Mourinho wasn't an unfamiliar name to Houllier—and the feeling was mutual. In fact, they already knew each other long before Mourinho began his coaching career.
At the time, Mourinho was working mainly as an assistant coach and translator at Porto under Bobby Robson, who had just been sacked by Lisbon club Sporting CP. They had crossed paths at coaching conferences, when Mourinho was starting to build his network in European football. It wasn't a high-profile meeting, but they even watched the 1994 World Cup together.
This is why Houllier became more and more frustrated. The moment Larsson scored, Mourinho immediately jumped around, celebrating with his staff. He had already anticipated this goal.
