JOSE MOURINHO will arrive at Wembley on Sunday teatime boasting an impressive record of 10 wins in 12 showpiece cup finals since bagging the UEFA Cup in 2002-03.
Southampton beware…the Manchester United boss will stick to his mantra – “finals are not for playing, they are for winning” – in the EFL Cup final.
The controversial Portuguese manager has so far picked up silverware at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
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Now comes the chance to add Manchester United to his list. And the odds look pretty good. So far four finals, four victories in England – all with Chelsea, and three of them League Cup triumphs over Liverpool (2004-05), Arsenal (2006-07) and Tottenham (2014-15).
In all Mourinho has won 23 trophies with eight league titles and five Community Shield/Super Cup victories to his name.
The above list, compiled by Sky Sports who are screening the EFL Cup final live on Sky Sports 1 HD, rubber stamps just how effective The Special One is when it comes the one-off final.
Mourinho has never lost a final in normal time and his only two losses came in extra time in a 2-1 defeat to Benfica in the 2003 Taça de Portugal final and a Copa del Rey defeat to Atletico Madrid in 2013.
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Actually, and maybe a pointer for Sunday, six of Mourinho's 12 cup finals have gone into extra time...
His teams don't give much away, conceding only nine goals conceded in 12 finals - with seven clean sheets
League Cup-wise the first time he got his hands on the trophy saw Mateja Kezman convert the 112th-minute winner for a 3-2 Chelsea victory over Liverpool after a Steven Gerrard own goal took the game to extra-time.
Two years later Didier Drogba grabbed both goals as The Blues came from behind to cancel out Theo Walcott's opener for Arsenal at the Milennium Stadium.
Chelsea lost skipper John Terry midway through the second half when he took a boot in the face from Abou Diaby as he tried to finish off an Arjen Robben corner.
Terry looked to be knocked unconscious and a mask was applied to his face to help with his breathing before he was carried off the field and taken to hospital.
The match ended in ugly scenes a brawl erupted between the sides late on that led to dismissals for Mikel Jon Obi, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor.
In Mourinho's second spell at Chelsea a 2-0 win over Tottenham with deflected goals from Terry and Diego Costa handed him a third League Cup trophy.
Victory on Sunday would see him equal Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough's record of four.
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