Jose Mourinho isn’t called the ‘Special One’ for nothing. The Portuguese manager has a penchant for winning trophies upon arrival at any club in any league. Or at least he used to.
With his ‘Special One’ status under threat thanks to a disastrous 2015-16 season with Chelsea and a less than desirable start with Manchester United, Mourinho’s become quite the cornered animal lashing out against anyone and everything around him.
Most recently, he blamed the officials and his own players' inability to handle the pressure after their 3-1 defeat to Watford. Playing the blame game has always been Mourinho’s thing. When he was winning trophies and whining, it was quite amusing but all his current complaining just makes him sound like a sore loser.
Also Read: EPL 2016-17: Jose Mourinho blames Luke Shaw after defeat to Watford
The Special One’s list of excuses is long, some have even landed him in trouble but that hasn’t stopped him from using these ten favourite complaints over the years
10. ‘Enemy of Football’
Jose Mourinho has made it very plain over the years that he neither trusts nor likes referees. This distrust started pretty early in his career and one particular incident stands out from 2005.
Chelsea lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the last 16 stage of the Champions League. But it wasn’t just the defeat that sparked off his famous outburst. Didier Drogba was sent off in the second half and Mourinho claimed to know why.
“When I saw Frank Rijkaard entering the referee’s dressing room I couldn’t believe it. When Didier Drogba was sent off, I wasn’t surprised,” said Mourinho. The implication of what he said was pretty clear and his famous comment had far-reaching effects.
The referee in question, Anders Frisk received death threats from fans and was forced to retire. The extreme consequences of his complaining led Volker Roth of UEFA to label him as an ‘enemy of football’ and was handed a two-match ban for inciting so much hate and aggression.
9. Parking the bus
It’s funny when the man who has made a name for himself in football for parking the bus, complains about another team doing the exact same thing. Back in 2004, in a London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea was held to a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Quite obviously, he didn’t like being beaten at his own game since he was visibly frustrated about the entire match and its outcome.
He said, “As we say in Portugal, they brought the bus and they left the bus in front of the goal... I would have been frustrated if I had been a supporter who paid £50 to watch this game because Spurs came to defend.” Guess two can play at Mourinho’s game.
8. Manchester United’s conspiracy
Before Mourinho became a Red Devils man himself, he didn’t look too kindly on Manchester United. This one might sound a little far out but he accused United of conspiring with referees for decisions in their favour.
At the end of the 2006-07 season, the Portuguese was frustrated with Chelsea’s runner’s up finish and, according to him, it was due to a collusion between United and referees.
“The circumstances are difficult for us with the new football rules that we have to face. It is not possible to have a penalty against Manchester United and it is not possible to have penalties in favour of Chelsea. It is not a conspiracy, it is fact. I speak facts. If not, I need big glasses."
While his sarcasm wasn’t lost on anyone, maybe he should have sprung for a new pair of spectacles.
7. Arrogant Ronaldo
Mourinho landed one of the biggest managerial gigs in football when he was appointed as manager of Real Madrid but he never really made the most of his time there, except making the El Clasico an even more violent and aggressive clash.
As the Los Blancos boss, he worked with Cristiano Ronaldo and this is one complaint that he can’t be ridiculed for.
"I had just one problem with Cristiano, very simple, very basic and it's from a tactical aspect that I noticed, which I brought up in order to improve upon and make him better... And at that moment, he didn't take it very well because maybe he thinks he knows everything and the coach cannot help him to develop more,” claimed Mourinho and you can’t possibly blame him for harbouring such an opinion.
Of course, Ronaldo fans didn’t take too kindly to Mourinho’s criticism of his attitude.
6. Catalan for cheating
Usually, you’re either a Ronaldo fan or a Messi fan. But Jose Mourinho is neither. Apparently, fixtures between Chelsea and Barcelona are never free of controversy. In 2006, when Barcelona beat Chelsea in yet another Champions League clash, Mourinho was a very angry man.
Chelsea defender Asier del Horno was sent off during the first half for a foul on Lionel Messi. Mourinho claimed that Messi directed a split-second meaningful glance at the referee, Terje Hauge before he fell to the ground pretending to be hurt in spite of del Horno’s pretty deliberate and brutal studs-up challenge that connected with Messi’s knee.
Irrespective of the truth, which is usually the case with Mourinho, he had but one reaction to the incident, “What’s Catalan for cheating?”
5. ‘Arrest me’
Mourinho is quite the innuendo aficionado. First, when he was at Inter Milan, he hinted that Juventus were favoured by referees over other teams when he said, "I don't stick my head in the sand: I know there is only one team that has a penalty area 25 metres long.”
And then, if that wasn’t enough he made an even bolder claim during a match against Sampdoria where two of his players were sent off.
He made his infamous ‘hand in cuffs’ gesture’ and said, “You can take me away, arrest me, but my team is strong and will win anyway, even if we are reduced to nine men.” He didn’t get arrested but he was shown a red card. However, his bold claim about winning came true when he won the treble with Inter that season.
4. ‘Campaign against Chelsea’
Now, this is where Mourinho gets a little delusional. In December 2014, it seemed he was teetering on the line between sanity and madness when he claimed there was a giant conspiracy against Chelsea when instead of awarding a penalty to his team, referee Anthony Taylor booked Cesc Fabregas for a dive.
During his post-match conference, he said, “There is a campaign against Chelsea. I don't know why there is this campaign and I do not care.” He even told BBC Sport, “The media, commentators, other managers are all doing it [putting pressure on referees]."
His argument was this, since other managers in the league, like Sam Allardyce, were claiming that Chelsea players were diving, referees were being influenced to think in a similar manner instead of believing the facts.
3. TV Pundits or Parasites?
Mourinho has quite possibly complained about every single sports TV pundit of note in England. Since it’s not possible to recall every single one of them (there are so many), here’s his rant to the Sunday Express about them and it pretty much sums up his opinion of the entire profession:
“The best job in the world is to be a sacked coach. You get up at 10.30am, take breakfast, go for a jog followed by a sauna and a calm surf of sporting sites on the net.
“Lunch with friends, a siesta, a walk, a meeting with your adviser to see how the markets are doing, a visit to the bank to weigh up the interest rates, or to see if the salary the club is still paying you has cleared the account. Return home, have a great meal with the family. That still leaves you time to criticise people you don’t know.
“There are so many coaches in this world who want to work but can’t and there are those dashing blades who, through their quality and prestige, could work but don’t want to, because life as a parasite fulfils them professionally and economically. Get to work you idle scoundrel! And if you don’t want to, let others work in peace.”
2. ‘30, 33, 43, 69’
Jose Mourinho was under a lot of heat as Chelsea manager when he made this rather cryptic complaint after Chelsea’s match against Burnley during the 2014-15 season. ‘30’, ‘33’, ‘43’, ‘69’ – what could it possibly mean? Was it code? Was it someone’s phone number? GPS coordinates? Well, no. Those were the moments of the game where Mourinho did not agree with the referee’s decisions and felt he would be reprimanded if he said too much.
Instead of directly calling out the referee, he made his complaints known in a rather circuitous manner, making it one of his more amusing rants after the match ended unfavourably for his team.
1. The Arsene Wenger incidents
Arsene Wenger is quite possibly Jose Mourinho’s favourite punching bag, sometimes literally. He loves hating him and surely, the feeling is mutual. Mourinho and Wenger’s rivalry is an old one and neither loses an opportunity to complain about the other. The Portuguese called the Arsenal manager a voyeur back in 2005 when he said:
“I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea."
That isn’t all of course. Mourinho didn’t like it when Wenger spoke of Mata’s sale to Manchester United in 2014. He said, “Wenger complaining is normal, because he always does. It's something that we know.” It’s a little ridiculous that Mourinho complained about Wenger complaining. Complain-ception much?
