When Jose Mourinho's 150-game home unbeaten run ended as manager of a Real Madrid XI featuring Ozil

More than one hundred coaches had failed.

107 coaches, to be precise, including Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Rafa Benitez and Max Allegri.

Jose Mourinho, across nine years, one month and ten days, and a remarkable 150 matches, remained undefeated at home in league football.

Chelsea never lost a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge under him, while Inter were undefeated in Serie A at the San Siro with Jose in charge; Porto, on the other hand, did lose at home when the 'Special One' was their manager, but that 3-2 defeat by Beira Mar on February 23, 2002 began a remarkable run of results which set one of the longest running records in football.

150 home league games undefeated; just let that sink in. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY!

Come April 2, 2011 - exactly nine years ago today - it was time for Mourinho to extend his record to 151 matches.

Sporting Gijon, LaLiga minnows who had spent most the past decade in the Segunda Division, were meant to be Mourinho's latest victims; they were only three points clear of the relegation zone and heading to the Bernabeu to take on a title-challenging Real Madrid side who were just five points behind leaders Barcelona.

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Sure, Mourinho's squad was a weakened one; Cristiano Ronaldo, on his way to a 53-goal season, was missing due to injury, as were striker Karim Benzema and Marcelo, the full-back.

But his starting XI that Saturday evening was not to be scoffed at; Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Sami Khedira, Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil all started, as did Ricardo Carvalho, the central defender so key to Mourinho's unbeaten run being preserved at both Porto and Chelsea.

Sporting, on the other hand, boasted Nacho Novo; their star signing who was brought in from Rangers the prior summer.

It was all meant to be so easy.

Fate, though, is an unpredictable thing; Sporting won at the Bernabeu to end Mourinho's writing of history and leave the record books stating his unbeaten run ended at 150 matches.

And who was the coach who did what Fergie, Wenger, Benitez et al. could not?

The answer to that question is Manolo Preciado, who tragically died a little over a year after this most stunning of victories. He was only 54, and suffered a fatal heart attack just hours after being appointed Villarreal manager.

Miguel de las Cuevas scored the all important goal at the Bernabeu, 11 minutes from time, but he was not the only hero. Goalkeeper Juan Pablo was in inspired form, keeping a clean sheet despite Real managing 13 shots on target to Sporting's one; 'an orange octopus with a thousand hands' as the Spanish press opined. The home side also had a goal disallowed and a penalty shout denied, but this was no smash and grab by Sporting; no, they deserved the win, which was part of a run of only two defeats in their final 12 games of the season to not just fight off relegation, but finish 10th, their highest placing in 19 years and their best league finish in the nine years since.

Mourinho's unbeaten home record was ended, and, like London buses, two came along at once; just three weeks after Sporting rocked up at the Bernabeu and won, Real Zaragoza did the same, Angel Latifa grabbing a brace either side of Gabi's penalty in a 3-2 victory.

One further home defeat as Real Madrid boss came in 2011, with Barcelona winning 3-1 at the Bernabeu on December 10, before Mourinho returned to Chelsea in 2013 and suffered his first league loss at Stamford Bridge the following year, with lowly Sunderland securing a 2-1 victory.

The Blues went undefeated at home in their title-winning 2014/15 campaign, but it all unravelled one season later; Crystal Palace, Southampton, Liverpool AND Bournemouth all won in west London, with Mourinho sacked just over a week after losing to the Cherries.

He had lost the magic touch, and, given what has happened since, it's hard to believe he's ever got it back.

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