Many Celtic fans have little to no time for Jose Mourinho.
His Porto team’s antics against Celtic in the 2003 UEFA Cup final still sticks in the throats of many Hoops supporters.
Mourniho’s side fell and simulated at every opportunity and wasted enormous amounts of time celebrating their goals as Porto defeated Celtic 3-2 in extra-time in Seville.
However, it seems that one of Mourinho’s ‘best’ early memories of Rangers is also shared by Celtic fans after the Fenerbache boss admitted that he once attended a Glasgow Derby prior to the Seville final in 2003.
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Jose Mourinho’s ‘best memory’ of Rangers is a Celtic win at Ibrox
Speaking before Fenerbache faces Rangers in the second-leg of the Europa League last-16 tie tonight, the Portuguese manager tells how he was ‘hidden’ inside Ibrox for his Celtic scouting mission.
Mourinho told the BBC, “My best memory here of Ibrox, you don’t know because I was hidden, but it was Rangers vs Celtic.
“I came here for that match, that was good. I don’t know [what the score was]. But it was a couple of weeks before I played the [UEFA Cup] final against Celtic.
“It was 2003, something like May 2003. Rangers vs Celtic, nobody knew me at that time. I could come, I could walk.
“At the end of the game, I walked through the crowd. Good times for me.”
The Celtic win that Jose Mourinho says is his best memory of Rangers
The game Mourinho is referring to is, of course, Celtic’s 2-1 win in that season however, it was in April of that year, not May.
The top-of-the-table clash took place just weeks before the UEFA Cup final and goals from Alan Thompson and John Hartson sealed the win.
Celtic. of course, ended that season without a trophy but many fans still regard it as one of the most memorable in the club’s history.
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