The Demystification of Jose Mourinho

"I don't feel comfortable enough to tell you what I think about the game. We're in trouble. It is a concern [conceding so many goals]. I don't like it, I don't organise my teams to be like this."

Jose Mourinho, December, 2013

I have got a huge respect for Jos Mourinho, even if I don’t particularly like him because I am a faithful supporter of Arsenal and considering the fact that Arsenal have never beaten a team coached by Mourinho as far as I know. Truth be told, Mourinho has had phenomenal achievements as a football coach: two Champions League Cups, seven league titles in four different countries, going nine years undefeated in home league games, among other achievements.

He has proved to the footballing world too many times that he is the king of tactics and I think he is the most tactical football coach in the world currently.

I believe he is a special one. I don’t agree with the special one tag that he has been carrying since his first sojourn in English football. He is indeed special, just as my favourite coach, Arsene Wenger is very special. In fact, there are many special coaches around: Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Jupp Heynckes, Marcello Lippi, Harry Redknapp, etc.

Mourinho came to the English Premiership on the heels of his success in the Champions League with FC Porto, which was a very significant achievement on its own. As coach of Chelsea, Mourinho took the English football arena by storm by winning two titles in his first season in England. Chelsea lost only one game during that season.

After an unceremonious exit from Chelsea, he went to Italy as coach of Inter Milan in 2008 and he won the  Italian Serie A (2009), (2010), Italian Cup (2010). In fact, in 2010, he led Inter to win a treble: the Serie A, the Italian cup and the UEFA Champions league.

He left Inter and came to Spain as coach of Real Madrid in 2010 and this was where his unravelling began despite the fact that he started on a very bright note. It got so bad that he did not win a major tiltle in his last season in charge at Real Madrid. Before the 2012/2013 season, he had led Real Madrid to victories in the 2011 Copa Del Roy and 2012 La Liga. He never won the double in Spain; a feat he had achieved with his previous clubs. It was during his last season at Real Madrid that the Mourinho effect started wearing off on all of us. The same Jose Mourinho who had looked unbeatable now looked very beatable and this was proved again and again during that season. The Mourinho whom we had all thought would always win a final lost to Athletico Madrid in the final of the 2012 Kings Cup and that was when Mourinho was finally demystified. 

This current season is already proving that Mourinho’s teams are no longer dreaded as before. In fact, Basel, a team I consider minnows in Europe have beaten Chelsea home and away in the ongoing Champions League. This is unlike the Mourinho’s teams we used to know. In Mourinho's first season with Chelsea, the team lost five games in all competitions but already this season, they have lost five matches. In that same season, the team dropped 11 points in away matches in the league while already this season, which is not halfway yet, they have dropped 13 points away from home. In the 2004/2005 season, they conceded 15 goals while this season, they have already conceded 17.

It is very obvious that unlike before, Mourinho is no longer feared by teams around the world. They are no longer in awe of the one who, at different times, has called himself The Special One, The Only One and The Happy One. He now looks very beatable to opposing coaches. His defence, which used to be water-tight, now looks like it can leak plenty of goals. His opponents have now realised that they don’t have to give up before trying.

I think the important question to ask is ‘what led to the demystification of Mourinho?' My response: the troubles he had at Real Madrid. During his time at Real Madrid, Mourinho had troubled relationships with some members of his squad, leading to a dressing room revolt, rifts among star players, among other things. It was even reported he ended his tenure with only four players in the dressing room feeling any kind of loyalty or affinity towards him. The troubles in the dressing room spilled over to the field of play and affected players’ performances. The team started dropping points and losing matches. The ‘special’ cloak on Mourinho was pulled off and today, opposing teams can face his team in a game with the confidence that they can take something from the game.

The big lesson I am able to draw from Mourinho’s experience at Real Madrid is that unity, love, cohesion and cooperation are needed for success in a team or group. No matter how brilliant and intelligent individual members of the team possess, if they do not have a unity of purpose, they will find it difficult to experience collective success.

P. S. I must admit that various factors may be responsible for Chelsea's current form but as an ardent Arsenal supporter, I think Mourinho’s demystification is a welcome development.