In the annals of football history, certain managerial tenures stand out as being genuinely transformative. 

One such moment in time was Jose Mourinho’s reign at FC Porto. Tasked with leading a major Portuguese club - one that had not succeeded in Europe in almost fifteen years prior to his arrival - Mourinho orchestrated a remarkable journey that culminated in unprecedented success domestically and in Europe. 

His tactical astuteness, man-management skills, and unwavering confidence propelled Porto to glory, etching his name in football history in Portugal and across the global game. 

Portuguese journalist Pedro Pinto, who football fans the world over will recognise as the host of the European club competition draws and other UEFA events, recently began a brilliant podcast called 1PARA1, in which he interviews Portuguese footballers.

Former Sporting, Manchester United (among many others clubs) and Portugal winger Nani was the interviewee in show No.2, with the always bubbly and good-humoured footballer proving a superbly entertaining and insightful guest.

PortuGOAL provides a translation of some of the highlights of the show. 

A quick-footed and promising Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Sporting CP to Manchester United in the early stages of his career and made his official debut for Portugal in 2003.

Little did we know that 10 years later he would surpass the likes of Luís Figo, Eusébio and Pauleta to become the national team’s top goalscorer. His current count is 117 goals, making him the all-time top scorer at international level.

Choosing his best goals for Portugal is a difficult task for such a prolific scorer, but that’s what we have set out to achieve. This list is more focused on the aesthetic worth of the goal that makes it so iconic, rather than the significance. 

Over the years, there has been a close relationship between France and Portugal, the former country hosting a huge community of emigrants from the latter, which has resulted in lots of players having to make the decision of whether to play for Portugal or France.

While certain players, such as Adrien Silva or Anthony Lopes, have decided to represent the country of origin of their parents by playing for the Portuguese team rather than their country of birth, others have bowed to the allure of the French squad.