Jose Mourinho celebrates his 1000th match with a win

There is no need to describe in detail the illustrious coaching career of Jose Mourinho. He once declared himself as The Special One and till today, he has lived up to the expectations. He has achieved greater feats in his coaching career which many of the best could envy. And, even at this age, he has not stopped achieving new feats. 

Jose Mourinho's 1000th game as a manager ended with a trademark celebratory sprint down the touchline after AS Roma's Stephan El Shaarawy scored a stoppage-time equalizer to snatch a 2-1 win over Sassuolo that sent them top of Serie A.

The Italy winger curled a shot in off the post to clinch victory in a thrilling contest on Sunday that saw both sides hit the post and the visitors denied a last-gasp equalizer by the offside flag.

The result leaves Roma top of the standings with a perfect nine points, ahead of AC Milan and Napoli on goal difference, while Sassuolo are ninth with four points from three games.

Domenico Berardi finished well for the visitors in the first half but the goal was disallowed for an offside in the build-up.

Roma then went in front after 37 minutes through a training ground free-kick routine as Bryan Cristante latched onto a clever pass to fire home.

Sassuolo equalised in the 57th when Berardi spun past his marker to tee up Filip Djuricic for a close-range finish.

A moment later striker Tammy Abraham struck the post for Roma from a tight angle.

Rui Patricio kept Roma on level terms with two big saves when one-on-one with Berardi and Jeremie Boga, while Sassuolo substitute Hamed Junior Traore thumped the foot of the post as Alessio Dionisi's side applied pressure.

But the hosts held on and were rewarded when El Shaarawy netted late on, sparking wild celebrations as the coaching staff poured onto the pitch.

Roma's win saw Mourinho take his career tally to 638 victories, having drawn 205 and lost 157 of his 1000 games as a manager.

Mourinho began his coaching career in his native Portugal when he briefly took charge of Benfica in 2000, winning six of 11 matches.

Mourinho would also coach Uniao de Leiria before he made his name at Porto, where he won the Champions League and earned the top job at Chelsea.

He would coach the Blues for three seasons before he moved on to Inter, winning the treble in 2009-10 with the Nerazzurri.

From there, Mourinho took over at Real Madrid and then returned to Chelsea in 2013. He would stay in England for his next two jobs, coaching at Manchester United and then at Tottenham.

After he was sacked by Spurs last season, Mourinho returned to Italy and took over at Roma prior to the current campaign.

Speaking to DAZN after the match, Mourinho said, “During the week I was a liar, saying it wasn’t a special match. But it was a special match.”

“It was a match with a special number for me and I always wanted to remember a match like this for my 1000th game. I lied to everyone!”

“It could have ended 6 to 6, 7 to 7, (Roma goalkeeper) Rui Patricio came up with two miracles, we missed a few goals. Extraordinary game, a tremendous emotion.”

“Today I am not 58, but 14, when you start dreaming of a career in football. It was a child’s race, I apologized to [Sassuolo head coach Alessio] Dionisi, they played a fantastic game.”

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 13/09/2021  Jose Mourinho celebrates his 1000th match with a win

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Faisal Caesar