Jose Mourinho is among the greatest names in trendy soccer historical past and the most effective managers of the twenty first century, having gained main trophies with six completely different golf equipment – together with home league titles with 4 of them and the Champions League with two.
An clever and assured observer who sometimes doubled as a scout for his personal father, himself a supervisor following a semi profitable skilled profession, Mourinho knocked enjoying soccer on the pinnacle comparatively early in an effort to concentrate on teaching as an alternative.
A younger Mourinho was on the books at prime flight golf equipment Rio Ave and Belenenses underneath his father’s watch within the early Eighties, with out ever progressing past reserve degree and later turned out for decrease division groups in Portugal till hanging up his boots aged 24.
Working as a PE trainer within the late Eighties however learning teaching on the facet, Mourinho’s massive break in skilled soccer got here in 1992 when he was employed by Sporting CP to work as a translator on Bobby Robson’s employees. From there, Mourinho adopted the legendary Englishman to Porto and Barcelona, taking over more and more extra than simply interpreter duties. He remained at Camp Nou even after Robson had transfer on, creating underneath Louis van Gaal, earlier than branching out on his personal.
As of January 2024, Mourinho has held ten managerial positions since his first job in 2000. Right here, 90min ranks his success in each certainly one of them.
As the last word pragmatist and ‘win-now’ coach, Mourinho was presupposed to be the supervisor that lastly ended Tottenham’s trophy drought that had been ongoing since 2008. He was filling massive footwear too, in Mauricio Pochettino, unceremoniously sacked inside six months of taking Spurs to their first ever Champions League closing in 2019.
The squad was in want of a rebuild and the membership solely went backwards with an absence of funding. One spotlight included his three hundredth Premier League win, however an FA Cup defeat to Everton in 2021 was additionally the primary time certainly one of his groups had ever conceded 5 objectives. In the end, regardless of taking Spurs to the 2021 Carabao Cup closing, Mourinho was sacked simply days beforehand.
Shortly after arriving at Benfica as an assistant coach in 2000, Mourinho was promoted to the highest job when Jupp Heynckes was sacked. It was deemed stunning on the time for a coach of 37 with no prior expertise as a supervisor to abruptly be handed management of certainly one of Portugal’s (and Europe’s) most prestigious golf equipment and it was a steep studying curve.
Regardless of a brief stint, Mourinho’s time at Benfica was optimistic – together with a derby win over Sporting. However politics, moderately than soccer, led to a swift parting of how after solely 11 video games, with an election bringing in a brand new membership president and the younger boss asking for a brand new contract that was refused. In a daring assertion, he selected to resign instantly.
Uniao de Leiria have been out of Portugal’s prime flight since 2012 however had been an bold facet getting ready for a fourth consecutive Primeira Liga season once they employed Mourinho in the summertime of 2001.
It promised to pay dividends when the group started shifting in the direction of the highest finish of the desk. However Leiria had been arguably too profitable underneath Mourinho as he was poached by powerhouse Porto simply midway via his first season.
Mourinho’s legacy in Rome will endlessly be the inaugural Europa Convention League in 2022, lifting UEFA’s tertiary membership competitors in its maiden season and giving Roma continental silverware for the very first time. The membership hadn’t even reached a European closing of any type since 1991.
All the things is relative although and the optimistic can also be balanced by Roma failing to notably kick on in Serie A, not enhancing from sixth place between his two full seasons in cost. Additionally it is the one time in his prolonged profession the place win proportion has dipped beneath 50, albeit solely simply (49).
Within the context of Manchester United post-Sir Alex Ferguson, Mourinho’s time at Previous Trafford was a relative success, regardless of being unable to carry the membership again in the direction of a Premier League title problem. The acrimonious nature of his departure has tended to cloud notion trying again.
He stays the one United supervisor since Fergie’s 2013 retirement to win a couple of trophy, amassing each the Carabao Cup and Europa League in his first season, or to succeed in 80 Premier League factors. His presence was additionally key to attracting a number of massive identify signings to Previous Trafford who began effectively – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku – even when their long-term success on the membership was in the end restricted underneath successors.
Almost six years after his first spell at Chelsea (extra on that quickly) got here to an abrupt finish, Mourinho sensationally returned to Stamford Bridge in the summertime of 2013 and instantly turned the Blues into title contenders once more after falling off the tempo domestically in earlier seasons.
The “little horse that wants milk” as he put it throughout the 2013/14 Premier League run-in, went on to say the title the next season after Chelsea had already gained the Capital One Cup, because it was identified on the time, in 2015 too. But just a few months after Premier League glory, issues imploded and Mourinho was dismissed earlier than the tip of the calendar 12 months.
Actual Madrid gained La Liga with 76 factors underneath Fabio Capello in 2007, so it was unlucky that Mourinho was up towards Pep Guardiola and the best ever Barcelona group throughout his time in Spanish soccer. However he nonetheless laid down one of many all-time nice seasons in 2011/12, placing up 100 league factors as his facet plundered an astonishing 121 objectives in 38 video games.
Mourinho had gained the Copa del Rey in his debut marketing campaign, certainly one of solely three Madrid have lifted within the final 30 years, whereas he persistently reached the Champions League semi-finals each season however could not go any additional to ship the elusive Decima that got here simply 12 months after his exit.
It was at his unveiling as Chelsea supervisor in 2004 when Mourinho uttered certainly one of his most iconic strains: “I feel I’m a particular one”. He actually was particular, using on Roman Abramovich’s cheque e book to win the membership’s first English league title in 50 years and making world class stars of Frank Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben.
Chelsea’s 2004/05 factors tally of 95 remained a Premier League report till Manchester Metropolis broke it 13 years later, whereas simply 15 objectives conceded continues to be a report even now. The Blues went on to retain their title the next season in nearly as spectacular trend, whereas Mourinho additionally picked up two Carling Cup trophies and the FA Cup throughout these three years.
No Italian membership had ever gained a treble earlier than Mourinho’s Inter class of 2010 and nonetheless no Italian membership has gained the Champions League since. After a sudden departure from Chelsea within the autumn of 2007, San Siro was the place he wound up after taking his first break from soccer in many years.
Solely the Supercoppa Italiana discovered its manner into Mourinho’s fingers in his first season in Italy, however he was constructing for the next 12 months when Serie A, the Coppa Italia and his second profession Champions League all did. The latter was made attainable by an epic two-legged win over Guardiola’s Barcelona – winners of a 2009 sextuplet – within the semi-finals.
Generally, authentic is greatest and it would not get higher than Porto Mourinho.
Successful the Champions League with Porto, lengthy after Portuguese golf equipment had been resigned to a supporting position in elite European membership competitors, stays his single biggest achievement and one he won’t ever surpass.
In his first full season as a supervisor – not forgetting that his Benfica and Leiria spells had lasted mere months every – Mourinho gained the Primeira Liga, Portuguese Cup and UEFA Cup. Porto had gone 4 years with no league title at that time and hadn’t gained a European trophy since 1987.
In his second – and his first try on the Champions League – Mourinho created immortality for himself and that era of Porto gamers. Manchester United, in addition to supremely proficient Lyon and Monaco sides had been among the many scalps claimed, with Chelsea quickly poaching the boss and the remainder of his group rapidly carved up as effectively.
