To many of his colleagues and supporters of rival clubs, Jose Mourinho is an intolerable human being.

His inaugural speech as Chelsea manager in 2004 set the tone. Slumped and unshaven, as if the intoxication from Porto's Champions League-winning party were yet to subside, Mourinho declared to a roomful of British journalists he'd met for the first time; "Please don't call me arrogant because what I'm saying is true. I'm European champion, so I'm not one of the bottle. I think I am a special one. We have top players and, sorry if I'm arrogant, we have a top manager."

The moniker of 'The Special One' has stuck with Mourinho. But for better or worse, so has the stigmatism of arrogance even a decade later. To some, he's a symbol of how Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea's way into the Premier League's summit. To others, he's simply an obnoxious, classless, predisposed, disrespectful and egotistical fellow who seemingly thrives in the role of pantomime villain.

Of course, comparing Arsene Wenger to a voyeur and describing him as a 'specialist in failure', insisting upon shaking hands with opposing managers before the final whistle, poking Barcelona's Tito Vilanova in the eye and making a habit of running the length of the touchline to celebrate goals, hasn't done Mourinho's image much good.

Not that he particularly cares. And last night's comedic rant at Chelsea's award ceremony, powerpoint presentation and all, will only reinforce pejorative opinions of the Portuguese. This was Mourinho's equivalent of Apollo Creed's conceited entrance in Rocky IV, aided in his audacity by James Brown and Star Spangled attire, as the Chelsea gaffer gloatingly revelled in the glory of a third Premier League title.

He named no names but the targets of Mourinho's comedic roasting were obvious. He accused fourth-place Manchester United, the only Premier League side to have averaged more than 60% possession this season, of wanting to play 'without goals', free-scoring Manchester City, who netted the most Premier League goals this year, 83, of asking FIFA if they could play with only one goal, and late bloomers Arsenal of requesting the season start in January, before declaring his verdict of Chelsea's campaign.

"And finally came another team. They wanted to play with the normal rules. And they know that to win matches they need to score one more goal than the opponent. They did it both ways, scoring a lot, conceding some or scoring one goal and keeping clean sheets. They played from August to May and sometimes they brought the bus.

"I don't think my players have had the respect they deserve after what they did from day one to the last day," concluded Mourinho, to a rapture of applause.

Many will argue respect goes both ways and Mourinho doesn't always show it - in fact, quite the opposite. Yet, the Portuguese's arrogance is a paradoxical one, juxtaposed by his own pragmatic and cautious philosophy. It may seem counter-intuitive, but no top Premier League side pays more respect to their opponents than Mourinho's Chelsea.

Arsenal and Manchester City approach every fixture in the same way, as if only their performance and not that of the opposition can have any influence on the eventual outcome. The Gunners could be playing Bradford or Bayern Munich, but they'll still push up their full-backs, flood the midfield and attempt to score only the most beautiful of goals, threading the ball through countless unnecessary needles in the process. When they're three-nil up, they push for even more.

The same can be said of the Citizens, who had the audacity to play 4-4-2 against the greatest passing institution in the game today, Barcelona, earlier this season. Both hide behind the banner of 'positive football', but in truth, they act as if they're the coolest kids in the playground - the jocks, the stars of the school team - and everybody else should bow before them to accept inevitable hidings. When they lose to a minnow they're shocked and stunned, seemingly oblivious to the idea football isn't only about scoring well-worked goals.

Compare that to a Chelsea side, constructed upon the fear of conceding even to teams of the local pub league. Whether they face the winners of League Two or La Liga, they expect a gruelling slog and remain ever-cautious of football's knack of favouring the underdog as well as the goalscoring quality every Premier League team poses. Meanwhile, Mourinho is humble enough to reduce any fixture to a one-goal game, regardless of how Chelsea's performance might be interpreted in the tabloids, if it ensures victory. Rather than earning the appreciation of his critics for an attacking masterclass, he battens down the hatches knowing any opposing player could provide one game, one half, one moment of divine inspiration.

There's no better example than Chelsea's 2-0 victory at Liverpool last season, effectively ending the latter's title bid. Few teams survived the first twenty minutes at Anfield last year with Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez in superlative form, yet Arsenal and Manchester City both attempted to roll over the Reds in their own manor by trying to outplay the most in-form side in the league. They saw themselves as somehow unique to the rest of the division, assuming Liverpool could only scalp the Premier League's rank and file, and lost 5-1 and 3-2 respectively.

Chelsea, on the other hand, parked the bus for the full ninety minutes and waited for their chances on the counter-attack, showing the SAS the the respect they deserved. It lead to allegations of negative, boring football, but it was also the only way to beat a Liverpool side who had previously won 15 of their lasr 17 games at Anfield. That's genuine deference of your peers and rivals and it's hardly Mourinho's first or last instance of this kind - in fact, it's what everybody seems to be moaning about right now.

I'm a firm believer that actions speak louder than words. Yes, Mourinho's rhetoric lacks morality and decency, predominantly falling between the lines of self-promoting claims of divinity and vicious swipes at his Premier League counter-parts. But in terms of how he approaches the game itself, he's always humble, respectful and fearful of the quality the opposition offer.

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