It seemed like it was over then and there for Jose Mourinho, but incredibly he managed to last another month.
When the Portuguese saw his Tottenham side surrender a comfortable looking 2-0 first leg lead in the last-16 of last season's Europa League to initially be dragged to half-time by Dinamo Zagreb, and then beaten, there was only one direction he was going to vent his fury in.
The players had to take cover.
“They [Dinamo] left sweat, energy, blood, tears of happiness at the end of the game," he said. "Very humble, very committed.
"On the other side was my team – I am there – that didn’t look like they were playing an important match.
“To me it’s an important match, for the respect of my own career and my own job every match is an important match for me, and I believe that for every Tottenham fan at home every match matters, and another attitude is needed.
"To say that I feel sad is not enough, because what I feel goes much further than sadness. I just left Dinamo dressing room where I went there to praise the guys, and I feel sorry that one team that is not my team won the game based on attitude.”
It was a reflective, dare we even say it humble Mourinho who seemed beaten and downtrodden by the loss, a defeat which he knew would stand as a stain on his proud European record as a manager.
But what can be the nadir for one man can always be the high point for another, and it was the name of Mislav Orsic which was on the lips of everyone associated with Dinamo after one of the very best results in the club's history.
Having come into the contest rocked by the news by coach Zoran Mamic had been sentenced to prison for fraud in between the first and second legs, Dinamo had looked to be heading out when Tottenham's two-goal first leg lead remained intact with over an hour of the contest gone.
Enter Orsic.
First he cut inside from the left and smashed past Hugo Lloris to pull a goal back, and then eight minutes from the end of normal time he levelled the scores.
The stage was now set, and when he lashed home the winner at the start of the second half of extra-time the Croatian capital erupted.
And now Mourinho's nemesis looks to be getting a crack at the Premier League.
The 29-year-old - who is a 14-time Croatia international - is on the cusp of a move to Burnley before the closure of the January transfer window, and Sean Dyche will be adding an exciting attacking outlet to his side.
He's already had even more experience of punishing Premier League sides too, with his solitary strike at a rotated West Ham last month earning another Europa League win which secured qualification for the knockout stages.
It looks like Orsic will be swapping those for Turf Moor though, and Mourinho knows what damage he can do.
