The Life of A Managerial Beast

On January 26, 1963, a special boy was gifted to Jose Manuel and Maria Julia Mourinho in Setubal, a suburb of Lisbon in Portugal. He was born, they said, without having an idea of the greatness they just gave birth to. The father was a professional footballer who represented the Portuguese national team, and his mother worked as a school teacher. The special one, Jose dos Santos Mourinho Felix grew up to admire his father's profession and wanted to follow in his footsteps. He joined Rio Ave FC before he left for Belennense youth team where his father coached at that time and later on he joined Sesimbera. Jose lacked the required football skills and expertise to become a professional, hence he focused on becoming a coach instead. While growing up, his mother enrolled him in a business school but Jose dropped out on his first day, deciding to focus on sports. He chose to attend the Instituto Superior de Educacao Fisica {ISEF} where he studied sports science. After attending coaching courses, former Scotland gaffer, Andy Roxburgh noticed Jose's drive and attention to details. After his coaching lessons, he ventured into professional management in his home-town and became youth team coach in Victoria de Setubal in 1990. In 1992, he became the translator for Bobby Robson, who was newly appointed as new manager of Sporting CP and needed an English speaking coach as an interpreter. Jose captivated Bobby with his sound knowledge of tactics during his presentation, Bobby was soon sacked , and then he moved to Portland alongside Jose. He then became Bobby's assistant coach and they dominated Portuguese football together. Soon enough, one of the biggest guns of club football came calling. Barcelona called for their services and the duo moved again. Mourinho relocated to Barcelona with his family. He soon became everyone's favorite at the club as he translated press conferences, helped players through tactical advice and analysis of opposition. After Bobby left Barcelona, Jose opted to stay instead, ending almost a decade of partnership. Jose then moved to Porto after unprecedented success in Barcelona, Benfica and Uniao de Peoria. He elevated Porto from fifth to third position in his first half season and promised “making Porto champions next year”, which he did with 11 points clear of Benfica. He amassed 86 points which was a Portuguese record until 2016. He then won the UEFA cup, Taca de Portugal, Portuguese Super cup and retained the Primera Liga in his first two full seasons, the best was his last as he won the greatest prize in club football, the UEFA Champions League. Mourinho then moved to England where he joined Chelsea. He made this statement in his first conference “Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one”. This statement remains one of the most relevant and popular ones in football. He however lived to expectations by winning the League cup and securing the club's first domestic league title in 50 years, setting a string of records on the way. He went on to win the community shield and Premier league title in his second season. He enjoyed a three-way battle with Arsene Wenger of Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United during his stay in England. He left the club shortly after the beginning of his third year after a rift with club owner, Roman Abrahimovic. Jose then moved to Italy to join Internazionale. He won the Supercoppa and the Scudetto by a 10point margin. In his second year he also retained the league with the same points margin. However he had the best season of his career in 2009/2010 season when he won the treble – Scudetto, Supercoppa and his second UEFA Champions League trophy. After trophy laden years in Italy, he moved to the Spanish giant side, Real Madrid. Success followed as Jose won La Liga and the Copa del Rey. Though it was said that the main reason he was appointed was to bring UEFA Champions League back to Madrid - who endured a 8 year drought prior to Jose's appointment, this he failed to achieve and he was sacked in 2012 after falling out with senior figures in the team, Sergio Ramos, Pepe and the likes. He spent two and a half seasons in total. Next on his agenda was homecoming, Jose returned to Chelsea after a one year sabbatical amidst strong report he was going to manage the Portuguese national team. Soon enough Jose transformed a struggling Chelsea side and won the league in the second season of his second spell – his third Premier League trophy. Again, the third season proved a barrier he couldn't get past. Jose was sacked again by owner Roman Abrahimovic amidst poor performance that left the side 10th on the table in December. The following season Jose signed a three year contract with Manchester United and he was an instant hit, he won three trophies in his first season – the Community Shield, The League cup and the Europa League trophy. In his second season he was runner up in both the Fa cup and Premier league. Again, he was sacked few months into his third season due to a poor run of results. On November 2019, Mourinho was appointed Manager of Tottenham Hotspur. His stay at the club was not all too rosy, all he could achieve in his first season was Europa league spot. He was sacked 17 months into the job, few weeks to a League cup final against Manchester City, this meant Spurs were the only club he departed without winning a single trophy since 2002. Few months after, he returned to Italy to manage AS Roma. Jose soon guided Roma to a UEFA conference League win in his inaugural season making him the only manager to have won all three major European club trophies. In the following season he guided Roma to an European league final – his sixth European final in his career, he went on to lose to Sevilla on penalties. After the final in which he gifted his winners medal to a young fan and also accused referee Anthony Taylor of incompetency , Jose criticized the Roma club hierarchy He remains the manager of Roma despite reports of interest from club from Paris Saint Germain and other Saudi Arabia clubs. He claims he remains committed to Roma. Mourinho has been noted for his tactical prowess, game management and adaptability to different situations. Teams under Mourinho's management typically demonstrate great defensive awareness as well as a quick transition ability with the ball through midfield, in particular down the flanks. A common feature of his teams is playing with three or more central midfielders, as Mourinho has stressed midfield superiority as crucial in winning games. Jose Mourinho remains a genius , well known for his tactical masterclasses, his player management, his success and also his ever fun and hilarious pressers. Over the years he has indeed proven to be The Special One.

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