Johan Cruyff believes that Mourinho is not a good representative
Johan Cruyff, former player and coach for Barcelona, has said that he would not use Jose Mourinho as a manager, if he is the owner of any club. This statement was given during an interview on the radio, when he was asked to compare the styles of Pep Guardiola
and Jose Mourinho, the managers of Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.
Cruyff said that the debate had nothing to do with football. Although, he had high regards for the Portuguese tactician Mourinho, but Cruyff believed that being a manager is something bigger than just bringing victories. According to the former Dutch legend,
Mourinho is better in taking his teams to success, but he is not a good representative. A manager, according to Cruyff, must act like a true representative of a club, an institution and all its members. In this regard, Cruyff puts Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola
above Mourinho.
Everyone knows that Johan Cruyff is a former Barcelona legend, and he is the one who introduced the current style of football in Barcelona. Therefore, being a diehard supporter and a staunch follower of Barcelona, he has to criticise Real Madrid. Therefore,
it is always natural for him to criticise Real Madrid and their system, while regarding Barcelona and the individuals involved with Barcelona.
As far as being a good representative is concerned, there are problems with Guardiola and Rijkaard. Both these managers have their ego problems, due to which they compelled many players to leave Barcelona. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Samuel Etto and Yaya Toure are
the clear examples from the times of Guardiola. All these players were playing good enough to remain at Barcelona, but due to some untold reasons, they were forced to leave the club. Pep Guardiola, despite of rejecting all allegations, still had a lot to do
with these things.
Also, every now and then, many managers bring bad name to their clubs when they are involved in unintelligent behaviour after losing control in a match. Guardiola had depicted such emotions in the past, which resulted in his suspension from one match. Similarly,
Sir Alex Ferguson often indulges in such behaviour, but he still remains the best representative of any club in the World.
Jose Mourinho is a famous name in football, that is directly associated with success, especially in European competitions. He won his first Champions League title with FC Porto, and he has brought a lot of success to his clubs, since then. When Roman Abramovich
took over Chelsea, he brought in Mourinho to get him a Champions League title. Although, Mourinho had a lot of success, however he failed to achieve that main objective. Therefore, he had to leave Chelsea, and he joined Inter Milan.
Again, his term in Inter Milan was directly associated with the success he brought over two seasons. He lifted his second Champions League crown with Inter, along with two other trophies, in his last season. Immediately, he was signed by Real Madrid, who
was also looking to win another European title. Florentino Perez had injected a lot of money, and he trusted nobody with that money except Mourinho.
Therefore, it is quite natural that a manager becomes bigger than a club, if he brings success to his team. Mourinho has done it in a very short period of time, which makes him one of the most demanded managers in the world. But, it is always wrong to say
that Mourinho is not a good representative. In fact, Mourinho is one of those managers who enjoy a lot of respect from their players. He is always keen to protect his players in the media circles, which is often very effective as Mourinho is a genius when
it comes to press conferences.
Similarly, the Portuguese tactician is always there to protect his team and players from criticism. This is the greatest attribute of Mourinho, which makes him likeable by everyone. Also, this is a sign of a great manager, but Johan Cruyff seemed ignorant
of such abilities. Maybe, at this point, he is driven not by his liking for Barcelona but by his disliking for Real Madrid.
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