Last season saw Jose Mourinho become the only manager in football history to have won all three of the current major UEFA club competitions following his Europa Conference League triumph with Roma.
The Portuguese manager has won the Champions League twice with Porto and Inter Milan while his sole Europa League victory came with Manchester United.
Having been perhaps the most sought-after manager who could guarantee titles for any club during the 2000s and the 2010s, Mourinho reached the pinnacle of football by winning titles in four different countries.
But the past decade has witnessed the star coach lose his Midas touch after he underachieved as per his own set standards while at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Although he won three titles with United, the inability to match Man City’s success in the league ended his relationship with the Red Devils sooner than expected.
As for Tottenham, not even the 3-time Premier League winner could win the north London side their first trophy since 2008, although he did guide them to a League Cup final before being sacked.
Both these managerial stints also appeared to take a toll on the Portuguese manager given that fan expectations were not being met. By the time he was manager of Spurs, Mourinho was sporting more grey hairs than before.
While football fans were perhaps slowly beginning to realise that the iconic manager was perhaps approaching the twilight years of his managerial career, it appears that the 59-year-old has given evidence that says otherwise.
After his Roma side concluded their friendly tie against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk on Monday at the Stadio Olimpico, Mourinho was interviewed by Ukrainian TV presenter Savina Dasher for his post-match reactions.
Following this, the Roma coach also posed for a photograph with Dasher and the resulting image left supporters shocked as Mourinho appeared to be much younger than his Spurs and Man United days.
The Portuguese manager was sporting a black polo shirt to go with his cream-coloured pants along with a custom silver chain around his neck and a matching silver bracelet on his left wrist.
With this fashionable look, Mourinho also appeared to be sporting a fresh tan having returned from vacation only recently ahead of the new season. Moreover, the coach also looked to have been ‘de-aged’ thanks to the sharp, wrinkle-free skin accompanied by his very trim and fit appearance in the photo.
Roma emerged 5-0 victors but the result was inconsequential on the night as the packed Olimpico with more than 65,000 supporters was able to raise funds from ticket sales to support those affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While the selfless work from Roma certainly deserves appreciation perhaps the manager’s healthy Mediterranean lifestyle should also be applauded after he rolled back the years for the camera on Monday.
