Jose Mourinho is without doubt one of the largest names in trendy soccer historical past and top-of-the-line managers of the twenty first century, having gained main trophies with six totally different golf equipment – together with home league titles with 4 of them and the Champions League with two.
An clever and assured observer who often doubled as a scout for his personal father, himself a supervisor following a semi profitable skilled profession, Mourinho knocked enjoying soccer on the top comparatively early as a way to concentrate on teaching as a substitute.
A younger Mourinho was on the books at prime flight golf equipment Rio Ave and Belenenses below 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 instructor within the late Eighties however finding out teaching on the facet, Mourinho’s large break in skilled soccer got here in 1992 when he was employed by Sporting CP to work as a translator on Bobby Robson’s workers. From there, Mourinho adopted the legendary Englishman to Porto and Barcelona, taking up more and more extra than simply interpreter duties. He remained at Camp Nou even after Robson had transfer on, growing below 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 every one in all them.
As the last word pragmatist and ‘win-now’ coach, Mourinho was alleged to be the supervisor that lastly ended Tottenham’s trophy drought that had been ongoing since 2008. He was filling large footwear too, in Mauricio Pochettino, unceremoniously sacked inside six months of taking Spurs to their first ever Champions League remaining in 2019.
The squad was in want of a rebuild and the membership solely went backwards with a scarcity 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 one in all his groups had ever conceded 5 targets. Finally, regardless of taking Spurs to the 2021 Carabao Cup remaining, 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 shocking on the time for a coach of 37 with no prior expertise as a supervisor to abruptly be handed management of one in all 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, fairly 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 have been an bold facet making ready for a fourth consecutive Primeira Liga season after they employed Mourinho in the summertime of 2001.
It promised to pay dividends when the crew started transferring in the direction of the highest finish of the desk. However Leiria have been arguably too profitable below 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 remaining of any type since 1991.
Every part is relative although and the optimistic can be balanced by Roma failing to significantly kick on in Serie A, not bettering from sixth place between his two full seasons in cost. Additionally it is the one time in his prolonged profession the place win share has dipped under 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 achieve 80 Premier League factors. His presence was additionally key to attracting a number of large identify signings to Previous Trafford who began properly – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku – even when their long-term success on the membership was in the end restricted below 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 in the course of the 2013/14 Premier League run-in, went on to assert 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 only some months after Premier League glory, issues imploded and Mourinho was dismissed earlier than the tip of the calendar yr.
Actual Madrid gained La Liga with 76 factors below Fabio Capello in 2007, so it was unlucky that Mourinho was up towards Pep Guardiola and the best ever Barcelona crew 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 targets in 38 video games.
Mourinho had gained the Copa del Rey in his debut marketing campaign, one in all solely three Madrid have lifted within the final 30 years, whereas he constantly 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 one in all his most iconic traces: “I feel I’m a particular one”. He actually was particular, using on Roman Abramovich’s cheque ebook 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 file till Manchester Metropolis broke it 13 years later, whereas simply 15 targets conceded continues to be a file even now. The Blues went on to retain their title the next season in nearly as spectacular style, 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 a long time.
Solely the Supercoppa Italiana discovered its approach into Mourinho’s arms in his first season in Italy, however he was constructing for the next yr when Serie A, the Coppa Italia and his second profession Champions League all did. The latter was made doable by an epic two-legged win over Guardiola’s Barcelona – winners of a 2009 sextuplet – within the semi-finals.
Generally, authentic is finest and it would not get higher than Porto Mourinho.
Profitable the Champions League with Porto, lengthy after Portuguese golf equipment had been resigned to a supporting function in elite European membership competitors, stays his single best 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 and not using a 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 gifted Lyon and Monaco sides have been among the many scalps claimed, with Chelsea quickly poaching the boss and the remainder of his crew shortly carved up as properly.
