Video: Mourinho's "veteran" gamble: the story of two celebrations 20 years apart at the Camp Nou
When José Mourinho risks the cartilage in his knee to drop onto it in the heart of the Camp Nou, you know something momentous has happened. He did it twenty years ago to celebrate Drogba's goal, and he came back to repeat it in the last Clásico. Two moments, two decades apart, both carrying the same message of defiance.
One of the Portuguese coach's most famous gestures is back in the spotlight, in a moment that dragged everyone back to the Champions League. Mourinho dropped to his knees at the Camp Nou in celebration, exactly as he did in 2006. His relationship with this stadium remains as fiery as ever.
The night the legend was born
Rewind to 31 October 2006. Barcelona faced Chelsea in a heavyweight Champions League group-stage clash, the footballing war between Mourinho and Barça at its peak.
That crazy night ended 2-2 after a dramatic finish. Deco, Barcelona's current sporting director and one of Mourinho's most loyal men at the European champions Porto, opened the scoring for Barça.
Frank Lampard equalised. Eidur Gudjohnsen put Barcelona ahead again, and just when everyone thought the win was Catalan, the Ivorian Tiger Didier Drogba appeared in stoppage time to snatch the draw.
Chelsea back then were a terrifying footballing machine, creating more chances than a Barcelona armed with Messi and Ronaldinho. The European champions played under Frank Rijkaard, who sat in the presidential box at the Camp Nou the day before yesterday, a stadium not yet rebranded as the Spotify arena.
In a strange irony that repeats itself today with Courtois, Chelsea were without their legendary goalkeeper Petr Čech due to a skull fracture that nearly ended his career. The Portuguese Hilário took his place in a team studded with stars: Drogba, Robben, Lampard, Ballack and more.
The unforgettable knee
After Drogba's goal, Mourinho erupted. He had criticised the officiating before the match, then celebrated the equaliser with his famous slide onto his knees at the Camp Nou, a gesture that became an icon in Champions League history.
Nearly 20 years to the day later, on 25 October this year, the Portuguese coach knelt once again at the same stadium, in a moment from the last Clásico.
This time he added a new touch, sticking out his tongue in the manner of rock legend Mick Jagger, as if everything at the Camp Nou was sweet music to his ears, as if he were the stadium's Spotify playing his favourite tune: stirring controversy and setting the stands alight.
