José Mourinho will begin his second spell as Real Madrid manager on Saturday when his side face Espanyol in their opening game of the LaLiga season, live on Disney+.
The Portuguese coach returns to the Bernabéu 13 years after the end of his first spell in charge, tasked with reviving Madrid following two seasons without silverware, which in itself seems an absurd statistic.
If history is anything to go by, Mourinho has a habit of making an immediate impact. The 63-year-old has won his first competitive match at each of his last six clubs, a run stretching back to his return to Chelsea in 2013.
But it hasn't all gone Mourinho's way from the start during a remarkable 26-year managerial career -- and ESPN has taken a look at his competitive openers.
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September 23, 2000 -- Boavista 1-0 Benfica, Primeira Liga
A fresh-faced Mourinho got his first shot at management at the start of the millennium -- replacing Jupp Heynckes at Benfica -- but his first game as a senior manager ended in defeat as Duda scored the only goal of the game.
Mourinho would last less than three months at Benfica after a disagreement with the board, though he finished with a respectable six wins from 11 competitive outings.
August 11, 2001 -- Braga 0-0 União de Leiria, Primeira Liga
Mourinho wouldn't have to wait long to get his next shot, with União de Leiria, and he oversaw a solid goalless draw away at Braga to kick off the 2001-02 campaign.
The Portuguese continued to impress -- guiding his side to third in the league -- before being poached by Porto in January.
January 26, 2002 -- Porto 2-1 Marítimo, Primeira Liga
Mourinho's first match at Porto brought the first opening-game victory of his career as a Briguel own goal and a Hélder Postiga strike gave the hosts a narrow win over Marítimo.
Porto would end up third that season, but Mourinho won the Primeira Liga, Portuguese Cup and UEFA Cup the following year -- before completing an extraordinary spell by winning the Champions League in 2004.
August 15, 2004 -- Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United, Premier League
Mourinho, the now self-described "special one," was given a tough first assignment as Chelsea boss: Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.
He wouldn't have to wait for a first goal of his reign -- Eidur Gudjohnsen scored after just 14 minutes -- and Mourinho's side held on for the first win of many that season.
Chelsea lost just once in the league that year and conceded only 15 goals --- still a competition record -- as Mourinho delivered the club's first Premier League title. A new era had begun.
August 24, 2008 -- Inter Milan 2-2 Roma (6-5 pens), Supercoppa Italiana
After leaving Chelsea, there was silverware at the first attempt for Mourinho in Italy.
Sulley Muntari and an 18-year-old Mario Balotelli got the goals for Inter in the Supercopppa and while Roma twice pegged the Serie A champions back, Mourinho's side prevailed on penalties.
Inter went on to win Serie A that year, before Mourinho masterminded an historic Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League treble the following season.
August 29, 2010 -- Mallorca 0-0 Real Madrid, LaLiga
Mourinho, tasked with ending Pep Guardiola's dominance in Spain, had a frustrating first competitive outing with Madrid. The visitors, armed with Galactico talent, were held to a goalless draw at Mallorca despite creating a string of chances.
Mourinho's Madrid finished four points behind Barcelona in LaLiga that season but beat their great rivals in the Copa del Rey final. He delivered the league title the following campaign with a then-record 100 points and 121 goals.
August 18, 2013 -- Chelsea 2-0 Hull, Premier League
Much like his return to Real Madrid this summer, Mourinho arrived at Chelsea in 2013 for a second spell at a club where he had already enjoyed considerable success.
His return began comfortably, with Oscar opening the scoring against newly promoted Hull after 13 minutes before Frank Lampard struck a superb long-range free kick to make it 2-0.
Chelsea could not quite sustain a title challenge in Mourinho's first season back, eventually finishing third in the Premier League behind Manchester City and Liverpool -- but the foundations had been laid as the Blues scooped the title the following season.
August 7, 2016 -- Leicester 1-2 Manchester United, Community Shield
Mourinho's first competitive game as United manager brought immediate silverware as FA Cup holders United faced Premier League champions Leicester at Wembley.
Jesse Lingard's solo effort put the Red Devils ahead, before Jamie Vardy equalised for Claudio Ranieri's men. Summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic provided the winner, heading home with seven minutes remaining on his competitive United debut.
Mourinho went on to win the League Cup and Europa League during his first season at Old Trafford, while United finished sixth in the Premier League.
November 23, 2019 -- West Ham 2-3 Tottenham, Premier League
Mourinho had little time to prepare for his first Tottenham game after replacing Mauricio Pochettino, taking charge against London rivals West Ham just three days after his appointment.
Spurs raced into a 3-0 lead through Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane, appearing to have wrapped up a comfortable first victory for their new manager.
West Ham threatened a late comeback through Michail Antonio and Angelo Ogbonna, but Tottenham held on for a 3-2 win at the London Stadium.
August 19, 2021 -- Trabzonspor 1-2 Roma, Europa Conference League qualifying
Mourinho's Roma tenure began not in Serie A, but with a trip to Türkiye to face Trabzonspor in the first leg of a Europa Conference League playoff.
Eldor Shomurodov, who represented Uzbekistan at the last World Cup, popped up to secure a 2-1 victory in Mourinho's first competitive game.
It proved an apt beginning. Roma went on to win the inaugural Conference League that season, beating Feyenoord in the final to give Mourinho another European trophy.
July 23, 2024, Lugano 3-4 Fenerbahce -- Champions League qualifying first leg
Mourinho's competitive debut at Fenerbahce came rather early, with the Turkish side beginning their Champions League qualifying campaign against Swiss side Lugano in July.
A rollercoaster clash saw them go behind before Edin Dzeko drew from the spot, and added a second to go into the lead.
Lugano levelled at 2-2, but Dzeko completed his hat trick before Ferdi Kadioglu added a fourth, with a stoppage-time Lugano goal making it a remarkable 4-3 final score.
Fenerbahce went on to win the tie 6-4 on aggregate, but they fell to French outfit Lille in the next qualifying round 3-2 over two legs.
September 20, 2025, AVS 0-3 Benfica -- Primeira Liga
25 years after the club had given him his first senior managerial job, Mourinho took the helm at Benfica once more last year.
He had only been appointed two days earlier, replacing Bruno Lage -- after Benfica's shock Champions League defeat to Qarabag. An away trip to AVS, north of Porto, proved a simple one as they cruised to a 3-0 win.
Mourinho remained unbeaten in the league for the rest of the campaign, but remarkably finished third, finishing trophyless as they exited the Champions League to his current employer.
Information from ESPN Global Research contributed to this report.