Jose Mourinho received a jarring reception as he revisited another of his previous clubs, following a warm welcome at Stamford Bridge just days before.
The freshly appointed Benfica manager, who enjoyed two successful tenures at Chelsea in the past two decades, continues to be adored in west London, even after his shifts to Premier League contenders Manchester United and Tottenham.
Mourinho returned to familiar grounds with his new team during a Champions League encounter, where his name was chanted before and throughout the match, and he responded to the welcoming gestures.
However, the atmosphere was starkly different at his former club Porto, where his past triumph of securing their only Champions League victory didn’t earn him any favors.
This season’s first O Clasico hosted at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao was charged with a potentially hostile ambiance long before the kickoff.
Porto fans had no interest in welcoming back their former manager Jose Mourinho with open arms on Sunday
The 62-year-old had previously managed the club, helping them win the Champions League
The home crowd brandished images of Mourinho with a red line slashed across his face, accompanied by his name in which the affectionate ‘-inho’ was noticeably written in lowercase.
Porto also created a tifo mocking his infamous nickname, with two huge banners reading: ‘There is only one Special One – Futebol Clube Porto’.
As tensions bubbled over, the manager was pelted with objects flung from above him.
But the former Real Madrid and Inter Milan buff was unruffled, even stooping to pick them up off the pitch after full-time.
In the stands, stadium stewards and police were forced to intervene as both sets of fans clashed.
The first-half had already seen seating chaos with hundreds of travelling fans unable to access the away stands due to what Benfica called ‘unacceptable poor service’ from the hosts in a statement calling for intervention from the league.
But on the pitch, the battle was somewhat less intense, with both sides departing with one point when the match ended goalless.
Porto defender Jan Bednarek placed the blame squarely at their opponents’ feet by accusing Mourinho’s side of not playing for a win after the final whistle.
But this weekend fans were more interested in putting Mourinho in his place as they made their feelings about his ‘Special One’ moniker known
Fans clashed in the stands with police forced to intervene as tensions ran high in Porto
But the head coach looked unruffled in the dugout as he oversaw his side taking a point back to Lisbon
‘They came here just to survive, just wanting to defend and slow the game down as much as possible for most of the match,’ the former Southampton star said.
‘We did well, played a mature game, had our chances, and that was it.
‘We had an unlucky day, we deserved more, but that’s part of football, we have to move forward, think positively, and build on this.
‘Benfica came here looking for a draw, you could see that from the start, slowing the game down,’ he added.
‘That’s how they wanted to play; we have to respect that.
‘There were positive things. We have to do better in these moments to create chances and score goals.’
The reception bared some difference to one given to him in early September, when Mourinho was applauded as a guest of the club ahead of their match against Nacional.
A draw on the road means that Mourinho has gone unbeaten in the Primeira Liga since his arrival at the club, with their sole defeat coming in the Champions League against the Blues in their 1-0 loss last week.
