AS Monaco vs FC Porto - Teams comparison

FC Porto - AS Monaco, 26.05.2004

The 2004 Champions League final, played in Gelsenkirchen, produced one of the most surprising results in the history of European club competitions. FC Porto, led by José Mourinho, defeated AS Monaco 3–0 to win the club’s second European title.

The match belonged to the Portuguese side from the beginning, and they took the lead in the 39th minute through Carlos Alberto. Porto started the second half with great confidence, and in the 71st minute Deco, later named Man of the Match, doubled the advantage to 2–0. The final goal was scored by Dmitry Alenichev in the 75th minute, sealing the dominance of the “Dragons”.

The referee was Denmark’s Kim Milton Nielsen, while the match was watched by 53,053 spectators. For Porto, it was their first triumph in Europe’s premier club competition since 1987, although the team had won the UEFA Cup the previous year.

Both teams began their campaigns in the group stage and eliminated several highly decorated opponents along the way. Porto defeated, among others, Manchester United, while Monaco overcame nine-time European champions Real Madrid. Both sides had been regarded as outsiders before the tournament, and their success was attributed to their young and ambitious coaches: Didier Deschamps at Monaco and José Mourinho at Porto.

Porto’s triumph in 2004 was the last occasion on which the Champions League was won by a club from outside the “big five” leagues. Mourinho’s success was immediately recognised – a week after the final, the coach moved to Chelsea, beginning a new era in English football.