THE PREM ERA 19delighted in his masterful deflection of
criticism. The classic Mourinho tactic
of deflecting attention away from his
players was in evidence after an away
victory over Catania. Inter had won
thanks to a dubious penalty, but the
opposition director Pietro Lo Monaco
had complained of his side losing to a
decision that favoured their big-name
opponents.
Asked about Lo Monaco’s attack,
Mourinho responded: “Who the hell is
Lo Monaco? I do not know who he is.
“With the name Monaco I have heard
of the Monaco GP, the Tibetan Monaco
[“monk”] and the Principality of Monaco.
I have never heard of any others.”
Not even Inter’s ultra-defensive
tactics against Barcelona in the
semi-final of the Champions League
could upset Italian sensibilities. On the
contrary, Mourinho delighted in saying
afterwards: “They say we park the bus.
That was no bus, that was an aeroplane.”
After claiming his second European
Cup with Inter’s defeat of Van Gaal’sBayern Munich, Mourinho could rightly
lay claim to once again being the world’s
leading coach, his stock higher than ever.
Real Madrid’s hiring of Mourinho in
the summer of 2010 had little to do
with admiration for Mourinho’s style
and methods and everything with a
pragmatic desire to secure “La Decima”- a tenth European Cup.
In Spain, Mourinho encountered a
media that was very different to what
he had experienced in England and Italy.
Madrid won La Liga in 2012 but
European success eluded them, with
Bayern Munich victorious on penalties
in the semi-final. By the time Borussia
Dortmund beat Mourinho’s side in the
2013 semi-finals, they were close to
surrendering the league title to
Barcelona.
Mourinho lost large sections of the
dressing room. Particularly damaging
was the criticism from senior players
Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, who
briefed the media on a regular basis.
“The press in Spain is different to
England,” saysJuan Castro from sports
dailyMarca. “We are used to being
allowed into the training ground, we
are used to speaking with the players.
We may not publish interviews with
the players, but we speak with them.
Mourinho did not like that because
he likes to control.”
Mourinho expected the Barcelona
media to attack him, but by the end of
his time in Spain the Madrid media had
also turned against him.
“He expected the press to be neutral,”
continues Castro. “But his football was
not enough to beat Barcelona. He
caused a lot of damage to Spanish
football with his negative attitude.”
For a man who hates losing, failing to
win the European Cup with Real Madrid
had a profound effect – especially as
Madrid won “La Decima” after he left.
His behaviour
while in charge
of Real Madrid- which included
poking Tito
Vilanova, who was
then the assistant
toPep Guardiola,
during the 2011
Spanish Super
Cup–wasa
significant factor
in scaring off
Manchester United,
who opted for
the safer, but
ultimately
unsuccessful
guidance of David
Moyesin2 01 3.
Instead, Mourinhohas returned to
Chelsea, where fans and directors alike
accept that pragmatic tactics may be
the price to pay for further success.
Chelsea’s players were criticised for
their “nasty” behaviour for pressuring
the referee into sending off Zlatan
Ibrahimovic in the Champions League
round of16 tie. But defeat to ten-man
PSG highlighted the limitations of
Mourinho’s safety-first approach. His
claims that Chelsea’s squad may be too
small appear fanciful in the light of his
sanctioning the departures ofJuan Mata,
Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne.
Amid the nasty atmosphere
surrounding Chelsea’s high-profile
matches, and dubious claims of
conspiracies, Mourinho has attempted
to charm the public through set-piece
TV interviews, rather than regular
briefings with a written press that has
wised up to his histrionics.
His most high-profile interview this
season was a lifestyle feature set up
through a luxury car company that
pays him to act as their ambassador.
The older, wiser Mourinho said he was
happy to be back in London, where his
daughter is studying at art college.
He told theTelegraph: “In other places
I’ve worked you’re always walking in the
middle of your club’s fans. Milan: 50
per cent Inter, 50 per cent AC. Madrid:
maybe 70 per cent Real, 30 per cent
Atletico. In Porto,100 per cent. If
someone comes up to me, I like to
listen. Although if someone wants to give
me a lesson in football, of course not!
“But I think people in London
understand what it is to disturb and
not to disturb. They have a notion that
people need space, that people deserve
respect.
“If I am disturbed it is always by
non-English people. The English people
in the restaurant, of course they want an
autograph or a selfie, but they wait until
I finish my meal. Go to a shop, they wait- they don’t come when I’m choosing
my socks. And walking in the street
I have the same feeling.
“It is impossible in London that
somebody would disturb you because
of a negative result when you are walking
in the street with your family. Impossible!
In Madrid, Milan – always.”
Mourinho saviours the control
he enjoys over all aspects of his life in
London. And for the foreseeable future,
Roman Abramovich permitting, London
is the centre of his world.
JOSE MOURINHO
Chelsea did indeed go on to secure
the 2014-15 Premier League title, with
the foundations seemingly in place to
secure more and more trophies, both
domestically and abroad. Yet by
Christmas Mourinho had been sacked,
after one of the poorest title defences
in the league’s history. The Portuguese
manager couldn’t stay away for long
though, and by May 2016 he was back- this time at Manchester United.
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THE PREM ERA 19