Manager Profile Football: Jose Mourinho, “the special one”
When the words “the special one” are echoed, the only thing that comes to mind is the image of Jose Mourinho. Mourinho went from being a translator to managing the most elite club’s in Europe that in itself is a colossus success story.
Jose Mourinho never chose to pursue a career in playing football professionally. He has set his sights on wanting to manage a team from the first time he interacted with the football world. His first significant job came in 1992, when he was appointed to take charge alongside Bobby Robson at Sporting Lisbon.
Even though he started as a translator, Robson relied on Mourinho for more than just those skills. This was evident when Robson took Mourinho with him when he moved to Porto, where they won two titles. Mourinho landed his full managerial job in 2000, when he was appointed by Benefica but he resigned just after nine games due to some issues with the board room.
Porto was next in line to recognize his talents and when a vacancy for the managerial position was available, the owners asked Mourinho to fill it. Mourinho in dramatic fashion took the struggling team to win the league; the UEFA Cup final. It was one of the most amazing feats ever witnessed by the sporting world. The 2003-2004 season was a continuation of this brilliant form and ‘Porto’ went on to clinch the ‘European Cup.’
After realizing he did as much as he could with Porto, Mourinho jumped ship and decided to join Chelsea; a team that had limitless potential but no real perspective. In his first season with Chelsea he went on to win the Premier League title, ending a fifty-year barren run. He also picked up the Carling Cup along the way that year.
The following year Chelsea ran riot under Mourinho and clinched back-to-back Premier League titles. The club went on to set a new unbeaten record, having not lost a single match at home for sixty-four games in a row. The 2007-2008 season did not start well for Chelsea or Mourinho, who after a couple of losses, resigned from the club on mutual consent.
It wasn’t until June 2008 that he reappeared with his next job as manager. He took over from Manchester City bound Robert Mancini at Internazionale on a three-year contract. In his first season he took Inter to the top of the league and proved that he was still one of the greatest managers ever.
He led the Italians to winning the Serie A title the coming year, along with a couple of cups for good measure. In the 2009-2010 season he brought success to the San Siro like no manager before him had. He led Inter Milan to win the first treble-ever recorded in the club’s history. He did so by helping them win the League; the domestic cup and the European cup. At the end of the season he once again decided he had achieved everything that he possibly could with the team and started looking for a new challenge. So when struggling ‘Real Madrid’ came knocking on his door he was more than delighted to accept their offer. He followed his dream to manage a team in Spain in the form of the Spanish Giants and will be their manager for the coming 2010-2011 season.
We can sum up his career so far by quoting Jose himself, ''Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm the special one."
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