Is Jose Mourinho a little overrated?
Ever since he guided his un-fancied Porto team to Champions League glory Jose Mourinho has been a man who while not universally loved is at least respected as one of the game’s top managers. A UEFA Cup victory followed by a Champions League triumph cemented his credentials as one of Europe’s brightest managerial prospects. He’d achieved the unthinkable at Porto and it was only a matter of time before Europe’s top clubs came calling. When Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea managed to secure his talents it seemed only a matter of time before he replicated his success at Porto with the West London club. Two successive titles, plus a Carling cup and an FA cup can hardly be called anything but a success, especially as Chelsea’s last league title success had been in the mid-fifties. Unfortunately of course, it all went sour and for whatever reason Mourinho ended up taking his special self off to look for pastures new. Thankfully Internazionale supremo Massimo Moratti was fed-up of Roberto Mancini’s winning ways and appointed Mourinho to improve on such a sorry state of affairs. Mourinho delivered the Serie A title-Inter’s fourth in a row- meaning the Milan outfit could join the two teams from Turin as the only three Italian teams to achieve such a feat.
All this reads like a managerial record found in Roy of the Rovers, domestic titles plus UEFA and Champions League glory, are surely the efforts of a truly gifted coach.
Other coaches across the globe must look at Mourinho’s record with envy, only on Championship Manager have such achievements seemed possible.
However, before we all burst with adulation, there is an argument to be made that maybe the ‘Special One’, is not so special after all, some may argue the terms, ‘Fortunate’ or ‘Downright Lucky One’ would be more appropriate. This may sound like blasphemy to certain people so allow me to explain.
At Porto there can be no denying that Mourinho achieved unparalleled success particularly in Europe. It’s here where the first signs of his good fortune can be found. Many Celtic fans will remember that fateful night in Seville where Mourinho’s side prevented the Glaswegians of their first chance of European glory since 1967. The game will not be remembered for just the goals, sendings off, and the drama of a last minute Porto winner but also the manner in which the Portuguese players spent much of the match, rolling around on the deck, performing the sort of dramatics the Royal Shakespeare Company would be proud of. While at the end of the day a victory is a victory few neutrals-and even fewer Celtic fans -can have been impressed with Porto’s playacting which no doubt unsettled the Scottish team. Being a bit unfair does not make you lucky though and surely winning the Champions League the following season could extinguish such a notion.
Porto’s Champions League triumph, seems like a real David versus Goliath act of heroism, one of Europe’s smaller clubs taking on and beating the giants of the European game. However, Porto’s path to the final saw the club encounter only two true heavyweights Real Madrid and Manchester United. Against Madrid, Porto lost 3-1 at home and drew at away to get through the group stage as runners-up. It’s the tie against United where Mourinho’s luck finally came to the forefront. Porto won in the Dragon Stadium 2-1, leaving United needing a two clear goals win at Old Trafford to go through. The return leg will be forever etched in United fans minds as one where injustice seemed to prevail, Scholes, after giving United the lead then scored a perfectly good second which would have seen United through. However it was wrongly judged offside and a Tim Howard mistake in the last minute saw Porto grab an equalizer. Porto then got past the likes of Lyon and Deportivo before defeating Monaco in the final.
Following that success Mourinho was off to Chelsea to win every domestic honour going. It’s here where both his luck and his shortcomings were exposed. He inherited a team that contained, Makelele, Lampard, Cole, Duff, Robben, Gallas and Bridge with Cech already on his way. There is a good chance Claudio Ranieri could have won the title himself had he been given an extra year at Stamford Bridge, after all the previous season they’d been runners-up to the Arsenal ‘Invicibles’- hardly a shameful campaign.
Mourinho of course wasn’t bought in just to win the league, for all the money he’d forked out Champion’s league success was the only one which could truly satisfy Abramovich. Rafa Benitez had other ideas though as his Liverpool side prevailed in the semi-final. Mourinho would of course scream at the injustice of the so-called ‘goal that never was’- despite the fact that had Luis Garcia’s goal not counted, Cech would have been sent off and Liverpool would have been awarded a penalty. ‘The Still Special One’ also failed to explain why his team deserved to go through despite not being able to score in over 180 minutes of football including almost a full 90 following Garcia’s winner. While the following season saw Chelsea retain their title, Barcelona put paid to any Champions League aspirations in the first knockout stage.
Mourinho’s final full season at Stamford Bridge was also his least successful; Benitez again triumphed over ‘The Not Quite as Special Anymore One’ in the Champions League, while United gained back the title. Chelsea’s only success was in the FA cup where once again lady luck was smiling down on Mourinho. Ryan Giggs’s shot clearly crossed the line in normal time, but neither the referee nor linesman managed to see it, before Drogba grabbed an extra-time winner.
The following season saw ‘The Barely Special One’ leave following a 1-1 draw at home to Rosenborgs. Although that result is hardly the cause of his departure, Mourinho for whatever reason left without attempting to regain the League title he had lost or try and finally win Chelsea a Champion’s League. In fact Avram Grant’s efforts which took Chelsea to within a penalty miss of Champions League glory were even attributed to Mourinho in some sections of the press.
And so on to Internazionale where Mourinho , now in his second full season at the San Siro has simply carried on from where Mancini left off. Retaining the Serie A title and failing in Europe. This season will see him get a chance to rectify that with Inter through to the second round where they’ll face none other than Chelsea. The signing of Samuel Eto’o in exchange for Zlatan Ibramihovic- with Inter also getting around 45 million euros- is probably one of the best pieces of business done by a top European manager in the last decade or so, but how much of that was down to Mourinho is anyone’s guess.
It seems ‘The Manager Formerly Known as the Special One’ is still highly regarded by many and has been tipped to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson at United when- if ever- he finally does retire. If you scratch the surface though, there’s a case to be made that Mourinho is a manager who’s rode more than his fair share of luck, inherited good teams at the right time, and been better at self-promotion than any other manager since perhaps Brian Clough. Whether he really is a Special One is not as open and shut a case as it may seem.
Read more of Justin Mottershead writings at his blog ‘Name on the Trophy’
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I’d agree he’s a little overrated…he’s probably still in the top 3 managers in the world along with Ferguson and Capello mind you but he has been fortunate and he’s not once brought through a youth team player of any note at any club. His achievements at Porto were probably his most impressive…he even made Paulo Ferreira look like a passable right back.
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“Ryan Giggs’s shot clearly crossed the line in normal time”
Get your facts right. Cech had the ball saved before Giggs pushed him over the line. That does not count as a goal. As for the rest of this article, I wonder why the author’s so bitter. Mourinho’s teams always exhibit mental strength which more often than not takes them through to the finish line. Inheriting a strong team does not prove a damn thing. Strong teams still cannot win trophies without the right manager. Manchester City and Chelsea in the Ranieri era proves it. Crediting luck to 5 league titles, 1 Champions league trophy and numerous other cups is freaking ridiculous. Get a life.
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“he’s not once brought through a youth team player of any note at any club.”
Really? I could have sworn he handed a senior debut to Davide Santon last January. That’s the Davide Santon who is now an Italian international. It was also Mourinho who really brought a young Ricardo Carvalho along at Porto. For years before Mourinho’s arrival, he had been struggling on the fringes of the first team. He did the same with Helder Postiga, making him look good enough for Spurs to spend silly money on him.
I should also be remembered that, when at Chelsea, where instant success compromised his options re young players, it was Mourinho who brought a young Lassana Diarra to Stamford Bridge as Makelele’s heir. Wasn’t a bad spot, on reflection. He also signed and gave early experience to John Obi Mikel.
In other words, that’s harsh.
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When you mentioned fortunate and lucky, I had hoped you might touch on the fact that he inherited a very good side from Claudio Ranieri, who was the manager responsible for signing both Cech and Robben. Benitez also benefited from the Italians ability to put a good side together, when he took over from the ‘Tinkerman’ at Valencia.
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He has won trophies since he started as a coach. by far the best for the last 8 years. so shut up and give him credit!!!
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The writer only succeeded in showing his Mourinho hatred. It is not true that he inherited a good side from Ranieri rather it was the Tinkerman that inherited an excellent team from Gianluca Vialli and messed it up. Yes he inherited Terry, Lampard and Joe Cole but even a blind man will attest to the fact that he made them better players. As to his assertion that Mourinho just rode on luck, when does it become a crime for one to be lucky? Who among the coaches that doesn’t benefit from luck? Let me remind the writer whether he like it or not Mourinho is the Special One and he will never be forgotten in years to come for the way he impacted on the Premier League. Because whether you like it or not Avram Grant with all his Mourinho hatred benefitted from his work to reach the Champions League final. Louis Felipe Scolari failed when he attempted to alter The Special One’s tactics and both Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelloti are beneficiaries of Mourinho’s work.
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As cliche as it may be: Mourinho’s made his own luck.
Every great manager has recieved a fair slice of luck. Take Sir Alex’s two CL wins-two 90+ minute goals in ’99 after being outplayed and a John Terry missed penalty in ’08. His achievement was in getting United in to those postions in the first place.
Mourinho is a true winner. He took over a stalled and under achieving Porto side that hadn’t won the league for three years and motivated and nutured players like Deco, Ferrara and Carvalho. You can’t possibly dispute two back to back league titles and a UEFA and CL win as lucky. It is doubtful Portugese teams will ever taste that type of success again. On the way to those European triumphs he had to compete against the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Celtic. With Benny McCarthy as his striker no less!
To Chelsea Mourinho added credibility and supreme mental strength. He may have inherited Lampard, Terry, J.Cole and Cech but under him they became world class and formed part of an unstoppable force. He added the likes of Drogba, Essien, Carvalho and Mikel-who are now integral to Chelsea. His time at Chelsea wasn’t perfect but 6 trophies in 3 years plus 2 CL semi finals is pretty damn good. Others with money have failed since(see Scolari at Chelsea, Man City, new Real Madrid galacticos). The Liverpool semis saw him be unlucky imo-Chelsea deserved to win one of those but tough they didn’t. Now he is at Inter and has managed to motivate a side that’s already tasted so much domestic success and keep them winning. He has to do better in Europe with them it’s true but they already play better football this season after selling Ibra-what a team he has built. Correcting his mistakes from last season. Pandev, Sneijder, Milito et al. The comparsion with last season and Mancini’s team before is unbelievable. They have started to play better football and you can clearly see Jose’s mentality rubbing off on them-more confidence in play, mental strength and last minute wins typical of Chelsea and Porto. He’s also bringing the young players through-Santon, Krhin etc whilst trying to develop Balotelli and McDonald. Not too mention his home league record which surely is down to more than sheer luck?8 years unbeaten in a realtively short managerial career.Over three teams and three different leagues. One home league defeat in his entire career. Overrated?pah. Not above crticism that’s for sure, not perfect, but still special.
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So the headline to this article is “Is Jose Mourinho a little overrated?” the answer to that is absolutely….not! He is not overrated one bit in my eyes, and you know why? because he has proven over and over that he is the real deal when it comes to grinding out tough wins and bringing home the silverware when it really matters, he is a master tactician in the game of football, a real strategist, he knows how to beat teams inside out by his Analytical Thinking, Ive never seen a coach so confident in his ability to take charge…lets see his time with FC Porto: 2 Portuguese league titles, 1 Portuguese cup, 1 Portuguese super cup, 1 UEFA Cup and 1 UEFA Champions League.
His time with Chelsea:2 Premier League titles, 2 carling cups, 1 FA cup, 1 Community shield. His time with Inter Milan:2 Serie A titles, 1 coppa italia, 1 supercoppa italia, and 1 champions league….so in total his silverware count is 6 Domestic League titles, 3 Domestic Cup, 3 Domestic Super Cup, 2 League Cup, 1 UEFA Cup, 2 UEFA Champions League….and in the total count of the silverware listed he has won the glorious “TREBLE” feat twice once with porto and once with inter milan, basically 17 titles in 8 yrs of professional management, now you tell me if the guy is overrated, cause all i say is the statistics show that he is no joke and a proven winner.
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a little over-rated , after the 5-0 classico but nevertheless a great coach
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