Why Mourinho is the best candidate to take over from Sir Alex
Jose might not be ideal, but he’s the best around
When Sir Alex Ferguson retires…..
I wonder which manager in world football has the charisma to take over at the helm of Manchester United and automatically have the respect of the payers because of his achievements and personality.
I wonder which manager has a strong bond with his players, so much so they cry when he leaves.
I wonder which manager has been credited time and time again by his players with teaching them how to win.
I wonder which manager can assemble a balanced squad to play the correct tactics to beat so-called invincible teams.
I wonder which manager’s personality and quotes are so interesting that they deflect attention and pressure away from his players.
I wonder which manager is young enough to stay at United for a long time, now that’s he’s managed two of Europe’s top clubs already and might be heading for a stint at Real Madrid.
I wonder….
Mourinho’s arrogant, egotistical style and perceived boring brand of football might not be everybody’s cup of team, but Jose Mourinho certainly is the best candidate to take over the reins of Manchester United when Sir Alex retires.
I keep reading anti-Mourinho articles and for the life of me can’t believe what I’m reading, so would like to discuss the main criticisms cited against him becoming United’s next manager. They are:
- He has had a lot of luck winning the trophies he has
- His inaptitude in the transfer market
- His boring brand of football
- His arrogsnt, egotistical style
- His inability to bring through young footballers
I can only agree with the last of the above points, but even on the aspect of young players, there is evidence that Mourinho will play young players when needed.
“He has had a lot of luck winning the trophies he has”/ “it was easy with the teams he had”
When Jose Mourinho arrived at Porto in January 2002, the club hadn’t won a title in 3 years. Mourinho guided them to 3rd place that season and then led Porto to league and European glory in 2002/03, winning the Portuguese Liga, as well as the UEFA Cup (now Europa League).
In the 2003/04 season, Jose Mourinho famously led Porto to not only retain the league title, but also win the coveted Champions League. Punters often cite the luck Porto enjoyed against Manchester United, having a perfectly legitimate Paul Scholes goal disallowed, but often fail to mention that Porto progressed from a group which consisted of Real Madrid, Marseille and Partizan Belgrade.
They beat Marseille twice, Partizan once and drew mighty Madrid once. In the knockout stages, they beat United, Lyon and Deportivo la Curuna to reach the finals. Something no other Portuguese team has managed since.
When Mourinho left Porto, his immediate successor failed to retain the league title.
When Mourinho replaced Ranieri, he immediately won the league title, a feat which Ranieri did not manage despite having the same access to Roman’s rubels.
When Mourinho left Chelsea, both Big Fail and Avram Grant failed to win the English Premier League and the Stamford Bridge only had an FA Cup to celebrate. Chelsea’s drought finally ended this season, but as the special one pointed out, Carlo Ancelotti’s side benefitted from an awful Liverpool side, an injury-hit Arsenal and a Manchester United sans Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.
Mourinho arrived at Inter Milan with the task of returning the club to European glory. He won two Serie A titles and on Saturday accomplished the mission club president Moratti had given him – he led Inter to their first Euopean Cup title in 45 years beating the eventual English Champions (Chelsea), the reigning Spanish Champions (Barcelona) and the newly-crowned German Champions (Bayern) in the process.
Either Mourinho is the only lucky manager in World Football or he’s just extremely good.
His inaptitude in the transfer market
This is a rather curious criticism voiced against Jose. A recent article on another Man Utd blog listed the transfers he had made at Chelsea and the subsequent decrease of points – attempting to show that the more Jose spent, the worse Chelsea got. I think the author missed the point that Mourinho bought in the players that enabled Chelsea to become winners:
Ricardo Carvalho, Tiago, Didier Drogba & Mikael Essien.
Other punters like to cite his failures like Kezman, Mutu and Shevchenko at Chelsea, as well as Mancini and Quaresma at inter, but no manager gets it right all the time and Shevchenko was forced upon him.
Also, I see Mancini and Quaresma as a sign that he tried to play attacking football with wingers like he did with Duff and Robben, but that it didn’t work out. (more on this later).
The flipside is that he brought in the spine of the current Inter team:
Lucio, Tiago Motta, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o, Goran Pandev and Diego Milito have been regulars throughout the season and runaway successes. In addition, 5 of them started the Champions League final on Saturday. Think about it. 5 players in their first season starting a Champions League final and it would have been 6 if Tiago Motta had not been suspended.
Not bad for a manger, who is supposedly inapt when it comes to transfers.
Oh yeah, he also sold Zlatan Ibrahimovic for €69million, who subsequently flopped at Barcelona, especially against his former club Inter Milan.
His boring brand of football
Jose Mourinho caters his tactics according to the mission. When he spoke about his possible switch to Real Madrid recently, he mentioned “I have to hear about the project”. Meaning – what am I supposed to do? What is the mission? Am I there to play beautiful football and win? Or is the agenda to win at all costs?
At Inter, the task was to win at all costs and he did that. He bought two wingers in Mancini and Quaresma, but it didn’t work quite as well as building a team around Sneijder did.
In his first season in charge at Chelsea, I don’t think Mourinho could have been accused of boring football and neither can the current Inter side.
They went to Stamford Bridge, played balanced attacking football and won. At home against Barca, they knew how to hit them where it hurt and when to do so.
And Inter’s display against Barcelona at the Camp Nou was sheer tactical brilliance.
It might not have been one for the purists, but it was not boring.
Those who think Jose Mourinho is incapable of playing balanced attacking football, do not watch his teams often enough. They can! And only step away from doing so when different tactics are needed. Barcelona are the best in the world at what they do, so Inter had to beat them differently.
If given the task to play balanced attacking football and be successful at Manchester United, I have every confidence that Jose Mourinho would be more than capable of doing so.
His boisterous egotistical style
Much has been said of Mourinho’s personality and conduct, but many miss the point that he is absolutely brilliant at deflecting attention and pressure away from his players. An article before the Champions League final attacked Mourinho’s supposed “media-whoring” as attention-grabbing and that any club managed by Jose would always be seen as Mourinho FC.
This is a simplistic way of seeing things and only rival fans would view Jose’s club as Mourinho FC. The fans and players of the club would absolutely love him and intrinsically know that nobody is ever bigger than the club.
While the Inter players were preparing for the biggest games of their lives, most of the media’s attention was on Mourinho. Hardly any articles were about Inter’s tactics, potential weaknesses, whether the players were good enough or the usual false rumours of unsettled players etc etc.
No, it was almost all about Jose and it worked a treat. The proof is in the pudding. They won and they celebrated with Jose. The players love him. The fans love him.
His inability to bring through young footballers
Perhaps the one criticism I would agree on is the supposed lack of youngsters having a breakthrough in Mourinho’s teams. One could mention Davide Santon who played so admirably against United in 2008/09 or Jon Obi Mikael, but they are hardly examples that can compare to the brilliant strides made by young players under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson:
David Beckham, Garry Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo & Wayne Rooney all started life at old Trafford as teenagers and blossomed to become start and superstars of football.
So I would have to agree on this point and hope that it is an aspect of management which Jose can develoe, once he has settled down into a long-term project.
Let’s be honest, if he’s going to Real Madrid, it will not be for long. Few managers do.
He has already said that he has a few ambitions left for this career: to mange in Spain, to return to England and to manage the Portuguese national team when he’s older.
To me, that reads ”Join Madrid and be the first manager in history to win league titles in England, Italy and Spain, then take over at Manchester United for a long period before managing the national team”.
Who else is there?
Capello, Redknapp, O’Neil, Moyes, Hughes, Bruce, Cantona, Solskjaer and Guardiola are some of the other names mentioned for the job, but amongst them only Capello would realistically have the expertise and command the immediate respect of the Manchester United players.
For all his admirable achievements, Moyes does not have the profile or track record which would command that respect from the United dressing room.
Nay.
Mourinho may be brash, loud, egotistical, and he might seem to forgo beautiful football in order to win, but dig a bit deeper and you will see a leader of men, who is loved by the players and supporters of the club he manages. He is tactically astute, a leader of men, savvy in the transfer market, gets his substitutions right most of the time and is great with the media, as well as fans.
And by the way, have I mentioned that Jose Mourinho has only ever lost one single league game at home in his entire managerial carrer? One!
And that was over 8 years ago.
He might not be an ideal candidate, but Jose Mourninho sure is the best candidate at the moment and unless the likes of Moyes or Bruce step up considerably, I don’t see this changing much in the near future.
Edit:
How much do football stars love Jose Mourinho? So much so they cry when he leaves:
May 25th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
I agree he is a class manager but the guys a total media whore so i dont think it is a long term solution.. Personally id prefer to see Ole promoted to assistant while the gaffers still about and then take over with neville/giggs/scholes as a number 2.
May 25th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
never lol
May 25th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
And by the way, have I mentioned that Jose Mourinho has only ever lost one single league game in his entire managerial carrer? One!
He lost 1 league game in 2004-2005.
He lost 5 league games in 2005-2006.
He lost 3 league games in 2006-2007.
He lost 4 league games in 2008-2009.
He lost 4 league games in 2009-2010.
Mourinho is absolutely the wrong man for the job.
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/stats-more-reasons-to-keep-jose-mourinho-away-from-united
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/mourinho-show-continues
May 25th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Jose Mourinho is the perfect candidate to destroy Manchester United’s heritage of attractive attacking football. Majority of fans and former players do not want him at Old Trafford!!!
May 25th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
you mean one single home league game?!
May 25th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
“And by the way, have I mentioned that Jose Mourinho has only ever lost one single league game in his entire managerial carrer? One!”
At home…
“While the Inter players were preparing for the biggest games of their lives, most of the media’s attention was on Mourinho.”
Also after the final, the attention was on mourinho..
May 25th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
Hi,
Sorry for the mistake. Of course I was referring to his home record. The statement that he has only lost one league game is obviously wrong.
Thanks for pointing it out.
I wouldn’t mind someone else taking over from Sir Alex and i have touched on Mourinho’s flaws.
I’m just pointing out that he’s the best candidate at the moment.
He might not be an ideal fit at OT or the culture that has been built up, but by the same token it could also be a breath of fresh air. Something new.
Rio Ferdinand put Jose’s name up without blinking when asked who should take over from Fergie.
May 25th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
At a time when the club seems disunited and needs success or at least get into the UCL every year, Jose would absolutely be the right man for the job. Some of the comments make him out to be the anti Christ! Over a century’s worth of history and sporting culture doesn’t get washed down the drain by one man. And if that were possible that man would be Malcom bloody Glazer and not Jose Mourinho. The man might be pragmatic and his team’s don’t play like the Arse or Farca, but both Chelsea and Inter knew how to thump weaker teams or grind out results against gritty opponents. Nothing wrong with that in my books. If you want to slate his style then look no further than the player and supporters of the clubs he’s managed. they absolutely adore him. with all the financial instability surrounding the club a man like Mourinho could steady the ship given the players that are already at the club.
May 25th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
What is there to discuss?
He must be THE standout manager of his generation.
Is there another manager below the age of 55 with a better CV?
No!
May 25th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
He’s a cunt. But he’s a likeable cunt.
Going to Real is a good thing. He’ll be there for at least a season or two and two years is a long time in football. Maybe a better candidate will come along till then. One can only hope. Wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen United, but hope someone better comes along. If Moyes wins any sort of silverware he should get the nod tbh.
May 25th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
I agree with ‘xyth’. united motto has always been attack, attack, attack. the huge following loves the way united approaches the beautiful game. we focus on defence, but not to the extent that we are parking the bus in order to win matches. that’s just not the united way, sorry. and i just don’t see how mourinho can adopt the united way, mixing success with entertaining football. all he cares about is winning. he takes the entertainment out of the sport which is the prime reason we love it. while you raise some valid points in favor off, i thoroughly disagree that his current inter side are not boring. with the quality of players they have, they should not have parked the airplane in the CL final. against barca i understand, but mourinho always plays like this now. just to win.
May 25th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Has he ever stayed at a club for more than 3 years? It doesn’t seem like he’d be a long term successor anyway.
May 26th, 2010 at 12:32 am
To start off, I am one of those totally in favor of seeing Jose at the club.
1. The famous bottle of wine. Without going into detail, among all the managers in the EPL, who had the honor of having a bottle of wine whenever the 2 teams meet? Not Wenger, not Moyes, not Benitez (well that goes without saying). I mean look, given Jose’s famous run around OT after Porto knocked us out of the CL, and his clashes with other managers (Wenger’s voyeurism, Benitez etc), it’s a matter of time before Jose got on Fergie’s nerve. It seemed like 2 meteorites clashing on planet Earth and Fergie would totally hate this fella who took 2 titles off United. Instead what happened? They developed a magical thing call RESPECT. If Jose is really the CUNT that we all see on tv and read on the news, then why didn’t Fergie give him some real STICK during his 2 seasons?
2. The ABUs. Why did the rest of the world come up with this term only specially for us? I’m sure being a United fan, you secretly enjoy other teams ganging up to “hope United lose at all cause” ala Stevie G’s backpass to Drogba which even earned the loudest cheers from my most hardcore Liverpool fans. Jose will bring the hate back to all ABUs, and him bringing us trophy after trophy will make these ABUs hate us even more, and more glory to the club. As Sir Bobby Charlton once wrote in an article. these ABUs are the ones who make us the BIGGEST club in the world.
3. Trophies or beautiful football? I believe this issue has been talked about so many times I wouldn’t emphasize more. Just a couple off my head:
a. Italy won the 2006 World Cup by playing boring, effective, defensive football. Did anyone remember Brazil/Portugal/Holland’s placings?
b. Would there be 2 EPL trophies in Chelski’s cabinet if not for this man? It would be barren, and the only thing they can mention about Chelsea’s history was Gullit’s sexy football which had the biggest names from all over the world, Vialli, Zola, etc. Before I end this off, I’m sure those people who follow Jose’s games closely know that he doesn’t play boring football.
4. Reputation = BIG name players. If Jose really wins the 3rd CL trophy at Real Madrid and comes to United, gone will be the days where Real Madrid steals everyone from us, read: Benzema, Huntelaar, Ronaldo, the list goes on. We WILL be able to get the players who wants to play for Jose + United. I wouldn’t even rule out Ronnie coming back to play for us.
5. Lastly, European pedigree. To be perfectly honest, until our last CL win in 2008, I feel Fergie’s tactics in Europe are pretty naive (pardon me for being harsh) but it is true. To succeed in Europe is totally different from the domestic football (read: Benitez). For our history and records, don’t you think 3 European titles are a little few in numbers compared to our “best club in the world counterparts” Real Madrid (9?) and AC Milan (7?) or even Bayern Munich (5?)? We have way too few European trophies. Take into consideration our mentioned candidates’ European experience:
a) Moyes = Europa League experience at best 2006-07?
b) Ole = Scored winning goal in 1999 CL Final
c) Keano = Forget it
I know how home-grown and warm it feels to have a Scot or a true-bred United legend to take over the reins from Fergie but I believe United is more about being the BIGGEST CLUB in the world and only winning every single trophy possible is the way to CEMENT ourselves into football history.
Anyway this is just my 2 cents worth, no offence to anybody who doesn’t agree or have other views. I love United so much sometimes it’s scary looking in the mirror and see myself turning into the devil in the United logo.
May 26th, 2010 at 12:35 am
i’d love jose to take over, if the man knows anything, its how to win! hes showed that at every club hes been at. his football might not be amazin but who knows it might change and even if it doesnt.. he’ll still be able to win games.
May 26th, 2010 at 1:14 am
@STEPH
WOW! one of longest comments to a blog post I’ve seen. Agree with most of what you’ve said except the winning at all costs part. History only remembers the winners, but fans remember everything. The good and the bad.
I agree also on fergie’s tactics in Europe – they have not always been astute and have become poorer since Carlos Q has departed.
To all those who say Inter are boring – do you actually watch them regularly? It’s not like united have been playing breathtaking football the last 2 seasons either. we’ve struggled to get out of third gear for most of two seasons. If a Spanish football fan only saw United play against Barcelona the season we won the CL and in the 2009 finals, he would think United were boring.
What’s more important to me is that United stop those apathetic poor displays like the ones against Chelsea and the first leg against Munich. A team under Mourinho would never play like that. Especially not at home.
May 26th, 2010 at 1:20 am
To be fair, united haven’t exactly being playing brilliant attacking football over the last 2 seasons anyway!! When we beat Barca on the way to the final in Moscow, Fergie played a fairly tactical game with just Ronnie up front on his own. I think José would enjoy the callenge of proving that he could win trophies with United and play decent attaking football. Madrid will be the big test for that, but you can’t please those fans no matter what you do, look at Del Bosque and Capello!!
May 26th, 2010 at 1:41 am
Just found this gem.
At the beginning of my post I mention that players have cried when Mourinho left their clubs with Drogba and Lampard amongst them. You can now add hard man Marco Materazzi to that list:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vQADoGc_UI&feature=player_embedded
There are very few managers in world football who can establish this kind of relationship with his players!
May 26th, 2010 at 1:59 am
Great blog, and I agree with you. I want Mourinho to replace Fergie and I also think that if he came here, he would stay for at least 5 or 6 seasons. He’s the ideal man in my eyes. How do you replace the best? With the next best, and someone who might become even better…
May 26th, 2010 at 4:03 am
Great blog RFR.
I completely agree that Jose has to take over after Sir Alex. There is not better man for the job in world football. What he has done over the years is unbelievable. nice read and some good comments also.
May 26th, 2010 at 5:01 am
Agreed…….Mourinho the best manager around with winning records. An ambitious and a blessed manager.
May 26th, 2010 at 11:26 am
Mourinho has the respect of Alex Ferguson, he is the ideal choice to replace Ferguson when he retire.
I believe Ferguson have a huge say in who will take over him.
I don’t see any other manager which Ferguson will allow to take over & meddle with the team he has managed for more than 2 decades except Mourinho.
May 28th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Great blog RFR.
I completely agree that Jose has to take over after Sir Alex. There is not better man for the job in world football. What he has done over the years is unbelievable. nice read and some good comments also.
March 4th, 2011 at 12:39 am
That is Incredible!! I am putting in alot of effort to get to that point. I am going to check back often!