had built a star-studded side which briefly interrupted Barcelona’s dominance of La Liga under Pep Guardiola, ending the 2011/12 season as champions amassing 100 points and scoring an astonishing 121 goals in the process. Mourinho’s team were considered favourites to double up and become kings of Europe too, particularly after Barcelona succumbed to a shock defeat against Chelsea who were managed by caretaker boss Roberto Di Matteo. Real, meanwhile, needed to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit at the Bernabeu to reach the final in Munich and looked well on their way when they raced into a two-goal lead thanks to a quickfire Cristiano Ronaldo double. Arjen Robben, however, levelled the tie from the penalty spot before half-time and with no further addition to the scoreline, the match was settled in a shootout during which Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos all failed to beat Manuel Neuer from 12 yards.
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Recalling the pain of that particular defeat, Mourinho told Marca: ‘Cristiano, Kaka, Sergio Ramos… three complete monsters of football, there’s no doubt about that, but they’re also human. ‘That night is the only time in my career as a coach that I’ve cried after a defeat. ‘I remember it well. 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.’ Despite the anguish of that defeat, Mourinho still fondly remembers the success he masterminded during that record breaking season in the Spanish capital. He added: ‘It’s very difficult for me to say if that was the high point or not. But since then, I’m sure that it was a very important moment because it came in a special period of dominance for Barcelona. ‘Ending that Barcelona dominance and doing it by achieving a record points tally and a record goals tally like that makes it even more interesting and important because we did it in the best way possible. It wasn’t only that we won LaLiga, it’s that we did it in a way that made history.’
