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Not many managers in the world have labeled themselves as the 'special one' and lived up to the hype. Jose Mourinho has always been a maverick, an enigma, but most importantly, a serial winner regardless of the club's he's managed. The Portuguese manager is one of the most famous names in football and has established himself as a legend of the beautiful game.
Mourinho impressed many during his spell as manager of Porto in 2002, where he won the Primeira Liga twice, a Taça de Portugal, the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.
Mourinho moved to England with Chelsea in 2004 after his impressive spell in Portugal. The Portuguese tactician came into his own and took the world by storm at Chelsea, where he won two Premier League titles, a FA Cup, and two League Cups in his three seasons at the club before he departed in 2007.
In 2008, he joined Italian giants Inter Milan, where he won the Serie A title in his first season. In 2010, he led the club to a European treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League, a first for an Italian club in the history of the beautiful game. Mourinho then moved to Real Madrid, where he won the La Liga title with a record points tally.
He then left Real Madrid in 2013 to rejoin Chelsea, where he won another league title and League Cup. However, he was dismissed in 2015 after a poor run of results. Less than a year later, Mourinho was hired by rival club Manchester United, where he won the UEFA Europa League, League Cup, and FA Community Shield in his first season before being dismissed in 2018.
During his time as manager at some of the biggest clubs in the world, Jose Mourinho has managed some of the biggest names in world football. The Special One has been infamous for having falling outs with some of the big players he has managed, but he has also successfully brought out the best in some of the most talented footballers in the world.
On that note, we will take a look at the all-time XI managed by Jose Mourinho.
Goalkeeper - Petr Cech
Many might question the inclusion of Petr Cech in this list because Mourinho managed Spanish legend Iker Casillas during his time at Real Madrid. Casillas was, however, cast aside by Mourinho, who preferred to play Diego Lopez during his stint as Real Madrid manager.
The signing of Petr Cech by Jose Mourinho coincided with Chelsea enduring one of their most successful periods as a club. Cech joined Chelsea along with Jose Mourinho in 2004 for £7 million. The Czech international quickly established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the modern game and became an integral part of Mourinho's Chelsea line-up.
Cech helped the club win four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Champions League title, and one UEFA Europa League title. He also holds Chelsea's all-time record for clean sheets, with 228.
Right-back: Javier Zanetti
Javier Zanetti will forever be known as one of the best full-backs to have ever played the game. The Argentine defender is the embodiment of the phrase ' one-club' man. Zanetti oozed class, consistency and discipline throughout his 19 years at Inter Milan.
He played for Italian club Inter Milan from 1995 to 2014, and served as captain from 2001. With 1,114 official games played, he is seventh on the list of players in history with the most career appearances.
He is also the foreign player with the most appearances in Serie A (615), holds the record for the most appearances for Inter (858), and won 16 trophies with the club.
Zanetti lead Inter to five Scudetti, four Coppa Italia, four Supercoppa Italiana, one UEFA Cup, one Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. During his time under the management of Jose Mourinho, Zanetti played a crucial role in the club winning a Scudetto in 2008-09 and the treble in 2009-10.
Center-back: Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos is widely regarded as one of the best footballers in the world and one of the best defenders of his generation. The Spain and Real Madrid captain has spent 15-years at the club, during which has won 22 major honors, including five La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles.
Ramos initially started his Real Madrid career as a right-back and even broke into the Spain squad as an out-and-out full-back. Jose Mourinho, however, saw Ramos' capabilities and turned him into a central defender and leader for Real Madrid.
Ramos has now grown into one of the best central defenders the world has ever seen and continues to maintain high standards even at the age of 34.
Center-back: John Terry
John Terry's ascent in football must be largely credited to the effect that Jose Mourinho had on his career. The former England and Chelsea captain is undoubtedly one of the best defenders England and the Premier League has ever produced.
Terry is Chelsea's most successful captain, having led them to five Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Europa League and one UEFA Champions League title. He is one of five players to have made over 500 appearances for Chelsea and is also the club's all-time highest scoring defender.
Terry has always been vocal in his admiration and gratitude towards Mourinho, who was able to get the best out of him and make him the leader that Chelsea needed.
Left-back: Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole was one of the best left-backs the world has ever seen. Cole rose to prominence at Arsenal, where he made his way through the youth system and became a key part of the Gunners side that went an entire season unbeaten in the Premier League.
Cole, however, joined Chelsea in 2006 in search of a club that matched his ambitions. At Chelsea, Cole won the Premier League in the 2009–10 season, four FA Cups, one Football League Cup and one UEFA Champions League.
He played only two seasons under Jose Mourinho, but his sheer quality and consistency, which made him one of the best defenders the game has ever seen, earns him an inclusion in this list.
Right-wing: Arjen Robben
Robben was one of Jose Mourinho's first signings at Chelsea. The Dutch winger joined Chelsea from PSV for £12 million. Robben will be most remembered for his time at Bayern Munich, but the left-footed maestro made a name for himself under Mourinho at Chelsea during the early stages of his career.
He helped Chelsea bring home two successive Premier League titles and was the Premier League Player of the Month in November 2005. Robben was then sold to Real Madrid the following season for €35 million.
After an unsuccessful spell at Real Madrid on a personal level, Robben joined Bayern Munich, where he went on to become one of the most feared attacking players in world football.
Central midfielder: Wesley Sneijder
The inclusion of Wesley Sneijder may come as a shock to many because Jose Mourinho managed the likes of Luka Modric, Kaka and so on, but Sneijder was an integral part of Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan side that won the treble in 2009.
Sneijder joined Inter in 2009 after a disappointing two-year spell at Real Madrid. At Inter, he won Serie A, the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup, and two Coppa Italia. Sneijder was able to reinvent himself and find his magic once more under the tutelage of the Portuguese manager.
The Dutch midfielder then became one of the most coveted players in world football and even led the Netherlands national team to the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, where they eventually finished as runners-up to Spain.
Central midfield: Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard is one of the best midfielders the world has ever seen. Lampard signed for Chelsea from West Ham for £11 million in 2001. In his 13 years with the club, he established himself as a prolific scorer from midfield, becoming Chelsea's all-time leading goalscorer, with 211 goals scored in all competitions.
Lampard won three Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, four FA Cups, a UEFA Europa League title, and two Football League Cups with Chelsea. In 2005, he was named FWA Footballer of the Year, and finished runner-up for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
Lampard's rise to fame at Chelsea occurred under the management of Jose Mourinho. Mourinho made Lampard into one of the best goalscoring midfielders in the Premier League.
Left-wing: Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo spent three years at Real Madrid under the management of Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese duo had some bust-ups, but achieved success for Real Madrid and on a personal level.
Under Mourinho, Ronaldo returned to Ballon D'or form after a bellow par 2009-10 season for Real Madrid. In the 2010-11 season, Ronaldo won the Pichichi Trophy, and the European Golden Shoe for a second time, becoming the first player to win the award in two different leagues.
Ronaldo then led Real Madrid to their first La Liga title in four years, registering a record 100 points in the process in the 2011-12 season. He is still one of the greatest players in the world, but under Mourinho, the Portuguese striker was at the peak of his powers.
Left-forward: Samuel Eto'o
In 2010, Eto'o signed with Inter Milan, where he became the first player to win two European continental trebles following his achievements with Barcelona and Inter.
Eto'o joined Inter Milan as one of the best strikers in the world and lived up to the hype. He thrived under the management of Mourinho and played a key role in helping the club win the domestic double and the Champions League in his first season, making Inter the first Italian club to do so.
Eto'o was widely regarded as one of the most lethal strikers in the world and achieved great success at some of the top European clubs.
Right-forward: Didier Drogba
Drogba has been labeled in the past, as one of Jose Mourinho's best signings ever. Drogba joined Chelsea in July of 2004 as a relatively unknown entity and went on to become one of the best strikers the Premier League has ever seen.
In his debut season, he helped the club win their first league title in 50 years, and a year later he won another Premier League title. Drogba has been referred to as the ultimate 'big-game player,' with a career record of scoring 10 goals in 10 finals winning 10 trophies at club level.
The Ivorian thrived under the management of Mourinho and was Chelsea's answer to legendary Arsenal striker Thierry Henry.
