Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is a football manager that needs no introduction to anybody who follows football. He is regarded by a number of pundits, players - both present and former and coaches as one of the smartest and tactfully brilliant managers to be presently active. He has been named as one of the top 10 greatest coaches since the foundation of UEFA.

Before becoming a full-time coach Jose worked as an interpreter and assistant manager with clubs like Barcelona and Porto under managers like Sir Bobby Robson and Louis Van Gaal. He started his managerial career with Benfica and is presently manage Premier League giants Manchester United.

Managerial Career and Titles

Mourinho started his managerial career with a short spell at Benfica, which lasted for only nine games. Yet this spell was successful, and he got offers from clubs like Newcastle. He left prematurely because of disagreements with the board regarding an extension of his contract and internal politics of the club.

Mourinho had another short and successful spell at Uniao de Leiria and he elevated the team to the fourth position in the league. This caught the attention of many Portuguese and international heavyweights, and he started gaining popularity as a keen and sharp-sighted manager who loved to surround himself with media controversies.

Jose joined Porto in the January of 2002. He guided the team from the fifth to the third place with a fifteen game unbeaten run in the Primeira Liga. At the end of the season, Jose promised to win the league the next season. The Portuguese fulfilled the promise, that too with a record, scoring 86 out of a maximum of 102 points. He also won the UEFA Club Final against Celtic.

The following season he won the Liga again, along with the Portuguese Super Cup, and also the UEFA Champions League. During this Champions league campaign, he developed a respectful and competitive relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson which would be further strengthened after his move to Chelsea in 2004. This is where he earned the nickname “The Special One”.

He retained several of his backroom staff from Porto. Under Mourinho, Chelsea secured their first top-flight domestic title in 50 years, setting a string of English football records in the process, including the most points ever achieved in the Premier League (95) and the fewest goals conceded (15). He even won the League Cup.

In his second season, he retained the League Cup title and went ahead to win the FA Cup. This also saw the development of the conflict between him and the owner of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich. He left Chelsea unexpectedly in 2007 as the most successful manager of the club.

Jose was then appointed the manager of Internazionale, where he had a mediocre first season, winning the League with a comfortable margin but having a below average Champions League spell.

The 2009-10 season was perhaps the best season of his life with titular wins in - Copa Italia, Serie A, and the Champions League. However he left Inter after this glorious spell and joined Real Madrid.

At the Spanish club, he had an under-average performance. He only won the La Liga once and the Copa Del Rey once across two seasons. Notably, he remained trophyless during his last season at Madrid which he claimed was the worst season of his life.

He returned to Chelsea and after his transitional season and went on to win the League Cup and the Premier League (with a wide margin) in the 2014-15 season. However, Mourinho left the following season, after a disappointing spell consisting of only 11 points in the last 12 games.

He then joined Manchester United in 2016 and has managed to win the EFL Cup and Europa Cup in his debut season with the club.

Tactics

Mourinho is highly renowned for his tactical prowess, game management and adaptability to different situations. Mourinho is also acknowledged for his attention to detail, organizational planning, and in-game communication.

He usually applies a classic 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation. However, at times this formation changes into a 4-5-1, something which happens at later stages of the tournament.

Jose prefers to have strong and stable central midfielders and quick wingers which he utilizes to the maximum. Mourinho is praised for his quick reactions to a game's events. With Chelsea, he had successfully employed the 4-1-2-3 formation which resulted in a winning goal by Demba Ba.