Bobby Robson, fresh from leading England to the semi-finals of the World Cup & winning two Eredivisie titles, had been snared from PSV.

But there was one problem as Cintra battled his way through the hundreds of over-zealous autograph hunters in arrivals. He did not speak a word of English.

The president turned to the club's all-time leading goal scorer, Manuel Fernandes, & his h&-picked assistant for a solution &, boy, did he have one.

Fernandes had enjoyed a number of spells with a skilled linguist with a black bouffant & a love of double breasted blazers & loose knotted ties.

That man was Jose Mourinho as Robson's son, Mark, remembers.

"We got to know Jose, Matilde & their daughter & I just remember him being a really nice friendly guy," the 54-year-old told MEN Sport of the man who later donated his Ballon d'Or to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

"I later went to watch a couple of Barcelona training sessions with my son, Alex, & Jose was keeping an eye on me. He just took me under his wing if you like.

"They would have inspired each other. It became a great friendship. Dad could see Mourinho was passionate, hard-working, loyal & determined - all the characteristics you need. That cemented the relationship between the two of them."

The pair immediately got to work & Robson quickly sealed a reunion with PSV captain Stan Valckx.

They would often enjoy 10-hour meals - lunch & dinner back-to-back - after training & Robson was such a 'special person' that Valckx was even willing to play on with a broken cheekbone in the Lisbon derby.

And it seems Robson's new right-h& man left an impression on him, too.

"I was impressed by him & how fanatical he was, how he talked, how much he was interested to learn from Sir Bobby &, also, the experienced players," the 53-year-old told MEN Sport.

"He wanted to know everything. He was always asking about tactical matters. He was a very good motivator. If Sir Bobby had a team talk for three minutes, Mourinho did the translation & spoke for seven minutes!

"Sir Bobby was the boss - Bobby made it clear - & Mourinho made it even clearer. He didn't want to get his own views across. For that he had too much respect.

"From the beginning, I found Mourinho to be very, very ambitious."

After finishing third in his first season in Portugal, Robson had Sporting sitting pretty at the top of the table by December, 1993.

Things were not so rosy behind the scenes, though, & what Sintra really craved was the ultimate legacy for his five-year presidency - Sporting's first European trophy since 1964.

Having defeated Casino Salzburg 2-0 in the first-leg of their UEFA Cup third-round tie, Sporting were on track. But then a blizzard struck.

Temperatures in Austria plummeted below freezing for the return leg & Sporting were rocked - losing the tie 3-0.

"The atmosphere on the plane back, I smelt something," Valcx remembers. "There was something going on, something I didn't like.

"Later on, we heard, more or less, that they took the decision that they were going to fire Sir Bobby. I was mad. The decision was taken & was spread all over the plane.

"Sporting, in those days, wasn't as good as Benfica or Porto but with Sir Bobby we could have won the title."

Robson quickly bounced back & was headhunted by Sporting's bitter rivals, Porto, where he went on to win two league titles & enjoy a sweet Portuguese Cup win over his former employers.

And Mourinho followed him.

"He was that type of character, a tough, North-East character," his son, Mark, mused.

"He did work down the mines. He took it on, to prove them wrong. 'I'll show you & prove you were wrong' & he took pleasure in that."