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Jose Mourinho is one of the most controversial managers in world football. He has courted drama, humor and been at everyone's lips throughout his career. The Portuguese has also made a reputation for himself by engaging in mind games.
His teams have not been famous for playing beautiful football, but rather getting the results. True to that, he has lifted league titles in England, Italy, Spain and Portugal. He is also a two-time UEFA Champions League winner.
Mourinho has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind. In fact, he proclaimed himself as the 'Special One' in one of his first press conferences after arriving at Chelsea. It is a name that has been synonymous with the Portuguese manager. There has been no stopping him when in his element. He would tear into other managers, teams, opposition players and his own team.
He has never believed in a soft style of management. His way of dealing with an under-performing player is to publicly criticize them in the media. It is a safe bet to say that the Premier League and world football at large are better with him in it.
As said before, he truly has not had any restraints when it comes to speaking out. Some have called him arrogant, others proud and some see him as a football genius. In the past, he has correctly predicted footballing events that shockingly came to pass. Love him or hate him, Mourinho will continue making the headlines.
#3 Arsenal result
Last season, Manchester United finished second in the Premier League behind rivals Manchester City. In the final seven matches, Mourinho was doing a quick breakdown of his team's goals and chances of finishing in the top four. He highlighted the number of wins needed to be guaranteed of Champions League football this season and also what it would take to finish second as City were already out of reach.
Interestingly, he mentioned the teams he would face in that period and boldly said that United would "obviously not lose (to Arsenal)" in an April match at Old Trafford. Given his experience, he already foresaw Arsenal focusing on the Europa League as a ticket back into the Champions League and thus would field a weakened team for the tie. This came to pass as Arsenal Wenger made wholesome changes to the squad. United eventually won the match 2-1.
#2 Correctly names Barcelona squad
In February 2005, he broke protocol by doing something that no one expected. Mourinho was 30 minutes deep into a pre-match press conference when he decided to name his starting line up for a crunch UEFA Champions League match against Barcelona at Nou Camp.
This was clearly one of his famous mind games. In order to get into the head of then Barca boss Frank Rijkaard, he also decided to name the entire Barca squad that would line up on match day.
In a space of a minute, he teased the media to know his squad and decided to go a step further. In the previous campaign, he did the same thing before Porto eliminated Manchester United en route to Champions League success.
Out of respect to Sir Alex Ferguson, he declined to name the Red Devils' squad on that occasion. As it turned out, he correctly predicted Rijkaard's team and the referee that would officiate. Chelsea eventually tossed Barcelona out 5-4 on aggregate.
#1 Predicts tough season
In August 2018, Manchester United were expected to bring in various players during the transfer window. However, the board did not back the manager to get the players he needed. Defence was an area identified that needed reinforcements. In the end, the United board led by Ed Woodward decided not to act which caused Mourinho to speak up.
"It will be a difficult season for everybody. For us, it will be a difficult season because I had my plans and I had my plans for many months, and I started the Premier League season without a situation I thought was possible," he told Sky Sports after a subdued opening league match against Leicester City. 11 league games later, his prediction has come to materialize.
United have only kept one clean sheet in 12 league games. Also, the team was eliminated by Championship side Derby County in the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford. The Red Devils have also suffered other embarrassing defeats this season to trail leaders City by 12 points. There is already cause for concern on whether or not the team can even finish in the top four let alone challenge for the league title.
