Television cameras are ubiquitous in
football; they capture every incident
from every angle. It is why the world’s
favourite sport has been lumbered
with VAR, and why people inside the
game are forever on their guard.
How often do you see players and
managers cup hands over their mouth
so that endless replays cannot be used
to lip-read their conversation? They
learn, and they are taught early, that
nothing is private in modern football.
Think of this reality if you watchAll
or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur,thenew
TV series onAmazon Primeabout life
inside Spurs last season, when manager
Mauricio Pochettino was sacked and
replaced byJose Mourinho.
Yes, the show is fine enough
entertainment, and provides some
moments of insight – as with similar
series about other football clubs. But
the unvarnished truth behind the
scenes at Spurs? You must be joking.
Mourinho, inevitably, is the star of the
show, and tried to be a loyal salesman
for the product when he said: “Nothing
is fake, everything is real. So, so, so, so
real; nobody acted for it.”
The idea is nonsense. Look, for
example, at the moment in the show
when a pundit on TV barks out an
opinion that Mourinho is past his best
as a manager. The newly-appointed
Tottenham boss responds by walking
towards the television screen delivering
an expletive of only mild contempt.
This is an actor at work. But thenJose Mourinho is always an actor, and
this is not said as criticism, but exactly
the opposite. Acting is an essential part
of the football manager’s job. The best
are masters of theatrical performance,
from the noisy, stream-of-consciousness
mania ofJurgen Klopp to the brooding
silence of Marcelo Bielsa sitting on his
upturned green bucket.
Long ago Mourinho revealed thatpress conferences and media interviews
were his big stage, the place where he
could set the agenda and help give his
players freedom to relax by taking all
the burden of scrutiny onto himself.
One day he’d charm the birds from
the trees, the next he’d scowl with fury
about the most trivial matter. Thereal
Mourinho? No, you never saw that;the
magic would be gone if you did.
When the TV show was conceived
Tottenham were rising to the heights of
reaching the 2019 Champions League
final. Filming began as they fell apart,
and Mourinho was a surprise choice
as manager given that his risk-aversefootball philosophy is somewhat distant
from Spurs’ motto of “To Dare Is To Do.”
There is a view that his appointment
was cynically pragmatic - made with the
cold calculation that the fascination
with his charisma and legend would
be camouflage for a sporting business
struggling to finance both a splendid
stadium and a splendid team.
Mourinho hates that idea. HeTHEWORLD THIS MONTH
AT THE HEART OF THE GAME
Jim
HOLDEN
remains convinced of his talent and
destiny; think of the highly theatrical
rant towards the end of his time at
Manchester United when he angrily
demanded “respect, respect, respect”.
Tottenham happened to face
Everton on the opening day of the
Premier League season, providing a
compelling contrast of manager with
Carlo Ancelotti, who is on a similar
mission to revive a major English club.
Both men have won League titles in
four different countries. Both worked
at Real Madrid, Chelsea and in the city
of Milan. Ancelotti may be 3-2 ahead
in Champions League triumphs, but
Mourinho has more trophies in total.
Their styles, though, are a world
apart, and Ancelotti is not concerned
by the hurricane of public opinion.
Spurs lost1-0 and immediately the
vultures swooped on Mourinho, while
Ancelotti was lauded. In the next game
Tottenham won 5-2 at Southampton
and by that time had signed superstar
Gareth Bale amid a blizzard of positive
headlines and clicking cameras.
It improved the mood; time will tell
if it improves the team, and whether
the dazzling vaudeville magic act of
the Tottenham manager still has a
future as resplendent as its past.Always
performing...
Jose MourinhoThis is an actor at work. But then Jose
Mourinho is always an actor, and this is not
said as criticism, but exactly the oppositeDocumentary shines spotlight on Jose the actor