Mourinho guided the team to third place that year after a strong 15-game run (WDL 11-2-2)and
gave the promise of "making FCP champions next year".
He quickly identified several key players whom he saw as the backbone of what he believed
would be a perfect FCP team: Baía, Ricardo Carvalho, Costinha, Deco, Dmitri Alenichev and
Postiga. He recalled captain Jorge Costa after a six-month loan to Charlton Athletic.
The signings from other clubs included Nuno Valente and Derlei from Leiria, Paulo Ferreira
from Vitória Setúbal, Pedro Emanuel from Boavista FC, and Edgaras Jankauskas and Maniche
who had been out of contract at Benfica.
During the pre-season, Mourinho put on the club website detailed reports on the
team training. The reports were filled with formal vocabulary, as, for instance, he
referred to a 20 km jog as an extended aerobic exercise. While they attracted some scorn for
the pretentiousness, others praised the innovation and the application of a more scientific
approach to the training methods practised in Portugal. One of the key aspects in
Mourinho-era FCP was the pressuring play, which started at the offensive line, dubbed "pressão
alta" ("high pressure"). The physical and combative abilities of defenders and midfielders such
as Derlei, Maniche and Deco allowed FCP to apply pressure from the offensive lines, forcing
the opponents either to concede the ball or try longer, uncertain passes.