Porto's Champions League final victory over Monaco provided a perfect send-off for Jose Mourinho, as the team he created clinched a 3-0 win with a trademark mix of tactical discipline and Brazilian brilliance.
The result may have been flattering to the Portuguese champions, who were put under pressure as they defended a one-goal lead early in the second half, but resilience in defence and precision finishing brought them a second European Cup win 17 years after their first.
Carlos Alberto, the 19-year-old Brazilian winger given a starting place ahead of the more experienced Benni McCarthy, repaid the faith shown in him by Mourinho with a wonderful finish to put Porto ahead in the 39th minute.
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Deco Souza, another Brazilian-born player of rare quality now representing Portugal, scored an equally stylish second goal after exchanging passes with Russian substitute Dmitri Alenichev to make it 2-0 after 71 minutes.
Derlei Silva, the third member of Porto's Brazilian connection, was the provider for the third, as he sent Alenichev clear to blast past exposed keeper Flavio Roma, who once again could not get near the shot.
It was a second major European honour for Porto in two seasons, following their UEFA Cup success last season, and made them the first side since Liverpool in 1976 and 1977 to complete that particular double in successive years.
UNLIKELY FINALISTS
Monaco and Porto, from two of the less fashionable European leagues, were both unlikely finalists.
The French side had to beat Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and Chelsea in the semis, while Porto saw off Manchester United in the first knock-out round before beating Olympique Lyon and Deportivo Coruna.
Monaco's hopes of victory in what was their first appearance in the European Cup final rested on Didier Deschamps finding the formula to stop Deco, Derlei and Carlos Alberto, while getting Ludovic Giuly and Fernando Morientes in behind the Porto defence.
The tactic almost paid off as early as the third minute, when Jerome Rothen found Giuly with a precise ball through the middle.
Giuly, playing far further forward than Morientes in a surprise tactical formation, looked to have time to place a shot but Vitor Baia raced from his area to make a clean challenge.
Monaco's plans were hit when Giuly was forced to leave the field after 23 minutes because of injury. His replacement, Dado Prso, never hinted at causing the same sort of danger.
Monaco were holding their own in what was a generally poor first half until Carlos Alberto's classy finish put the Portuguese side ahead just before halftime.
Morientes, three times a Champions League winner with Real Madrid before joining Monaco on loan this season, was having an anonymous game and Rothen looked like the French side's only hope of an equaliser.
That must have been apparent to Mourinho, as he sent Maniche Ribeiro to keep a closer eye on Rothen at the start of the second half.
A spell of the jitters from the Porto defence around the hour mark gave Monaco hope that an equaliser might be on the cards but while they managed to get the ball into the box consistently, Vitor Baia was always in command of his area.
With just under 20 minutes to go, the inevitable happened. Deco, finding space in the centre for the first time, raced forward and freed substitute Alenichev on the left before taking a return pass and beating Roma with an unhurried strike.
Monaco pressed forward gallantly but were hit again in much the same way four minutes later when Derlei set up Alenichev for the third.
Monaco and Porto owed their surprise European success this season to astute man-management and tactics from their coaches, as well as immense hard work and team spirit.
The final demonstrated that while those qualities will take you a long way, it pays to have a touch of Brazilian class to win the biggest games.
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