allezlinter
Champions League
He is the greatest coach ever !
Four cups with four different teams in four different championships !
Milanista
Mangiamoli!
bebo
Looking for a Manager
Missed most of the game started watching for extra time. Would you say RM have more power(physic) than Barca? Ronaldo still has his speed I see just lack control.
The_Special_One
I like Unicorns
For sure my friend! Some may argue but his impact in football history is undeniable.
Don't worry Madridistas, the Cup is safe. The Copa del Rey is already on display at Bernabéu's Museum.
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allezlinter
Champions League
Haha i did not see we had the same avatar !!
It is not anymore a mature of liking the style or not, it is a fact that he is a genius
It is not anymore a mature of liking the style or not, it is a fact that he is a genius
Aboutreika18
Too Black, Too Strong
- 5 September 2006
I'm starting to warm to him. Just a little bit... 
It's becoming harder to dismiss his achievements as a manager.
It's becoming harder to dismiss his achievements as a manager.
YoungGun_UK
20 TIMES!
Agreed I was one that would have labelled his Porto stint as "Lucky" and felt that at Chelsea he used Ranieri's team to win the title twice.
His Inter treble without doubt was the turning point for me.
His Inter treble without doubt was the turning point for me.
TikTikTikTikTik
*****
- 7 August 2004
- Liverpool
I think his quality is his ego and not having any principles. In the way Wenger continues to have Arsenal play a certain, often not effective way. I'm not sure how strong he is tactically (the Liverpool - Chelsea matchup's highlights that imo). However Mourinho has the balls to have the most talented attacking players in the world.....and then he uses them to park the bus! He feels no shame putting 9 players on the edge of the area and letting the opposition try.
You could argue that his methods are underdog tactics, and therefor his achievements aren't "very" special. I mean having the best squads (bar Spain) in all the previous countries and winning all the domestic trophies is all down to man management and not anything tactically genius. In Spain the league is out of reach, so he can use underdog tactics again and be succesfull in the cups.
Not to be pro Benitez, but he did manage to win the league with Valencia twice, I consider that a bigger achievement in Spain then having a 400mil squad park the bus in a Cup final. But I will agree that he is very good at what he does and that is a huge achievement aswell.
You could argue that his methods are underdog tactics, and therefor his achievements aren't "very" special. I mean having the best squads (bar Spain) in all the previous countries and winning all the domestic trophies is all down to man management and not anything tactically genius. In Spain the league is out of reach, so he can use underdog tactics again and be succesfull in the cups.
Not to be pro Benitez, but he did manage to win the league with Valencia twice, I consider that a bigger achievement in Spain then having a 400mil squad park the bus in a Cup final. But I will agree that he is very good at what he does and that is a huge achievement aswell.
PLF
Legend
- 2 August 2004
Yes Benitez did very well there though I'm sure you know very well that, THAT Valencia was a very strong team and one of the best in the world and full of great players and even CL runner-up. It's a very different team from what it is now that's why current coach Unai Emery is actually doing a very good job and certainly the current Barca and Madrid are also much stronger than the Barca and Madrid, Benitez and Ayala and co had to face back then.
Nonetheless, great achievements, true.
Nonetheless, great achievements, true.
Best coach ever my bullet hole!!!
Would hate to play for a team he manages as they are so negative most of the time. Chuck him in a mediocre club and build them up and then come back and say he is the best coach ever.
Porto - Not much competition in Portugal now is there but did very well to win EUFA Cup and then go on to win teh big one.
Chelsea - With the money being chucked at the team then most people would have done pretty good there.
Inter - Another big team where you'd expect them to win things.
Real Madrid - See directly above.
There's no doubt he's a great coach but best coach ever?! Don't make me laugh.
Would hate to play for a team he manages as they are so negative most of the time. Chuck him in a mediocre club and build them up and then come back and say he is the best coach ever.
Porto - Not much competition in Portugal now is there but did very well to win EUFA Cup and then go on to win teh big one.
Chelsea - With the money being chucked at the team then most people would have done pretty good there.
Inter - Another big team where you'd expect them to win things.
Real Madrid - See directly above.
There's no doubt he's a great coach but best coach ever?! Don't make me laugh.
Hey, I had a terrible week involving a broken motorbike, broken teeth, problems with official institutions trying to steal money from our company and more... And to top it all, we lost to Madrid!
First off, congrats to MAdrid fans, they were expecting this trophy for a long time.
Secondly, the first half I saw the best Real in the last 5 years, really. They deserved a solid lead then. But in the 2nd time we saw again 9 men inside the own area. You can say a lot of negative things about it, but then Barcelona had 80% of possession and failed to capitalize on it. So it's our fault mainly. We should have played a lot more aggressive and straight to goal.
We're being too rethorical lately, having even more possession than before. But possession MUST have a clear intentionality. That is, to shoot on goal, or cross, or do dangerous movements. When the opponent puts everyone in the area, we seem to get cuaght in a loop of possession and we should go to try the goal.
That said, we were infinitely superior then and Casillas was the real hero saving 2 sure goals. Then in the last 5 minutes Madrid had 2 counters and Pinto answered to Iker.
In the extra time, I think Madrid was lucky to find a goal, but then again we were horrible attacking. We have no bench, so Pep put again Keita in the middle (the most useless thing he does everytime). I think it was time to bite, and I would have put young Thiago there. We needed to shoot and cross, and we didn't do any.
Granted, Madrid players were overly aggressive, some deserved red cards sooner, and loved wasting time (for those who like statistics: there were only 9 minutes of play in the overall extra time). But that's how you're supposed to defend the lead in a final!
Overall, I'd say Madrid was win was the triumph of the will over Barcelona who has the skill. I wished Madrid tried to play a little more on the skill side, but at the same time I wished Barcelona played a bit more on the strong will side. See what I mean?
First off, congrats to MAdrid fans, they were expecting this trophy for a long time.
Secondly, the first half I saw the best Real in the last 5 years, really. They deserved a solid lead then. But in the 2nd time we saw again 9 men inside the own area. You can say a lot of negative things about it, but then Barcelona had 80% of possession and failed to capitalize on it. So it's our fault mainly. We should have played a lot more aggressive and straight to goal.
We're being too rethorical lately, having even more possession than before. But possession MUST have a clear intentionality. That is, to shoot on goal, or cross, or do dangerous movements. When the opponent puts everyone in the area, we seem to get cuaght in a loop of possession and we should go to try the goal.
That said, we were infinitely superior then and Casillas was the real hero saving 2 sure goals. Then in the last 5 minutes Madrid had 2 counters and Pinto answered to Iker.
In the extra time, I think Madrid was lucky to find a goal, but then again we were horrible attacking. We have no bench, so Pep put again Keita in the middle (the most useless thing he does everytime). I think it was time to bite, and I would have put young Thiago there. We needed to shoot and cross, and we didn't do any.
Granted, Madrid players were overly aggressive, some deserved red cards sooner, and loved wasting time (for those who like statistics: there were only 9 minutes of play in the overall extra time). But that's how you're supposed to defend the lead in a final!
Overall, I'd say Madrid was win was the triumph of the will over Barcelona who has the skill. I wished Madrid tried to play a little more on the skill side, but at the same time I wished Barcelona played a bit more on the strong will side. See what I mean?
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Good post.
I love watching Barca play but I do wish they would shoot more at times. I understand and love watching the intricate passing but when teams don't fall for not playing so deep, some long shots need to take place. The old saying "You don't shoot, you don't score" springs to mind.
Arsenal did exactly the same on a few occasions v Spurs the other night. Site of goal on edge of box but they look for a 1-2 instead! Sometimes you just have to pull the trigger!!
I love watching Barca play but I do wish they would shoot more at times. I understand and love watching the intricate passing but when teams don't fall for not playing so deep, some long shots need to take place. The old saying "You don't shoot, you don't score" springs to mind.
Arsenal did exactly the same on a few occasions v Spurs the other night. Site of goal on edge of box but they look for a 1-2 instead! Sometimes you just have to pull the trigger!!
lo zio
International
- 24 October 2005
- Palermo
good post, drekkard 
and u certainly make a good point about "the purpose of possession".
what made me change my mind about mourinho (i used to consider him nothing but a fraud), it's his football. despite what most people think he's far from being a tactical genius..... infact the tactical department is his major weakness, but like he once said (and he was absolutely spot on on this), u don't have to be a great tactician to understand how to give balance to a team. tactical awareness obviously would be a huge help, but it's not absolutely necessary.
despite the poor tactical understanding, and the poor match reading skills (funnily most people tend to consider match readin as another of his main abilities), he has his own very personal idea of football. he has his own very personal idea of balance. and he always seems to be able to transfer that idea from his mind to the pitch (wich really is the most complicated aspect in the coaching job).
now, u might like his football or not, it doesn't really matter. what matters is that his football is good football. some might say it's not atractive football or spectacular football (although that isn't necessarily true either), but that does not matter either. the most important aspect in directing a football team is finding the right balance. and mourinho always finds the right balance. balance is the "step 1" of coaching. it's the most basic, and at the same time, the most difficult thing to achieve. and this is one of mourinho's greatests qualities.
some coaches have great tacticals idea, others have very simple and basic tactical beliefs... it doesn't really matter... that doesn't really make u a great coach. what's really important is to actually have an idea (it may sound funny but most coaches don't have a tactical identity at all), and to be able to turn that "idea" into something "real". like i said before, that is one of the toughests tasks in coaching. u might well be a tactical genius, but that won't help u unless u can persuade your players to "get on board", to follow u, believe in your ideas and to commit themselves to your project.
jose mourinho is quite simply a master in that.
theese are the aspects that make josè a great coach. not his tactical knowledge or his match reading ability (wich are way worse than what people usually think)....... his idea of balance and his ability to get the players to "play for him" and execute his ideas.
he has indeed other qualities, but those aren't really special.
he is a good team builder, but he's quite overrated in this aspect as people tend to consider that chelsea and that inter as teams built by mourinho. that is wrong. mourinho didn't build his chelsea nor his inter. the spine of his chelsea was built by ranieri (as younggun correctly remarked), while the spine of his inter was buiilt by mancini.
that doesn't mean that those weren't "his teams". every team mourinho coaches soon becomes "his team", because, like i said, unlike many of his colleagues, he has his own very personal idea of football and always manages to impress that idea on his teams. that chelsea and that inter, exactly as this real madrid, had "jose mourinho" written all over them..... but it would be wrong to credit mourinho the construction of those team.... he partecipated to the construction of those team and his contribution was huge, no doubt about that..... but he worked on "already made foundations", if u know what i mean.
he's also considered a great motivator and a great dressing room manager. and yeah, he actually is great in both those aspects (i just realised this last season), but then again, that isn't really a special feature of his, as there are (and there were) many other great motivators and dressing room managers.
so imo what really defines josè are those 2 qualities i mentioned before.
but does that make him the greatest coach ever? oh boy, no! that doesn't even make him the best coach today, nevermind the greatest ever. the thing is josè is very good at selling himself. that's probably his best quality.
all over the world, millions of fans, pundits and "experts" consider him the greatest coach out there today, mostly for his curriculum. i mean, that's the argument people tend to recurr to to support this point..... but if u actually think about it, as impressive as his curriculum is, it's certainly not unmatched.
ancelotti (just to make an example) has won 2 domestic leagues in 2 different top leagues aswell (just like mou) and has also won 2 champions leagues (just like mou), yet i don't see many people praising him as one of the greatests coaches ever.
that's coz carletto is much more humble, he doesn't like to brag about his achievements that much, he prefers to keep a low profile..... we might say he's not as good at "selling himself" as mou. and ancelotti is just one example.
mourinho is certainly a great coach, but his reputation is hugely boosted by the perception (we might call it "hype") that surrounds him. or at least that's how i see it.
btw congrats to the merengues fans for the cup!
and u certainly make a good point about "the purpose of possession". well, to be fair it's still extremely easy to dismiss his achievements really. but, just like u, i eventually managed to figure mourinho out... and i realised he actually is a great coach... not for his achievements (there are litterally dozens of coaches who achieved to win what he won.... and several won even more.... and some of them are still coaching today).I'm starting to warm to him. Just a little bit...
It's becoming harder to dismiss his achievements as a manager.
what made me change my mind about mourinho (i used to consider him nothing but a fraud), it's his football. despite what most people think he's far from being a tactical genius..... infact the tactical department is his major weakness, but like he once said (and he was absolutely spot on on this), u don't have to be a great tactician to understand how to give balance to a team. tactical awareness obviously would be a huge help, but it's not absolutely necessary.
despite the poor tactical understanding, and the poor match reading skills (funnily most people tend to consider match readin as another of his main abilities), he has his own very personal idea of football. he has his own very personal idea of balance. and he always seems to be able to transfer that idea from his mind to the pitch (wich really is the most complicated aspect in the coaching job).
now, u might like his football or not, it doesn't really matter. what matters is that his football is good football. some might say it's not atractive football or spectacular football (although that isn't necessarily true either), but that does not matter either. the most important aspect in directing a football team is finding the right balance. and mourinho always finds the right balance. balance is the "step 1" of coaching. it's the most basic, and at the same time, the most difficult thing to achieve. and this is one of mourinho's greatests qualities.
some coaches have great tacticals idea, others have very simple and basic tactical beliefs... it doesn't really matter... that doesn't really make u a great coach. what's really important is to actually have an idea (it may sound funny but most coaches don't have a tactical identity at all), and to be able to turn that "idea" into something "real". like i said before, that is one of the toughests tasks in coaching. u might well be a tactical genius, but that won't help u unless u can persuade your players to "get on board", to follow u, believe in your ideas and to commit themselves to your project.
jose mourinho is quite simply a master in that.
theese are the aspects that make josè a great coach. not his tactical knowledge or his match reading ability (wich are way worse than what people usually think)....... his idea of balance and his ability to get the players to "play for him" and execute his ideas.
he has indeed other qualities, but those aren't really special.
he is a good team builder, but he's quite overrated in this aspect as people tend to consider that chelsea and that inter as teams built by mourinho. that is wrong. mourinho didn't build his chelsea nor his inter. the spine of his chelsea was built by ranieri (as younggun correctly remarked), while the spine of his inter was buiilt by mancini.
that doesn't mean that those weren't "his teams". every team mourinho coaches soon becomes "his team", because, like i said, unlike many of his colleagues, he has his own very personal idea of football and always manages to impress that idea on his teams. that chelsea and that inter, exactly as this real madrid, had "jose mourinho" written all over them..... but it would be wrong to credit mourinho the construction of those team.... he partecipated to the construction of those team and his contribution was huge, no doubt about that..... but he worked on "already made foundations", if u know what i mean.
he's also considered a great motivator and a great dressing room manager. and yeah, he actually is great in both those aspects (i just realised this last season), but then again, that isn't really a special feature of his, as there are (and there were) many other great motivators and dressing room managers.
so imo what really defines josè are those 2 qualities i mentioned before.
but does that make him the greatest coach ever? oh boy, no! that doesn't even make him the best coach today, nevermind the greatest ever. the thing is josè is very good at selling himself. that's probably his best quality.
all over the world, millions of fans, pundits and "experts" consider him the greatest coach out there today, mostly for his curriculum. i mean, that's the argument people tend to recurr to to support this point..... but if u actually think about it, as impressive as his curriculum is, it's certainly not unmatched.
ancelotti (just to make an example) has won 2 domestic leagues in 2 different top leagues aswell (just like mou) and has also won 2 champions leagues (just like mou), yet i don't see many people praising him as one of the greatests coaches ever.
that's coz carletto is much more humble, he doesn't like to brag about his achievements that much, he prefers to keep a low profile..... we might say he's not as good at "selling himself" as mou. and ancelotti is just one example.
mourinho is certainly a great coach, but his reputation is hugely boosted by the perception (we might call it "hype") that surrounds him. or at least that's how i see it.
btw congrats to the merengues fans for the cup!
exactly. and besides the spine of that valencia team wasn't built by benitez, but by ranieri.PLF said:
RuneEdge
Silent Assassin
- 1 October 2003
- Manchester United
Great post, and really underlines what Jose is all about. I think the word you're looking for with him is character. Mourinho brings his own character to his teams. Sometimes when a team changes their manager, they still feel like the same team. But when Jose takes over, they start to play like a "Mourinho team".
But lets got get carried away with giving Mancini and Ranieri most of the credit. When Mourinho was in charge at Inter, he bought Milito, Thiago Motta, Lucio, Eto'o and Sneijder, all whilst making a €16 million profit from sales that year. Yes Inter have some great players but those he bought himself were arguably the most important of the lot. So it's only fair to give Jose all the credit, not Mancini.
When it comes to Chelsea, Essien, Ashley Cole, Alex, Anelka, Carvalho were his signings. All definately important players. Im not entirely sure but I'd imagine Drogba was his signing too cuz he happened after Jose joined Chelsea, I think. And not only that, he helped Lampard and Terry elevate their game to "world class" status and those two have always been considered the spine of Chelsea for years ever since.
Whenever a manager takes over a new club, he cant sign 25 new players and call it is own club. You can realistically only make about 10 signings. And with that limit, Jose did the best he could to say Chelsea and Inter are "his" teams cuz he made all the most important signings.
But lets got get carried away with giving Mancini and Ranieri most of the credit. When Mourinho was in charge at Inter, he bought Milito, Thiago Motta, Lucio, Eto'o and Sneijder, all whilst making a €16 million profit from sales that year. Yes Inter have some great players but those he bought himself were arguably the most important of the lot. So it's only fair to give Jose all the credit, not Mancini.
When it comes to Chelsea, Essien, Ashley Cole, Alex, Anelka, Carvalho were his signings. All definately important players. Im not entirely sure but I'd imagine Drogba was his signing too cuz he happened after Jose joined Chelsea, I think. And not only that, he helped Lampard and Terry elevate their game to "world class" status and those two have always been considered the spine of Chelsea for years ever since.
Whenever a manager takes over a new club, he cant sign 25 new players and call it is own club. You can realistically only make about 10 signings. And with that limit, Jose did the best he could to say Chelsea and Inter are "his" teams cuz he made all the most important signings.
lo zio
International
- 24 October 2005
- Palermo
oh sure, i'm absolutely with u on this. i wouldn't give mancini and ranieri most of the credit for mourinho's teams either.Runedge said:
like i said, jose has the ability to turn each team he coaches into his team (and i see we agree on that).
and again, like i said, mourinho partecipated to the construction of those teams, and his contribution was huge (both in chelsea and inter).
i just remarked that the spine (not the whole team) was already there.
picking chelsea as example, those players u mentioned (essien, cole, alex, carvalho... we could also add robben) were definitely great signings... but of all those players, there is only 1 of em wich was a "spine" player.
years ago, during an interview, capello explained the basics of team building. he said "u have to start from the spine, then u work on the other positions, to build a team around that spine".
the spine capello was talking about is formed by: the goalkeeper, the 2 starting cbs; 1 metodista at midfield, another midfielder and 1 forward.
mourinho's chelsea spine was formed by: cech; terry-carvalho; makelele, lampard and drogba.
the only "spine signing" that can certainly be credited to mou is carvalho. as for drogba and cech, several times in the last few years ranieri claimed he was the man behind those signings and mou himself never denied it (and we all know how much mou loves to argue with ranieri, so...)
and the same goes for inter. he bought some great players and also bought some "spine players", but we must also say that most of the spine was already there when mou came in milan (julio cesar, samuel, cambiasso, stankovic).
but by saying that the spine was already there, i certainly don't wanna take anything from mourinho. mourinho's chelsea was his own creature, no doubt about that.
i just intend to remark that team building necessarily implies the creation of the spine of the team.... and concerning chelsea's and inter's spines, mourinho must share credit with other coaches too.
yup. "character" is indeed a most appropriate word to describe thatRunedge said:
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RuneEdge
Silent Assassin
- 1 October 2003
- Manchester United
I guess you are right in the sense that he cant claim 100% of any of "his" clubs. It would be interesting to see Jose take over a much smaller team and see if he can turn them around. That would be the true test of his ability.
The problem now is that Jose is a top name in world football, and only the top clubs would be able to afford or attract him. So my idea would probably never happen now.
But I truely believe he can take a team like Aston Villa and turn them into a Champion's League team within 4 years.
The problem now is that Jose is a top name in world football, and only the top clubs would be able to afford or attract him. So my idea would probably never happen now.
But I truely believe he can take a team like Aston Villa and turn them into a Champion's League team within 4 years.
Milanista
Mangiamoli!
He's a very financially demanding manager too.
The_Special_One
I like Unicorns
Interesting read Ben, like always. It's a pleasure to read such fascinating reviews as the ones you wrote.
You have just hit the nail on the head. Mourinho is not a tactical master (in fact, the self-called tactical master is Jorge Jesus from Benfica
) nor a great game reader (although I think he’s not that weak as you spoke out). The reason why some of those called football expert say Mou is the greatest ever is due the fact the man has conquered all that amount (and important) titles in just a decade! The experts, they may have a point in this one. By the top of my head I can’t even remember anyone who won what Mourinho won in a short period of time. 2 Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup, several league titles, ALL major domestic cup titles and so on. This is an incredible achievement for a guy who just has 10 years of career. Yes, he has had luck in his career (well, he started in Benfica, says a lot of his luckiness) but the man should be credit and should be mention as a pheromone for his age. I don’t know if you are following FC Porto campaign this year but you surely have heard of André Villas-Boas. He is believed to be the next Special One, not only because of the similarities between him and Mou, but mainly because of his (more than sure) successes at his age. 33 years old! The guy is supposed to win the League (already won with no defeats), the Cup and the Europa League with only 33 years old!
Another undeniable point is his impact on the relationship between coaches/players and the press. Might sound exaggerate but Mou have revolutionized this aspect of the game (well, this was even part of the game but is now thanks to him). Have you ever heard of “mind-games” before Mourinho? Did the coaches ever give importance to that aspect? He seized football to another level. The mental and psychological flat. I must say, this is probably the most fascinating characteristic of Morinho’s approach and the one which attached me the most into his person. It’s fascinating to concern and understand what is behind what is being said and showed by him in all these press conferences. The way he reach his aim, which is, get all the spotlights to him, putting all the pressure on his own, releasing the players for what is really important, the battle in the field, intrigues and captivates me a lot.
These are, probably, the reasons he has all the hype and fuzz surrounding him. And then you have the character, the image and so on.
I understand you don’t follow Portuguese football as close as I. So you have to know this one. Mourinho took over of a mediocre team in 2001 – União de Leiria. If you want a term of comparison I would tell you that Leiria is a club like Wigan or Stoke, pretty much the same for Portuguese League standards. Sometimes they got relegated, sometimes they finish in top 10, I think you’ve understood. Mourinho left Leiria in January 2002 signing with Porto. At that time Leiria were 3rd in the league just behind Boavista and Sporting.
As you know (this hurts me a lot), FC Porto is the main force in Portugal, they have been for almost 3 decades since Pinto da Costa took the Presidency. Somehow (in fact I know how but it doesn’t matter for the topic) Pinto da Costa and his crew were able to build an European giant and local dominant. However, when Mourinho took the helm of the team they were far from being THE biggest power in the country. They hadn’t won the title for two years which is an eternity during Pinto da Costa dynasty. Sporting and Boavista had been the champions the previous years. The rest of the history is well known. Mou took guys from Leiria, Setúbal, the unknown Costinha from Monaco and Maniche, his former player and sacked by Benfica, and built an European Champ.
Oh, I don't know who talked about Drogba but Mourinho almost signed him to Porto when he was at Guingamp but then Marseille made the best offer and the deal went down.
You have just hit the nail on the head. Mourinho is not a tactical master (in fact, the self-called tactical master is Jorge Jesus from Benfica
) nor a great game reader (although I think he’s not that weak as you spoke out). The reason why some of those called football expert say Mou is the greatest ever is due the fact the man has conquered all that amount (and important) titles in just a decade! The experts, they may have a point in this one. By the top of my head I can’t even remember anyone who won what Mourinho won in a short period of time. 2 Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup, several league titles, ALL major domestic cup titles and so on. This is an incredible achievement for a guy who just has 10 years of career. Yes, he has had luck in his career (well, he started in Benfica, says a lot of his luckiness) but the man should be credit and should be mention as a pheromone for his age. I don’t know if you are following FC Porto campaign this year but you surely have heard of André Villas-Boas. He is believed to be the next Special One, not only because of the similarities between him and Mou, but mainly because of his (more than sure) successes at his age. 33 years old! The guy is supposed to win the League (already won with no defeats), the Cup and the Europa League with only 33 years old!Another undeniable point is his impact on the relationship between coaches/players and the press. Might sound exaggerate but Mou have revolutionized this aspect of the game (well, this was even part of the game but is now thanks to him). Have you ever heard of “mind-games” before Mourinho? Did the coaches ever give importance to that aspect? He seized football to another level. The mental and psychological flat. I must say, this is probably the most fascinating characteristic of Morinho’s approach and the one which attached me the most into his person. It’s fascinating to concern and understand what is behind what is being said and showed by him in all these press conferences. The way he reach his aim, which is, get all the spotlights to him, putting all the pressure on his own, releasing the players for what is really important, the battle in the field, intrigues and captivates me a lot.
These are, probably, the reasons he has all the hype and fuzz surrounding him. And then you have the character, the image and so on.
I understand you don’t follow Portuguese football as close as I. So you have to know this one. Mourinho took over of a mediocre team in 2001 – União de Leiria. If you want a term of comparison I would tell you that Leiria is a club like Wigan or Stoke, pretty much the same for Portuguese League standards. Sometimes they got relegated, sometimes they finish in top 10, I think you’ve understood. Mourinho left Leiria in January 2002 signing with Porto. At that time Leiria were 3rd in the league just behind Boavista and Sporting.
As you know (this hurts me a lot), FC Porto is the main force in Portugal, they have been for almost 3 decades since Pinto da Costa took the Presidency. Somehow (in fact I know how but it doesn’t matter for the topic) Pinto da Costa and his crew were able to build an European giant and local dominant. However, when Mourinho took the helm of the team they were far from being THE biggest power in the country. They hadn’t won the title for two years which is an eternity during Pinto da Costa dynasty. Sporting and Boavista had been the champions the previous years. The rest of the history is well known. Mou took guys from Leiria, Setúbal, the unknown Costinha from Monaco and Maniche, his former player and sacked by Benfica, and built an European Champ.
First of all, he is an extremely demanding manager. However, he is not a very financially demander. Let’s see if I can explain you. He asks for the players he want, no matter if they are expensive or not, he just demands what and who he wants. For instance, and I’m backing to Porto-Leiria example, Mourinho built an UEFA Cup winner and an European Champions at Porto buying his core players from his former União de Leiria (Derlei, Nuno Valente, Maciel, etc) team and a friend of himself from Setúbal called Paulo Ferreira. As you imagine these guys aren’t properly expensive fellas. When he arrived at Stanford Bridge he asked for his core once again. Of course those players were more expensive at that time but they are his trustable sources. To sum up, he buys who he trusts in. If they are cheap or not that’s board issue. Oh, and there are dozens and dozens of managers who spends more than him with zero sport profit.
Oh, I don't know who talked about Drogba but Mourinho almost signed him to Porto when he was at Guingamp but then Marseille made the best offer and the deal went down.
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bebo
Looking for a Manager
TSO you are talking about what Mourinho did 10 yrs ago. everyone has a beginning I supposed. He has moved from those ways. I get it you like Mourinho and you defend him well.
Mourinho is for laughs no doubt a colorful bloke ,but so is bozo the clown
everyone has a beginning I supposed. He has moved from those ways. I get it you like Mourinho and you defend him well.Mourinho is for laughs no doubt a colorful bloke ,but so is bozo the clown
allezlinter
Champions League
Yes that's true.
But honnestly if you were him, after building two teams to the top (Porto and Inter) and bringing up one (Chelsea, who would maybe have won the CL if he had stayed, the context would for sure have been different), wouldn't you ask for 12M a year ? And the thing is that tons of clubs will be ready to pay for you.
And if you compare, there is no so much difference with Capello or Guardiola).
After all it is all a mature of big figures. This sport makes money, and this money has to go somewhere. I prefer to see it in Mourinho's pocket than in Perez's one for my part, but this is only my opinion.
This was about salary.
Now for buying players, just counting :
At Inter :
Zlatan : +48M
Milito : -26M
Sneijder : -15M
Motta : -14.5M
Lucio : -15M
=> -23M : reasonable amount for building a club to CL victory
At Real :
Ozil : -15M
Di Maria : -25M
Khedira : -14M
=> -54M : much under what Pellegrini has had, for example.
He knows which players are needed for him, and brings the best out of them (Milito ...).
And isn't it what he is payed for ?
YoungGun_UK
20 TIMES!
The Inter ones really stand out, sensational signings.
Kanouté
#NewEra
- 26 April 2008
What a display from the RM bench, 4-0 against Valencia and it's only half-time yet. 
PIPA23
retired :)
- 21 June 2007
he´s definetly not best coach, but very lucky to come in a club in right time.. i think he is one of best coaches, but there is very much criteria that would label a coach best... Best in my eyes is coach who take club from bottom to top... not a coach that comes to a top club and win something in 120 minutes of play.. of course he is legendary but more than half of his succes is his style of talk with media, with outside world.. wich is also important.
Let him coach Blackburn and i will see what he does.. Kenny Dalglish won the Premier League with Blackburn in 1995.
Let him coach Blackburn and i will see what he does.. Kenny Dalglish won the Premier League with Blackburn in 1995.
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RuneEdge
Silent Assassin
- 1 October 2003
- Manchester United
I'm sure everyone would credit Blackburn's title to Alan Shearer, not Dalglish.
PIPA23
retired :)
- 21 June 2007
i have just made example, except Porto, who have only two clubs competition in Portugal he was always coaching a BIG team with lot´s of money to spend... he never have coached national team, never had coached small team with need to move up in hard league...in spain with Real only who he competes is Barca, in England at that time it was different with Chelsea, in Italy in his seasons AC was not that team it is now... i have no doubt he is fantastic coach with great tactics ability but to be labeled BEST coach ever, there is need to do more than winning with top teams..
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bebo
Looking for a Manager
RM`s bench destroyed Valencia , becoming an attacking team I see
Barca n RM why couldn`t this be the final!
Barca n RM why couldn`t this be the final!
PLF
Legend
- 2 August 2004
Yah would've been the perfect final!
Barca vs. Real in Wembley.
Barca vs. Real in Wembley.
allezlinter
Champions League
I do not speak about that Pipa.
The special thing he has is to make players play exactly as he want them to play.
How many teams can pretend to play against barca a whole important match giving the impression the barca could score no goal ?
I see only two, Inter last year, and Real this year.
Of course there have been so much other example of unbelievable results for coaches with other teams.
But you cannot deny that this real for 8 years couldnt qualify for quarters, and neither could inter before he came.
This is where he is strong, he is a tactical master and gives to the team an insurance and confidence making almost all victory possible.
Damn he stayed 9 years without defeat at home in champiosnhip. He transcended some players (Milito) making them feel unbeatable. He won trophies in so short times (2 years at inter, 9 monthes at real).
Andyou said alsoi was easier to win in those teams, but no one did it before him.
I also read somewhere about Benitez : super experience at inter. Even if he is a great coach.