Old sparring partners ... is Jose auditioning for Fergie's post? Source: Andrew Yates / AFP
The ref saw something most of us didn't.
From that moment on, Jose Mourinho didn’t miss a beat, and no, it has nothing to do with the football.
At Old Trafford on Wednesday morning (EDT), the Special One formally submitted his CV to be next manager of Manchester United.
The home side was apoplectic, he was apologetic.
Amongst the outrage, the vitriol and sarcastic clapping, he was humble, almost embarrassed.
Twice he whispered to his rival Sir Alex Ferguson before full-time. It means sweet nothings in the grand scheme for the enraged Scot, but still, humility in the extreme from a man known to coerce confrontation.
Yes, he has great respect for Ferguson, but to walk off the pitch, stop for a microphone in the tunnel only to say “the best team lost” then keep walking?!
Comparing this to his 2004 slide celebration in this competition with Porto is like comparing the heat in Death Valley to Mawson Base.
Why. Why, why, why.
Call it maturity - which doesn’t just have to happen once a male exits his teenage years - combined with a cunning plan.
Should Nani have been sent-off v Real Madrid?
Word is that the higher powers at Old Trafford (grandmaster Ferguson aside) aren’t particularly taken with Jose’s rap sheet, highlighted by several run-ins with his mortal enemy, Barcelona.
Why hire a man who seems to enjoy creating a ruckus? He who can be so unpleasant, mischievous …
Said United director/legend Sir Bobby Charlton in December: "He pontificates too much".
For those who see Ferguson’s flaws, yes, this is a bit rich. The ultimate irony, perhaps.
Real Madrid’s hierarchy are said to hold similar views, and mixed with Mourinho’s detest at certain sections of the Spanish press, his time there is running out. Trophies or no trophies.
He doesn’t have the press problem in England, with most in love with the fact nothing is boring with Jose around.
Mourinho has made it clear, he will return to the Premier League one day.
His options are limited, of course, to the big clubs.
Liverpool: never say never, but his friend Brendan Rodgers would have to see his project go horribly awry quickly.
Arsenal: only if the rumour of an Arab Consortium taking over happens. Jose working at a selling club?
Chelsea: possible, but once you get the sack, surely, you never go back.
Man City: possible, but given the love he showed this morning for the figurehead for what Blues in Manchester cannot stand… how?
Jose Mourinho would love to manage Manchester United. It has history, it has money, it has grandeur.
He also knew before this second leg, telling MUTV he has little chance of taking over once Ferguson eventually abdicates.
Things change and actions, not words, are more effective for change.
This morning his actions spoke loudly.
With a bit of help from the ref, he played it perfectly.
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