Mourinho eyes exclusive club

By Peter Sterling

José Mourinho will join an exclusive club currently boasting just two members if Chelsea FC win the UEFA Champions League next month. Mourinho clinched the Premiership title with Chelsea on Saturday in his first season in English football, but the Portuguese manager is already looking to go one better.

Different sides
Mourinho, who lifted the trophy with FC Porto last season, will become only the third man in the 50-year history of European competition to claim the European Champion Clubs' Cup with two different sides should Chelsea triumph, a feat only previously achieved by Austrian Ernst Happel and German Ottmar Hitzfeld.

First man
Happel was the first to do so, steering Feyenoord to victory against Celtic FC in 1970 before seeing Hamburger SV defeat Juventus FC in 1983. In between, he also took Club Brugge KV to the 1978 final which they lost 1-0 to reigning champions Liverpool FC.

Penalty success
Hitzfeld's successes came in 1997, when his BV Borussia Dortmund team stunned favourites Juventus FC 3-1, and 2001 as FC Bayern München overcame Valencia CF on penalties. Like Happel, Hitzfeld's second triumph was made all the sweeter for having experienced the pain of losing a final, watching in disbelief as Manchester United FC scored twice in the dying minutes to beat Bayern 2-1 in Barcelona in 1999.

Mixed feelings
However, Hitzfeld appears to have mixed feelings about Mourinho emulating his and Happel's achievement. Before his former club Bayern played Chelsea in the quarter-finals he gave his opinion of the Portuguese coach. "He is among the best managers in the world. Winning the Champions League with Porto was sensational and now he has guided Chelsea to the brink of the English title in his first season. But José Mourinho is an arrogant coach. I have met him and we are not going to be friends."

Tough streak
Hitzfeld could never be accused of arrogance but he is a demanding coach whose tough streak brought league and European glory to Dortmund and Bayern. Once asked to describe himself, he said: "I'm the boss, and an authoritarian one. If you want to have a winning attitude you have to win every match – even in training."

Strict attitude
Happel, who died in 1992 aged 66, also had a strict uncompromising attitude, enjoying success as both player and coach. But after securing the 1970 European Cup with Feyenoord, he suffered four major disappointments. In 1976 Club Brugge lost to Liverpool in the UEFA Cup final before falling to Liverpool again in the European Cup showpiece two years later. A few weeks after he guided the Netherlands to the FIFA World Cup final in Argentina but had to be content with another silver medal as the hosts recorded an extra-time victory.

Magath goal
In 1982 he was on the losing side again when Hamburg went down to Sven-Göran Eriksson's IFK Göteborg in the UEFA Cup final. But after 13 years Happel's luck finally changed, Felix Magath's early goal giving Hamburg a 1-0 win in the 1983 European Cup final against Juventus.

Stadium tribute
Mourinho ended coach Magath's interest in this year's competition as Chelsea ousted Bayern in the last round, giving Mourinho the chance to emulate the success of Magath's former boss. If he does, it is doubtful he will celebrate in the same way Happel used to relax after matches. Win or lose, he would spend time at his local bar playing cards with old friends. Still hugely revered in Austria, the Prater Stadium was renamed after him following his death. Hitzfeld and Mourinho may have to wait a little longer to join that particular club.