In the 2012-2013 season, Mourinho was still coaching Real Madrid.
In the Champions League group stage, thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's powerful shot just before the end of the match, Real Madrid, who had been struggling in the League, came from behind to beat Premier League powerhouse Manchester City 3-2 at home.
This was Real Madrid's first win in the new season's Champions League group stage, and it led Mourinho to celebrate the victory with a long-distance knee slide and clenched fists.
And this was just one example of Mourinho's flamboyant and domineering 'Special One' persona displayed on the sidelines in recent years.
His image, one could say, is deeply ingrained in people's minds!
And today...
After Sunderland scored, their Coach, the young Zhao Zhao, also performed such a passionate knee slide, and right in front of Manchester United's dugout!
This behavior cannot be described as polite; at the very least, it was a blatant provocation.
Mourinho, of course, couldn't tolerate it.
Ever since Zhao Zhao inexplicably came over and spoke some trash talk during halftime, he had been holding a grudge, always thinking of humiliating this ignorant youngster with more goals.
Just now, when Manchester United got a penalty, Mourinho was naturally delighted.
Finally, the switch for a brutal defeat could be flipped!
But what he didn't expect was that his joy was fleeting.
Not only did they miss the penalty, but Sunderland also launched a counter-attack, directly leveling the score!
And now, this Coach Zhao dared to celebrate a goal in his own way, right in front of him—it was simply audacious!
This series of events made Mourinho lose control of his emotions; he rushed forward and heavily pushed Zhao Zhao!
This incident happened so suddenly that Faria, Manchester United's assistant Coach, didn't even have time to restrain Mourinho.
"Ouch!" Zhao Zhao fell with the momentum!
Then, the referee had already arrived on the scene before the players and Coaches of both sides could react and escalate the situation further.
He pointed at Zhao Zhao: "You, suspected of provoking the opponent, yellow card warning!"
Then he pointed at Mourinho: "You, attacking the opposing Coach, immediate red card! Please leave here immediately!"
Mourinho was quite decisive; he turned and walked towards the players' tunnel.
He had been in the game for many years, with countless records of being sent off just for commanding matches, so one more time wouldn't make a difference.
He naturally knew the consequences of his push.
But as he walked, Mourinho, still simmering with anger, turned back and glared at Zhao Zhao.
However, upon turning back, he saw Zhao Zhao had already nimbly gotten up from the grass, with a slightly eerie smile on his face.
"What does this mean?" Mourinho's heart suddenly felt more uneasy. "Could it be like me in the past, also using some kind of psychological warfare?"
If he thought about it carefully, from the initial verbal provocation that made him order an aggressive attack, to Pickford saving the penalty and launching a counter-attack to score, and then to celebrating in front of him, leading to his dismissal—it seemed like a complete trap!
But Mourinho quickly shook his head again.
Impossible.
After all, the most crucial step in this so-called "trap" was for Pickford to save Ibrahimović's penalty and launch a successful counter-attack; the variables here were too great.
There's no way you, Zhao Zhao, could have anticipated that such a thing would definitely happen, right?
That's too mystical!
Such a thing cannot exist.
But no matter what, this Chinese kid is truly too arrogant!
Hmm, much more arrogant than he was when he was young...
It doesn't matter.
Manchester United is still leading by one goal.
Given Manchester United's strength, it's entirely possible to score more goals by continuing this kind of dominance on the field.
At that time, we'll see who has the last laugh!
Thinking this, Mourinho's face once again showed a smile, and then he walked into the players' tunnel without looking back.
On the other side.
After getting up, Zhao Zhao slowly walked towards the away team's dugout.
And in that short distance, he was subjected to countless attacks from Manchester United fans!
The score changing from 3-0 to 2-1 had already made Manchester United fans very unhappy, and then Zhao Zhao's audacious celebration even led to Mourinho's dismissal, so he immediately became Manchester United's public enemy!
So, from the stands came all sorts of "international friendly gestures" directed at Zhao Zhao, and all kinds of verbal abuse!
"F*****ck!"
"Get out, get out of Old Trafford!"
"You shameless little bastard!"
But Zhao Zhao remained completely unfazed, even walking slower and slower, with a smile on his face towards the stands, as if still enjoying it all.
Chinese fans in front of their TVs were stunned, chatting on PPTV's live broadcast page:
"Holy cow, his mental fortitude is too good, isn't it? If it were me, with so many people pointing and cursing at me, my legs would have gone soft long ago!"
"Does this count as provocation? It doesn't seem like it, after all, he didn't do anything, just walked back."
"Speaking of this Zhao Zhao, I started following him when he was just appointed as Sunderland's interim Coach. He didn't seem this arrogant in the first two matches, did he?"
"I thought so too. He was even normal in the first half, but in the second half, it was like he was a different person!"
"Don't even mention it, what he did today was very effective. You see Mourinho got sent off; at least Manchester United will have some tactical command issues next."
"And Defoe's goal, it really was the result of Zhao Zhao's on-the-spot command! Whether it was him instructing Pickford to save the penalty, or telling the players to push up for a counter-attack, it all felt premeditated."
"Now the score difference is only one, maybe he really has a chance to draw with Manchester United and then continue to stay on as Coach!"
"I hope so. I'm now looking forward to watching Sunderland's matches every weekend; otherwise, it's really too difficult to see a Chinese person in Europe's top five Leagues..."
"Yeah, Sunderland is already my primary team, haha. I can even sing their fan chants!"
"I'm different; I'm a fan of Zhao Zhao himself. Look at him slowly walking over, he's so handsome!"
"..."
But Manchester United fans at the stadium wouldn't find Zhao Zhao handsome.
Seeing that verbal attacks had no effect on Zhao Zhao, the stands began to throw various scarves, hats, lighters...
This was turning into a physical attack!
Anything fans could easily grab in their hands was thrown at Zhao Zhao!
Later, there were even shoes, underwear, mobile phones, bras...
Sunderland assistant Coach Breswell quickly rushed over and pulled Zhao Zhao back to the away team's dugout.
Even though old Breswell was over fifty, he was still agile, directly leading Zhao Zhao to dodge this "hail of bullets."
"Why go through all this trouble, Coach Zhao?" After returning to the safe area, Breswell still looked back nervously, fearing that angry fans might rush onto the field.
"Don't panic, everything is under my control." Zhao Zhao still showed his charming, confident smile.
So far, the direction of this match was exactly the same as his last simulation, and this was the source of his confidence!
Facts have proven that leading Sunderland against a strong team like Manchester United indeed requires taking an unconventional approach.
For Zhao Zhao, the outcome was actually already determined.
What he had to do now was to execute step by step according to the simulated process, to ensure that the final result would not deviate.
Instructing Pickford to save the penalty, then luring Mourinho to attack him, including enraging Manchester United fans—these were all important steps.
And now, this "Manchester United boss battle" had reached the next stage...