Porto's confidence stemmed from the fact that they had finally reached their best form this season.
Midway through the previous season, Porto dismissed their original head coach due to a combination of poor performance, internal team atmosphere, and executive disputes, poaching José Mario dos Santos Mourinho Felix, who had led the relegation-threatened Leiria to fifth place in the league.
Fans simply referred to this coach as Mourinho.
Mourinho's coaching style was quite authoritative, which was also a reason for further deterioration of team atmosphere towards the end of last season.
But after the management had unified, he received strong support this summer.
Of course, with it came immense pressure.
If he couldn't lead the team to beat Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, and Boavista early in the season, and failed to win a substantial title later on, there was no way he could keep his position for the next season.
