Tag Archives: Jose Mourinho

Mourinho Really Is “The Special One”

Psrhea, Sports,

The best football side in Europe deservedly won the Champions League…

With much more illustrious sides like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, AC Mila, Juventus and Bayern Munich always expected to win Europe’s top club football prize, InterMilan, the team that regularly plays second fiddle even in their own country to AC Milan and Juventus, really is the unquestioned kings of the continent – and not just because they won the Champions League yesterday.

For four years now Inter has ruled Serie A with a style of play that is more defensive and tactical than flashy, which has not really endeared them to the rest of Italy and certainly not given them any street cred with the rest of Europe. It wasn’t flashy but it worked. Sure, 1-0 and 2-1 games were commonplace even against the most mundane of competition, and you got the sense that Inter were more interested in, to use a boxing parlance, just getting the decision than going for a knockout – going for the jugular once they had their opponents down. In Serie A it worked, but when presented with an elite continental competition like the Champions League, where in a short series like the knockout stages you have to go in for the kill, Inter annually went out sooner than their talent indicated.

But their coach, Jose Mourinho, is truly what he says he is: The Special One. Unlike his previous coaching stop, Chelsea, he was given the time to institute a machine-like system that his players bought into and executed with computer-like efficiency: Lock down in the back, draw the opposition in, get possession of the ball, quickly get the ball forward on the counterattack, find space to run into, and let your players create their chances even when they don’t have the numerical advantage, all while maintaining tactical discipline. The perfect example is yesterdays Champions League final. The 4-2-1-3 formation Mourinho instituted for this final emphasized closing down the back (especially in the center), then hitting Bayern Munich on the counterattack by getting the ball quickly up front, where Wesley Sneijder and Diego Milito basically played a football version of basketball’s two-man game; diagonally running into space and then breaking down the Bayern defense to create chances in the box. It worked. Bayern ruled the possession by more than 2-1 but it didn’t matter; they took many more shots on goal than Inter but didn’t get through, and Bayern’s defense was left on their back foot when Inter countered (here’s hoping Diego Milito gets some serious playing time in front of goal for Argentina in the World Cup; he clearly is a quick strike specialist).

I say Mourinho wasn’t given time at Chelsea because, even though they won two league titles and three domestic cups in his three-plus years there, he didn’t win the one thing Roman Abramovich craves most, the Champions League – and he certainly didn’t win it the way Abramovich thought they should, by crushing everybody in sight, leaving a bloody trail of teams lying on the side of the road in a ditch in their wake.

Inter, on the other hand, just wanted to win, and after decades of playing second fiddle to AC Milan and Juventus, were willing to patiently wait while Mourinho methodically put together a machine. Three coaches later Abramovich and the Blues are still waiting.

It is Mourinho’s absolute belief in himself that you get when you hire him to run your side. When he takes over a team, you get the feeling he is basically implying, “I’m really, really good at this, so if you leave me alone and let me do what I do, I will build a machine that will win a few league titles and domestic cups, and I’ll get you a continental championship or two on top of that.” And why not? It works! In an era when the clubs with the most money and public profile are usually the ones vying for club supremacy on the international stage, Mourinho guided a FC Porto side built on a budget to both a UEFA Cup triumph and a European title IN CONSECUTIVE YEARS! No side has more money than Chelsea with their sugar-daddy uber-rich owner — and you saw the results. Inter isn’t the poorest club there is but they aren’t an economic juggernaut with the highest profile either in Europe or the world. With Mourinho it is a function of getting what he wants and what he needs, not getting who’s expensive and will sell a lot of jerseys.

(This is ultimately why I think that, while Mourinho obviously is leaving Inter to take over as coach at Real Madrid, it is not going to work for him there. In Florentino Perez, Real has a chairman that wants to go for the big money splash and bring in the latest hot player, or galactico, and will force that player on his coach regardless of whether he fits in or there is a place for him and he gets playing time. Mourinho’s proven method of putting together a team that works within a system just won’t jibe with that. Perez has famously stated that he doesn’t believe in paying for defensive players, and Mourinho will want to bring in his own players who may not cost a lot of money but will buy into what he is trying to accomplish in tactical acuity that eventually gets you wins and championships. In short, Mourinho is going to want to do it his way and his way only. So I can only envision Mourinho constantly butting heads with Perez when Perez forces a player on Jose just to make a splash, sell jerseys, and increase their public profile. Personally, I think Mourinho’s style would work great at Old Trafford – Sir Alex Fergusen is beginning to seriously think about retirement – but that’s just me being selfish).

Above all else, Jose Mourinho is a finisher. It isn’t just his workmanlike methods that get his teams to cup finals; it’s his ability to win them. Has anybody noticed that every team that Mourinho has led to a cup final (Portuguese, FA, Coca Cola, Italian, UEFA, Champions League – whatever) has won? That’s right, Mourinho has NEVER lost a final (I am convinced that had Mourinho still been at the helm when Chelsea played Manchester United in the Champions League final in 2008, Roman Abramovich would have his European crown. Nice going, Roman).

Lest anyone think this was anything but a monumental accomplishment, they would do well to understand that Inter won the treble: domestic title, domestic cup, and continental championship all in the same season, a feat accomplished only seven times in history (as an aside, it was Diego Milito who scored the winning goal in all three, further proof that this guy is a finisher at nut-crunching time and Diego Maradona had better find a place for him). This could certainly explain why a lot of their fixtures in all competitions were less than overwhelming; it isn’t easy navigating your way through a crowded 60+ game fixture list without having to massage, coax and cajole your roster. And the Nerazzurri didn’t have an easy route through any of them. Especially in the Champions League, where they had to go through Chelsea twice and Barcelona (the defending champions and last year’s treble-winning side) four times just to get Bayern in the final. Couple that with having to play AC Milan twice, Juventus three times and AS Roma three times to complete the other two, and that’s 14 games against the absolute best football teams on the planet. In order to be a great team they had to beat great teams. Inter may not be the greatest treble-winning side ever but I’d certainly put them in the conversation. One thing I am certain of, though: Inarguably Europe’s best football team this year won the Champions League.

I suspect that it is hard for a lot of football insiders to understand where it is Jose Mourinho gets his success from because he never played the game. However it is he got this innate understanding beyond any of his counterparts is bewildering, so his conceit rubs people the wrong way. It seems, though, that his absolute belief in himself, however it manifests itself, is what leads him to take teams to where they want to go, and like the stranger with no name in those Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns, he just as quickly leaves. Mourinho has done it this way so often in so many places that, for me at least, it isn’t the next challenge that will further define him – he’s already done that. In my mind the next challenge is to stay where he is, in this case InterMilan, and do it again.

daveydoug

Mourinho Had “Street Cred”

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There was a moment right at the end of the first half of Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford. Just as forward Carlos Tevez had struck an injury-time goal to give Manchester United the 1-0 lead, Red Devil’s manager Sir Alex Fergusen was seen walking off the pitch to the training room. Chelsea had yet to kick off and the half hadn’t ended yet. But for all intent and purposes Fergusen was signaling that the first half, for him, was over. Only seconds later did the game referee blow the whistle.

A small gesture indeed, and maybe one that is insignificant considering that the two minutes of injury time signaled by the referee was over anyway. But in the world of competitive athletics, this seemingly small gesture could have spoken volumes.

In the United States we call what Sir Alex Fergusen has “street cred” and “juice”. Fergie is one of the best and most respected soccer managers ever. If he says the half is over, then the half is over. It was a clear message sent to their opponents that day, and have no illusions the Chelsea players picked up on that, the timekeeper and the referee notwithstanding. More importantly, thought, this was Fergie’s way of throwing his weight around to signify what it is that Chelsea no longer had.

Under Jose Mourinho, you can make the argument that there had never been a time when Chelsea was more successful. In the three-plus years Mourinho was their manager Chelsea had won two English Premier League crowns – running away – and an FA Cup, as well as making it to the semi-final stage of the Champions League twice. If you include the UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and Champions League crown he had won with FC Porto the two previous years before arriving at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho had earned the kind of respect that Fergusen had. In essence, he had “street cred”. Take into further consideration that in the nine confrontations with Manchester United in Mourinho’s three years Chelsea had lost only once, then you can make the further argument that Mourinho had more “street cred” than Fergie.

Four days before this latest fixture with the Red Devils Mourinho suddenly departed as The Blues’ manager, leaving unknown Avram Grant as the manager. Whatever backroom conflicts that were boiling between Mourinho and Chelsea owner and super-billionaire Roman Abramovich are not important; suffice it to say that in replacing Mourinho, Abramovich did not understand the “street cred” that was going with him. Fergusen let both Abramovich and Grant know just who had the “street cred” in this fixture (Fergie had to walk by Grant to go to the training room).

Grant may have been a good club and international coach in Israel, and all due respect to him for that. But the EPL is an entirely different league. For now, though, Grant is going to have to earn “juice”, it won’t be just given. Sure he has the exact same world-class personnel that Mourinho had and he may turn out to be a good manager, but (1) these are Mourinho’s players, and (2) Grant hasn’t done anything with them yet. Plus, there are expectations at Stamford Bridge that not even Mourinho could fulfill (a Champions League trophy to be exact). You could tell from the unsmiling, dour doe-in-the-headlights look Grant sported throughout the entire match that Manchester United in Old Trafford was not the ideal fixture for this EPL neophyte to have to start his career.

daveydoug

No Way (Without) Jose

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Saturday saw the much anticipated game at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Chelsea, but the game was overshadowed by the shock departure of Blues manager Jose Mourinho earlier in the week. If the performance that the reigning champions turned in is anything to go by, Mourinho will be sorely missed.

Even without the dismissal of first Mikel Jon Obi in the 32nd minute, Chelsea never looked like they would trouble United – a team Mourinho’s Blues had lost to only once in eleven meetings. The breakthrough came with a late first half goal by former Hammer, Carlos Tevez and was added to by Louis Saha’s late penalty.

The goals were really immaterial. Chelsea played like 1o individuals – albeit extremely talented ones – but never as a team. Yes, they were missing stars like Lampard and Drogba, but this is a squad packed full of work-class players – players now in need of leadership.

The Chelsea defence was repeatedly sliced apart by Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and especially by Michael Carrick’s long through balls – and they seemed only capable of hoofing away the ball when pressured. The only stand out performance for Chelsea was Claude Makelele, who seemed to keep a cool head when even the likes of John Terry seemed to lose theirs.

It was only one game, but Avram Grant’s tenure at the helm may not be a long one if this is anything to go by.

– MCZF1