The former Hoops boss still can’t get over what happened on THAT night in Seville back in the 2002/03 season
11:11, 01 Oct 2025Updated 19:33, 01 Oct 2025
Martin O’Neill couldn’t resit a pop at Jose Mourinho
They say that time is a healer.
Try telling that to Martin O’Neill over that UEFA Cup Final in Seville back in the 2002/03 campaign.
22 years may have passed since that showdown, but he still holds a grudge towards Jose Mourinho and his Porto team and their antics as he made a jibe live on air.
The former Celtic boss was part of the Premier Sports TV pundit team as ‘The Special One’ returned to former club Chelsea in the Champions League with new side Benfica.
O’Neill revealed his respect for the Portuguese gaffer in terms of his winner status and just how good a manager he is.
However, he couldn’t resit the chance to joke about his Porto team ‘cheating the whole way’ to UEFA Cup glory back in 2002/03.
It was a memorable run to that showpiece that ended in heartbreak for the Hoops with Henrik Larsson’s two stunners not enough for the Parkhead side as they lost out 3-2 after extra-time.
“I think he’s a great manager, a really great manager. He’s very, very clever. He’s just wanting to remind people of how good he was.
“He’s trying to play down as if I’ve settled a little bit. Jose will never settle. Great, great manager, what he did.
“But it doesn’t mean that they didn’t cheat their whole way to the UEFA Cup Final and lie down in heaps and go to Porto every single day”, O’Neill joked on Premier Sports.
Benfica’s Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho runs on to the pitch to retrieve loose ball during the UEFA Champions League, league phase football match between Chelsea and Benfica at Stamford Bridge in London on September 30, 2025. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP) (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
It was then suggested in the studio that O’Neill seemed to hold a grudge he added: “Listen, every night.”
However, he was quick to praise Mourinho’s achievements at Chelsea, saying: “If the world ended tomorrow, he’s one of the greats. Really great manager.
“What he did at Chelsea. This idea that he locked up shop – he knew how to win, and he won.
“I’ve got the utmost admiration for him as a winner. He took Chelsea up there.
“I know he had very great players. Frank Lampard, Drogba, John Terry. It really doesn’t matter.
“You still have to manage these players and get them to win, and win consistently. And that is what he did.”