Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho both featured heavily in this weird footballing year (Image: Getty)
Modern-day football has become pretty predictable, hasn’t it?
In the Premier League, it’s the same old winners year after year, with the European game not much better.
At the start of every season, most could probably guess where the big trophies end up. The beauty of the underdog has disappeared.
But that wasn’t always the case. So, let’s rewind to 2004… the year that broke football.
Ronaldo heartbroken in Greek tragedy
Perhaps the biggest football shock of 2004 came in Portugal, when the European Championship hosts were left shellshocked by a stunning Greek tragedy.
The signs were there from the off when Greece beat Portugal in the competition’s opening match. A fresh-faced Cristiano Ronaldo found his way onto the scoresheet late on, but it proved irrelevant as Portugal slipped to a 2-1 defeat.
Their paths, rather surprisingly, would cross once again in the Euro 2004 final, where Portugal were heavy favourites to take home their first-ever major tournament triumph.
Angelos Charisteas and Greece had other ideas. A second-half header from the striker separated the two sides, sparking scenes of jubilation for Greece and tears for teenage sensation Ronaldo.
Greece stunned Europe by winning Euro 2004 (Image: Getty)
Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears during the Euro 2004 final (Image: Getty)
Mourinho madness sees Porto win the Champions League
By the time the Euros rolled around in the summer, 2004 had already established itself as the year of the shocks.
Prior to Greece’s Euros victory, it looked as if the biggest footballing surprise would come in Europe’s most prestigious club competition – the Champions League.
The Portuguese outfit, managed by the soon-to-be ‘Special One’, negotiated a tricky group containing Partizan Belgrade, Marseille and record European champions Real Madrid to progress to the knockout stage.
But it would be Porto calling themselves Kings of the Contienent come the end of the campaign, with the Dragons despatching Lyon, Deportivo de La Coruna and the mighty Manchester United en route to the final.
Spearheaded by a heavy contingent of Portuguese talent, the likes of Pedro Mendes, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco dominated Monaco in the final, beating the French outfit 3-0 and propelling Mourinho’s stock into the stratosphere.
Jose Mourinho won the Champions League with Porto in 2004 (Image: Getty)
Arsenal make history with unbeaten season
While Arsenal were by no means ‘underdogs’ heading into the 2003/04 season, their 38-game unbeaten Premier League campaign took everybody by surprise.
It was something that couldn’t be done and shouldn’t be done, but Arsene Wenger and his merry men found a way, with the Gunners becoming the first side since Preston North End in 1889 to go a full season without losing a game.
The run itself stretched across three seasons, lasted a whopping 49 games and to this day stands alone as something that hasn’t and probably won’t ever be repeated again.
Only two teams have gone an English football season unbeaten (Image: Getty)
Spanish giants slain as fiesta time hits La Liga
Back on the continent and in Spain, they were having a wild year of their own, as both Barcelona and Real Madrid went the entire season trophyless.
In the league, Valencia finished five points clear of Barcelona at the top of the table to secure their second La Liga title in three seasons.
Valencia would go on to lift the UEFA Cup a couple of weeks later to complete a wonderful double, while Real Zaragoza defeated Real Madrid in the final of the Copa del Rey.
Valencia won La Liga and UEFA Cup in 2004 (Image: Getty)
Bayern shunted as Bremen secure double
And there was a similar situation unfolding in Germany as Werder Bremen continued the year of shocks with a Bundesliga and DFB Pokal of their own.
In the end, Werder finished six points clear of record champions Bayern Munich, even beating the Bavarians in their third to last game of the campaign to secure the title.
Their route to the Pokal was a little less chaotic though, as they managed to avoid any big-name opponents before being paired against second-tier Alemannia Aachen in the final.
Aachen, who had beaten Bayern and Borussia Monchengladbach in previous rounds, were unable to produce one last fairytale result, with Bremen edging a 3-2 classic in Berlin.
What a weird and wonderful year of football.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1993591/football-2004-ronaldo-mourinho-arsenal-porto