The summer of 2008 saw the arrival of Portuguese manager José Mourinho who did not see Materazzi as the first choice in defence, relegating him to the bench. Apart from that, his season was also marred by injuries, which reduced his league tally to only 8 appearances. He scored his first UEFA Champions League goal on 4 November in a 3–3 draw at Anorthosis in the Group B matchday 4. Materazzi won his 4th championship on 17 May 2009 following Inter's 3–0 defeat of Siena. Despite playing rarely, he was still praised by president Massimo Moratti who said that Materazzi "always played well whenever he was called upon last season" while manager Mourinho stated that he wanted to have Materazzi in his team.