The morning of Sunday 15^th July, 8am, and seven coach loads of animated FC Porto "ultras" have gathered outside the Terra Nova offices in downtown Porto. As the only Englishman amongst them I feel slightly conspicuous but I am soon welcomed aboard and the long-awaited journey south begins.
We are on our way to the national stadium in Jamor, just outside Lisbon, to watch FC Porto follow up their success in the UEFA Cup and complete an unprecedented treble by overcoming Uniao de Leiria in the Portuguese Cup Final.
On the journey down it becomes apparent that the Porto fans will outnumber those from Leiria. The match is a sell-out but the underdogs clearly feel they have little hope of beating FC Porto and only 5000 make the journey.
The excitement of those on board our coach soon turns to frustration as we arrive at the stadium to be greeted by a huge traffic jam snaking back up the motorway. The Portuguese authorities will clearly have to be better organised next summer, as English and German football followers are not known for their patience. We finally disembark over two hours after our 'arrival' and make the short walk to the stadium.
The 'Estadio Jamor' was once the pride and joy of Portuguese football but has now clearly seen better days. The morning papers speculate that this will be the last cup final to be played here, with the ultra-modern Euro 2004 stadia nearing completion.
As kick off approaches the noise level increases and the 30,000 Porto fans have formed a huge bank of blue and white stretching three-quarters of the way around the stadium. The air is thick with anti-Lisbon sentiment and I pick up some new words whilst engaging in the bizarre ritual of bouncing up and down like a madman and shouting 'he who is not jumping is from Lisbon'.
The match itself is a relatively disappointing affair, with few chances for either side and a number of stoppages affecting the flow of the game. The first-half remains goalless and the second looks to be going the same way until the Brazilian Derlei breaks the deadlock and sends the Porto fans into ecstasy.
Porto survive a number of scares in the final moments but the whistle finally blows to signal another domestic triumph for the 'northerners', much to the chagrin of the followers of Benfica and Sporting.
The traditional lap of honour follows the trophy presentation and the fans express their gratitude to the players and manager José Mourinho for another successful season. Mourinho himself worked as Bobby Robson's interpreter for six years but has now proved himself as a talented coach.
After collecting a few Super Bocks for the road we once again board the coach and begin the long journey north. It is well past midnight when we finally arrive back in Porto and the supporters go their separate ways, tired but happy.
Altogether now….'Olé, força Porto olé…olé força Porto olé..'