When Sporting Lisbon took on Manchester United to mark the opening of the Estadio Jose Alvalade in 2003, nobody knew that the real story of the night would be the emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was about to show his talent to Sir Alex Ferguson.

Down 2-0 from its 2015/16 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg against Wolfsburg, Real Madrid needed a miracle to turn the tie around and advance, as it chased an 11th European crown. As always, Cristiano Ronaldo would be the man to deliver.

In the UEFA Euro 2016 final against France, Portugal’s hopes seemed over when captain Cristiano Ronaldo went off injured just eight minutes in. But the talisman took on a new role as lieutenant to coach Fernando Santos, on Portuguese soccer’s greatest ever night.

In March 2003, Old Trafford and Sir Alex Ferguson welcomed Jose Mourinho's FC Porto for what would prove to be a tense and dramatic UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash. It included an iconic celebration, which would kickstart a ‘special’ career.

Jose Mourinho took Inter Milan to the UEFA Champions League final in 2009/10, facing Bayern Munich. Victory would make Inter the first Italian club to win the treble - Serie A, the Coppa Italia and Europe's top prize - in the same season.

In 2010, Jose Mourinho was appointed coach of Real Madrid with one simple brief: stop Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. In April of 2012, Madrid travelled to Barcelona with the aim of taking a huge step towards the title, when El Clasico was at its most fiery.