The Downfall Of José Mourinho

again please don't call me arrogant because what I I'm saying is true I'm European Champion so I'm not one of of the bottle I'm I think I'm a special one in the space of a decade Jose Mourinho climbed to the Pinnacle of European football conquering every country he set foot in he was truly the special one for the last few years have seen his stock fall to a level that once upon a time would seem impossible leaving many to ask the question question what's happened well I think I've found the answers Let Me Explain how

and why football's greatest character and arguably greatest manager has been unfairly labeled the finished one but also how his best chapter could be yet to come mourinho's management style is quite unique he wants to be more than someone who can affect his players on the grass he wants to affect their minds their lives when he started his management Journey he aimed to redefine the role he wanted to become a football technocrat a theoretician a psychologist a motivator Jose's unique and Fresh Approach was why his meteoric rise in Portugal was so well meteoric he was different

but over the last 10 years a new trend has emerged within the game which has harmed Jose sty of management clubs at all levels now want head coaches not managers it's now expected for these so-called head coaches to oversee just coaching a match days with some input into transfers when the club sees fit obviously there are exceptions but that's the general model in today's game this new trend is down to the frequency of managers being sacked clubs want to protect themselves and not put all their trust and resources into one person not relying on a

manager to oversee all parts of a football club is arguably the right thing to do because should things go wrong all things come to a natural conclusion the breakup won't cause as much damage clubs now have far wider structures in place with departments and teams that specialize in specific areas as a result managers are far less powerful than what they used to be for managers like Jose who want Total Control and oversight this new model just doesn't unlock what they're best at the Portuguese prefers things to be far simpler and he likes to be relied

upon by the club to steer it in his Direction when reflecting on his first stint as Chelsea manager he said that structure was not complex that structure was very simple Roman Peter Canyon and Jose there are no doubts about the responsibilities it worked immediately Jose needs to be integral in creating the environment the dressing room the feeling from a recruitment standpoint both back room staff and playing staff he wants his people not someone else's in inter's 20091 treble winning season Wesley Schneider went as far as to say he would kill and die for Mourinho the

power Jose has over his players is arguably more defining than anything he does tactically it pushes his players to reach the heights he needs them to reach but he can only achieve this strangle hold over the dressing room if he has his players there's that famous story whilst at Chelsea in his first spell Jose told Roman Abramovic to sign a young DDA Drogba from Mar say ahead of some of the world's best forwards Abramovich hadn't heard of the ivorian but Jose told him to Simply pay and don't speak Jose's judgment was trusted and the rest

is history with how many people that have an input into signings in today's current landscape would Jose have got the man he really wanted I'm not sure over the last decade there's no doubt Jose has been handed players he doesn't want trust or believe in whilst also having to collaborate with departments and teams he's had no part in forming he's had to let go of responsibility responsibilities that have been integral to how he's controlled some of football's most demanding dressing rooms and delivered the biggest trophies I think Jose has found it extremely hard adjusting to

the modern way of working at football clubs clubs are now obsessed with building long-term sustainable projects to achieve this it's felt a manager who can grow with the project and be part of the process is required no matter what you think about Jose Mourinho he's not someone who goes into clubs to achieve something in 5 years time it's all about the present his focus on the short term has been his downfall at times one of the reasons he was sacked at man united was due to his refusal to implement young players complaining on occasions that

the ones around the first team weren't good enough in today's game this isn't attractive to Major clubs with compliance to financial fair play or ffp becoming more significant homegrown players frommy are becoming and rightly so a priority as they can save clubs huge amounts of money or be sold for big profit ffp didn't exist when Jose was at Porto Chelsea and Inter Milan and only just started when he was at Real Madrid the clubs where he enjoyed the majority of his success a climate where ffp didn't exist suited Jose far more his approach to management

requires full backing from the ownership restrictions hurt him for example at Roma specifically in his third season he became incredibly frustrated over a lack of financial backing from the owners with disagreements over potential transfers due to the club's precarious ffp position the poor third season which he was sacked halfway through was a result of this irritation when we reflect on Jose at his best the idea of having to grow develop and mold players build a project think longterm and be sustainable wasn't a necessity it is now if you analyze his success at Porto Chelsea Inter

Milan and Real Madrid at all those clubs he had a group of core players he arrived to who were ready to challenge for big things even at Porto where he achieved The Impossible winning the Champions League in 2004 he had the perfect blend in his Squad of talent hard work and great professionals at perfect points in their careers that's not me diminishing what he achieved there at all that miracle was the work of Jose not God but a dressing room never mind that a club that is as ready to win as he is is essential

to how successful he'll be if you look at his last three jobs man united Spurs and roma whilst they're all massive clubs they weren't ready to challenge for major honors like Jose was it's a testament to how how brilliant he is that he still brought success to two of those three you see Jose hasn't suddenly got worse as a manager either because of the football climate changing or through poor choices with his career he hasn't found himself in an environment that unlocks his true ability in over a decade Jose's obsession with winning immediately was his

biggest strength but in today's climate and at the clubs he's recently coached it's been his biggest weakness the expectation of how football should be played has changed pragmatic solid and reactive football which is mourinho's preference is widely viewed as a negative approach to the game unlike modern-day clubs and fans Jose doesn't believe that possession is essential to winning football matches as a result people no longer see the beauty in Jose's philosophy only the clubs and fans that have enjoyed success with him do because they know when it's done right it can be extremely effective and

surprisingly thrilling you only have to look at Jose's 201112 Real Madrid title Winning Side they still have the record for the most goals scored in the Spanish Top Flight season the Schooler thought that Jose can no longer challenge for football's biggest honors because he's tactically oldfashioned is nonsense the problem is he requires a squad to have a high level of ability mental fortitude and discipline to carry out what he asks something he hasn't had access to for years due to not having this opportunity for a while people have Associated his recent decline with the idea

that he can't coach a modern style of play he can't keep up he hasn't adapted and because of this stereotype which he seemingly can't shake off to the elite clubs he's fallen out of fashion quite remarkably this idea that Jose say is tactically out of date not sexy anymore mirrors the perception of him as a person it's obvious that he's not the same man who strolled so confidently into World football in the early 2000s he's older he's changed of course his drive and passion for the game is still intact and he remains one of the

game's best characters but it feels like that Superstar Aura has waned he's always been known for his touchline behavior someone who's as equally engaging to watch as the match itself but at Roma in particular he was interesting to watch for all the wrong reasons in his 2 and 1 half years at the Italian Club he missed 16 games because of a touchline ban of course he delivered that special night in Albania the fans loved him and he loved them too but he often looked like he was working with players who weren't going to bring him

the success he craves when he's successful the outrageous behavior has a charm to it it's just Jose being Jose he's used this part of his personality to unsettle opposition try and create reactions and whether you agree with it or not it's worked for the Portuguese however when he's not winning consistently and contending for significant trophies his conduct appears aggressive and IR ratee his unwavering winners mentality and passion can be seen very differently depending on whether it's viewed through the lens of success or failure to the top clubs that would give Jose the platform to show

how special he can still be his style of football is no longer seen as sexy nor is he as a person the idea of International Management has been floated about for years he's been approached multiple times by multiple countries but he's rejected all the offers citing that it's never been the right timing or it's not something he currently wants to do but I feel this has to be his next step if he were to manage one of the top Nations he would have access to the elite talents who have Elite mindsets something I think he's

hungry for he wouldn't have to think about the big picture or the long-term plan International Football is rare in the fact that the next match is the only thing that matters also the big one of games requiring Jose's Elite in game management and tactical nuances would put him in his element it's win at all costs essentially Jose's manra International Football would solve all the issues I've raised but whatever his future holds Jose still is and will always be the special one undoubtedly the last decade has dimmed his shine but I believe that ability to push

teams to football bu in glory is still in there he just needs the right environment the right challenge to unlock it again