Captain Jorge Costa and centre-forward Derlei tell us about one of the most memorable European Cup campaigns of all time
Tonight, Porto are in England for the second leg of a round-of-16 tie with a slender one-goal advantage. The last time they were in this situation, back in 2004, Jose Mourinho’s side completed a famous aggregate victory over — and went on to win the European Cup. That Porto side remains the last from outside the major European leagues to win the trophy. Two decades on, this is how they did it — featuring insight from two of the club’s heroes, captain Jorge Costa, and centre-forward Derlei.
In the end, Mourinho’s team won 1-0. Once again, they dominated possession. Porto fans during the second leg against Deportivo “We had to control the game by holding onto the ball, never letting the opponent take the initiative, and never, never staking everything on counter-attacking,” Mourinho later said. “Usually, teams visiting the Riazor try to cope with the initial pressure for 20 minutes. If they hold on without conceding, then they open up. We didn’t do that.