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José Mourinho
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José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho, GOIH (born 26 January 1963 in Setúbal) is a Portuguese football manager. He is the current manager of Italian club Internazionale.
The son of Portuguese goalkeeper Félix, Mourinho started out as a player but he was unsatisfied with his mediocre career and switched to management. After spells working as an assistant manager and a youth team coach in the early 1990s, he became an interpreter for Bobby Robson.
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Encyclopedia
José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho, GOIH (born 26 January 1963 in Setúbal) is a Portuguese football manager. He is the current manager of Italian club Internazionale.
The son of Portuguese goalkeeper Félix, Mourinho started out as a player but he was unsatisfied with his mediocre career and switched to management. After spells working as an assistant manager and a youth team coach in the early 1990s, he became an interpreter for Bobby Robson. Mourinho learnt much from the veteran coach and worked with him at top Portuguese teams Sporting and Porto, and at Spanish giants Barcelona.
He began focusing on coaching and impressed with brief but successful managerial periods at Benfica and Leiria. He returned to Porto in 2002, this time as head coach, and soon became a force to be reckoned with, winning the Portuguese Liga, Cup of Portugal and UEFA Cup in 2003. Greater success followed in 2004 as Mourinho guided the team to the top of the league for a second time and won the highest honour in European club football, the UEFA Champions League.
Mourinho moved to Chelsea the following year and won two consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, among other domestic honours. He often courted controversy for his outspokenness but his victories at Chelsea and Porto established him as one of the top football managers; well regarded by both his peers and the press. Additionally, he was named the world's best football manager by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) for both the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons. After a fall out with the Chelsea hierarchy he moved to Serie A, signing a three year contract with Inter in mid-2008. Within three months he had won his first Italian honour, the Italian Supercup.
Early life and career
Formative years and education
José Mourinho was born in 1963 to a large middle-class family in Setúbal, Portugal; the son of Félix Mourinho and Maria Julia Mourinho. His father played football professionally for Belenenses and Vitória Setúbal, earning one cap for Portugal in the course of his career. His mother was a primary school teacher from an affluent background; her uncle, Mourinho's great uncle, funded the construction of the Vitória Setúbal football stadium. However, the fall of António de Oliveira Salazar led to the family losing all but a property in nearby rural Aires.
Mourinho was a popular and competitive child and his mother encouraged him to be successful in his endeavours. Football was a major part of his life and his father recalled being very impressed with his knowledge of the game. Footballing commitments in Porto and Lisbon meant that Félix was often separated from his son. Still, the young Mourinho managed to spend time with him and as a teenager he would travel by any means necessary to attend weekend matches. By this time his father had changed from player to coach and in turn the young Mourinho became a student of the game, observing training sessions and scouting opposing teams.
He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father by becoming a footballer and he joined the Belenenses youth team. Graduating to the senior level, he played at Rio Ave, where his father was coach, Belenenses and Sesimbra but it became evident that he would not excel as a professional, lacking the requisite pace and power. Conceding to his shortcomings, he chose to pursue the dream of becoming a professional football coach instead. His mother had different ideas altogether and enrolled him in a business school. Mourinho attended the school but dropped out on his first day, deciding he would rather focus on sport, and chose to attend the Instituto Superior de Educação Física (ISEF) to study sports science. He taught physical education at various schools and after five years he had earned his diploma, receiving consistently good marks throughout the course. After attending coaching courses held by the English and Scottish Football Associations, former Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh took note of the young Portuguese's drive and attention to detail. Mourinho sought to redefine the role of coach in football, mixing coaching theory with motivational and psychological techniques.
Entering management
Leaving his job as a school coach, Mourinho looked for paths into professional management in his hometown, becoming youth team coach at Vitória de Setúbal in the early 1990s. Working his way up the ladder, he accepted the position of assistant manager at Estrela da Amadora. Mourinho yearned for greater challenges and in 1992 an opportunity arose to work as a translator for a top foreign coach. Bobby Robson had been appointed as the new manager of Lisbon side Sporting and the Englishman required a local coach with a good command of English to work as his interpreter.
Initially, the move was a step away from management but as an interpreter Mourinho earned Robson's respect and friendship. He welcomed Mourinho's translations and the two became close, discussing tactics and coaching. Robson was sacked by Sporting but Portuguese rivals Porto appointed him as their head coach and Mourinho continued to coach and interpret for players at the new post. After two years at Porto the duo moved again, switching to Barcelona in 1996, and Mourinho continued to show his linguistic dexterity and drive, learning Catalan for the new challenge. Mourinho and his family moved to Catalonia and he gradually became a prominent figure of Barcelona's staff, translating at press conferences, planning practice sessions and helping players through tactical advice and analyses of the opposition. Robson and Mourinho's styles complemented each other: the Englishman favoured an attacking style while Mourinho covered defensive options and the Portuguese's love of planning and training combined with Robson's direct man-management. The pair's mix of styles was fruitful and Barcelona finished the season with the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Robson moved club the following season but this time Mourinho did not follow as Barcelona were keen to retain him as assistant manager. Despite the move, the two remained good friends and Mourinho later reflected on the effect Robson had had upon him:"One of the most important things I learnt from Bobby Robson is that when you win, you shouldn’t assume you are the team, and when you lose, you shouldn’t think you are rubbish." He began working with Robson's successor, Louis van Gaal, and he learnt much from the Dutchman's conscientious style. Both assistant and head coach combined their studious approach to the game and Barcelona won La Liga twice in van Gaal's first two years as coach. Van Gaal saw that his number two had the promise to be more than a skilled assistant and he gave Mourinho an opportunity to develop his own independent coaching style, entrusting him with the coaching duties of Barcelona B.
Coaching career
Benfica and Leiria
The chance to become a top-tier manager arrived in September 2000 when Mourinho moved up from his role as assistant coach at Lisbon side Benfica to replace head coach Jupp Heynckes after the fourth week of the Portuguese Liga. The Benfica hierarchy wanted to appoint Manuel Jesualdo Ferreira as the new assistant coach but Mourinho refused, picking Carlos Mozer, a retired Benfica defender, as his right-hand man instead. Only weeks after being given the job at Benfica, Mourinho's mentor, Sir Bobby Robson, offered him the assistant manager's role at Newcastle United. Such was Robson's desperation for Mourinho to join him he offered to step down after two years in charge and hand over the reins to Mourinho. Mourinho turned the offer down, saying he knew Robson would never step down at the club he loved. Mourinho was highly critical of Ferreira, whom he had first encountered as his teacher at ISEF, and later lambasted the veteran coach, stating: "This could be the story of a donkey who worked for 30 years but never became a horse."
Mourinho and Mozer proved a popular combination, enjoying a 3–0 win against fierce rivals Sporting in December. However, their reign appeared to be at risk after Benfica's election turned against club president João Vale e Azevedo, and the newly-elected Manuel Vilarinho said that he would instate ex-Benfica player Toni as his new coach. Although Vilarinho had no intention of firing him immediately, Mourinho used the victory over Sporting as an opportunity to test the president's loyalty and he asked for a contract extension. Vilarinho refused the demand and Mourinho resigned from his position immediately, leaving the club on 5 December 2000 after just nine league games in charge. Upon later reflection, Vilarinho rued his poor judgement and expressed his frustration at losing Mourinho: "[Put me] back then [and] I would do exactly the opposite: I would extend his contract. Only later I realised that one's personality and pride cannot be put before the interest of the institution we serve."
Mourinho quickly found a new managerial post in January 2001 with Leiria, whom he took to their highest-ever league finish of fifth place. Mourinho's successes at Leiria did not go unrecognised and he caught the attention of larger Portuguese clubs.
Porto
He was then hand-picked in January 2002 by Porto to replace Octávio Machado. Mourinho guided the team to third place that year after a strong 15-game run (WDL 11-2-2) and gave the promise of "making Porto champions next year".
He quickly identified several key players whom he saw as the backbone of what he believed would be a perfect Porto team: Vítor Baía, Ricardo Carvalho, Costinha, Deco, Dmitri Alenichev and Hélder Postiga. He recalled captain Jorge Costa after a six-month loan to Charlton Athletic. The signings from other clubs included Nuno Valente and Derlei from Leiria, Paulo Ferreira from Vitória Setúbal, Pedro Emanuel from Boavista, and Edgaras Jankauskas and Maniche who had been out of contract at Benfica.
During the pre-season, Mourinho put on the club website detailed reports on the team training. The reports were filled with formal vocabulary, as, for instance, he referred to a 20 km jog as an extended aerobic exercise. While they attracted some scorn for the pretentiousness, others praised the innovation and the application of a more scientific approach to the training methods practised in Portugal. One of the key aspects in Mourinho-era Porto was the pressuring play, which started at the offensive line, dubbed "pressão alta" ("high pressure"). The physical and combative abilities of defenders and midfielders such as Derlei, Maniche and Deco allowed Porto to apply pressure from the offensive lines, forcing the opponents either to concede the ball or try longer, uncertain passes.
In 2003, Mourinho won his first Portuguese Liga with a 27-5-2 WDL record, 11 points clear of Benfica, the team he quit two years earlier. The total of 86 points out of the possible maximum of 102 was a Portuguese record since the rule of three points per win was introduced, beating the previous record of 85 points set by Porto in their 1996–97 season. Mourinho also won the Portuguese Cup (against former club Leiria) and the UEFA Cup final against Celtic in Seville, both in May 2003.
The following season witnessed further successes beginning by winning the one match SuperCup Cândido de Oliveira, beating Leiria 1–0; however the UEFA Super Cup was lost 1–0 to Milan, Andrei Shevchenko scoring the solitary goal. Porto scooped their 20th Super Liga title. The club pulled off a perfect home record, an eight-point advantage, and an unbeaten run that only ended against Gil Vicente. They secured the title five weeks before the end of the season, while heavily involved in the Champions League at the same time. Porto lost the Portuguese Cup final to Benfica in May 2004, but two weeks later Mourinho won the ultimate prize: the Champions League, with a 3–0 win over Monaco in the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The club had eliminated Manchester United, Lyon and Deportivo La Coruña and saw only one defeat against Real Madrid in the group round.
Whilst still at Porto, Mourinho was linked with several top European clubs, including Liverpool, Real Madrid and Chelsea. Mourinho publicly stated his preference for the Liverpool job over the Chelsea one. He said: "Liverpool are a team that interests everyone and Chelsea does not interest me so much because it is a new project with lots of money invested in it. I think it is a project which, if the club fail to win everything, then Abramovich could retire and take the money out of the club. It's an uncertain project. It is interesting for a coach to have the money to hire quality players but you never know if a project like this will bring success."
Chelsea
Mourinho moved to Chelsea in June 2004, becoming one of the highest paid managers in football with a salary of £4.2 million a year, subsequently raised in 2005 to £5.2 million. In a press conference upon joining the English side, Mourinho said, "Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one", which resulted in the media dubbing him "The Special One".
Mourinho recruited his backroom staff from Porto, consisting of assistant manager Baltemar Brito, fitness coach Rui Faria, chief scout André Villas Boas and goalkeeping coach Silvino Louro. He retained the services of Steve Clarke, a long-serving former player at Chelsea, who had also performed an assistant managerial-type role under previous managers at the club. In terms of spending, Mourinho carried on where his predecessor Claudio Ranieri left off, as, bankrolled by Roman Abramovich, he spent in excess of £70 m in transfer fees on players such as Tiago (£10 million) from Benfica, Didier Drogba (£24 million) from Marseille, Mateja Kezman (£5.4 million) from PSV and Porto pair Ricardo Carvalho (£19.8 million) and Paulo Ferreira (£13.3 million).
Under Mourinho, Chelsea built on the potential developed in the previous season. By early December, they were at the top of the Premier League table and had reached the knock-out stages of the Champions League. He scooped his first trophy, winning the League Cup, after beating Liverpool 3–2 (AET) in Cardiff. Towards the end of the match, Mourinho was escorted from the touchline after putting his finger to his mouth in the direction of Liverpool fans, as a response to the abuse directed his way whilst Liverpool were leading before the equalising goal.
The club added more silverware as they secured their first top-flight domestic title in 50 years, setting a string of English football records in the process. However, he failed to achieve back-to-back Champions League successes when Chelsea were knocked out of the competition by a controversial goal in the semi-finals by eventual winners Liverpool.
Chelsea enjoyed a good start to the next season, defeating Arsenal 2–1 in the FA Community Shield. After topping the Premier League for most of the 2005–06 season, Chelsea beat rivals Manchester United 3–0 to win their second consecutive Premiership title and Mourinho's fourth domestic title in a row. After the presentation of his championship medal, Mourinho threw his medal and blazer into the crowd. He was awarded a second medal within minutes which he also threw into the crowd.
The 2006–07 season saw growing media speculation that Mourinho would leave the club at the season's conclusion, due to alleged poor relations with owner Roman Abramovich and a power struggle with sporting director Frank Arnesen and Abramovich advisor Piet de Visser. Mourinho later cleared doubts regarding his future at Stamford Bridge, stating that there would only be two ways for him to leave Chelsea: if Chelsea were not to offer him a new contract in June 2010, and if Chelsea were to sack him. He then launched an ambitious campaign for all four trophies available with the aim of becoming the first club in English football to complete the quadruple.
Despite the unrest, Chelsea under Mourinho won the League Cup again by defeating Arsenal in the final at the Millennium Stadium. However the dream of the quadruple was brought to an end on 1 May 2007 when Liverpool eliminated Chelsea from the UEFA Champions League on penalties at Anfield, following a 1–1 aggregate draw. Days later Mourinho missed out on the Premier League title to Manchester United, by drawing 1–1 with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 6 May 2007, meaning this was his first season without a league title win in five years. Mourinho led Chelsea to a 1–0 victory against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Cup Final, winning in the first final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium. This was his first FA Cup win which meant that he had won every domestic trophy available to a Premier League manager. However there was to be further friction between himself and Abramovich when Avram Grant was appointed as Director of Football, despite objections from Mourinho. Grant's position was further enhanced by being given a seat on the board.
The first game of the next season saw Chelsea set a new English record for unbeaten league matches at home. The club's 64 game consecutive run beat the record held previously by Liverpool for an unbeaten run between 1978 and 1981. However, despite this feat, Chelsea's start to the 2007–08 season was not as successful as previous starts. The team lost at and followed this with a goalless draw at home to . Their opening game in the UEFA Champions League saw them only manage a 1–1 home draw against the Norwegian team Rosenborg in front of an almost half-empty stadium.
He unexpectedly left Chelsea on 20 September 2007 'by mutual consent' although there was a bust up with chairman Roman Abramovich after the Chelsea board held an emergency meeting and decided it was time to part with their manager. Mourinho left as the most successful manager in Chelsea's history having won five trophies for the club in three years. He was also undefeated in all home league games.
Inter
On 2 June 2008 Mourinho was appointed the successor of Roberto Mancini at Internazionale on a three-year contract. He held his first press conference as Inter boss in Milan on 3 June 2008, speaking solely in Italian, which he claimed to have learnt "in three weeks".
Mourinho chose Giuseppe Baresi, a former Inter player and ex-head coach of their youth academy, as his assistant. He will also work alongside Rui Faria (Masseur, Physiotherapist, Fitness Coach), Baltemar Brito, Silvino Louro (Goalkeeper Coach) and André Villas (Technical Assistant), who were part of his backroom set-up at Chelsea and Porto.
In his first interview Mourinho stated that he only intended to make two or three major signings during the summer transfer window . On 15 July 2008 Brazilian winger Alessandro Faiolhe Amantino, known as 'Mancini', became Mourinho's first major signing at the club, costing a fee in the region of €12.5 million. On 28 July 2008 Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Ali Muntari was Inter's second major signing of the summer, costing in the region of €14 million. On 1 September 2008, the final day of the summer transfer window, Mourinho made his final signing in the acquisition of Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma for a reported cash/player exchange fee of €18 million plus young Portuguese midfielder Pelé.
On 24 August 2008 Mourinho won his first trophy with Inter beating Roma 6–5 on penalties (2–2 AET) to win the Italian Supercup.
Thus far, his tenure has been a success. As of 18 February 2009, Inter are top of Serie A, into the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League (where they next face Manchester United) and in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia where they will face Sampdoria over a two leg match. Much was made over the fact that Mourinho would be facing English opposition, and his rival manager Sir Alex Ferguson, for the first time since leaving Chelsea against United.
Managerial statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record |
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| G | W | D | L | Win % | Draw % | Lose % |
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| Benfica | | 20 September 2000 | 5 December 2000 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | | | | | Leiria | | July 2001 | 20 January 2002 | 31 | 17 | 10 | 4 | | | | | Porto | | 23 January 2002 | 26 May 2004 | 123 | 87 | 21 | 15 | | | | | Chelsea | | 2 June 2004 | 20 September 2007 | 185 | 131 | 36 | 18 | | | | | Internazionale | | 2 June 2008 | Present | 35 | 25 | 6 | 4 | | | | | Total | 385 | 266 | 76 | 43 | | | |
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Mourinho is currently on a run of 111 home league matches unbeaten (38 with Porto, 60 with Chelsea and 13 with Inter). His last and only defeat at home has been FC Porto-Beira Mar Aveiro 2-3 on 23 February 2002.
Managerial honours
Porto
Chelsea
Inter
Individual honours
- UEFA Manager of the Year (2): 2002/03, 2003/04
- World Soccer Magazine Coach of the Year (2): 2003/04, 2004/05
- BBC Sports Personality of Year Coach Award: 2004/05
- FA Premier League Manager of the Year (2): 2004/05, 2005/06
- IFFHS World Manager of the Year (2): 2004, 2005
- Manager of the Month, FA Premier League (3): November 2004, January 2005, March 2007
Controversy
Mourinho has often been seen as a controversial figure in football. His time at Chelsea, in particular, fuelled this viewpoint as he frequently made outspoken comments that saw him face punishment from the footballing authorities.
On 6 October 2004, Adrian Mutu accused Mourinho of trying to prevent him from playing in a World Cup qualifier. Mourinho was informed by the Chelsea medical team that the player was unfit, following a knee injury, but Mutu disagreed and insisted he was fit to play. The fitness disagreement soon became irrelevant as Mutu tested positive for cocaine in a routine drugs test and he was sacked on 29 October 2004.
Following a Champions League tie between Chelsea and Barcelona in March 2005, Mourinho accused Anders Frisk and Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard of breaking FIFA rules by having a meeting at half–time. Mourinho insisted that this biased the referee and caused him to send off Chelsea striker Didier Drogba in the second half. Frisk admitted that Rijkaard had tried to speak to him but insisted that he had sent him away. The situation intensified when Frisk began to receive death threats from angered fans, causing the referee to pre-maturely retire. The UEFA referee's chief, Volker Roth, labelled Mourinho an "enemy of football", although UEFA distanced themselves from the comment. After an investigation of the incident, Mourinho was given a two-match touchline ban for his behaviour and both Chelsea and the manager were fined by UEFA, though the body confirmed that it did not hold Mourinho personally responsible for Frisk's retirement.
On 2 June 2005, Mourinho was fined £200,000 for his part in the meeting with Arsenal full-back Ashley Cole in January 2005 in breach of the Premier League rules. His fine was later reduced to £75,000 after a hearing in August. Later that year, he labelled Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger "a voyeur" after being irked at what he saw as the latter's apparent obsession with Chelsea. Wenger was furious with the remark and considered taking legal action against Mourinho. However, the animosity died down and the two managers made peace after Mourinho admitted that he regretted making the comment.
After a league match with Everton on 17 December 2006, Mourinho branded Andrew Johnson "untrustworthy" following a challenge with Chelsea keeper Hilário. Everton issued a statement threatening legal action and calling on Mourinho to apologize, which he later did.
Personal life
Mourinho met his wife, Tami, when they were both teenagers in Setúbal, Portugal, and the couple married in 1989. Their first child, a daughter called Matilde, was born in 1996 and they had their first son, José Jr., four years later. Mourinho, whilst dedicated to football, describes his family as the centre of his life and has noted that the "most important thing is my family and being a good father". He was selected as the New Statesman Man of the Year 2005 and was described as a man devoted to both his family and his work. Mourinho has also been a part of social initiatives and charity work, helping with a youth project bringing Israeli and Palestinian children together through football and donating his "lucky" jacket to Tsunami Relief, earning £22,000 for the charity.
Widely known for his strong personality, refined dress sense, and quirky comments at press conferences, Mourinho has experienced fame outside of football circles, featuring in European advertisement campaigns for Samsung, American Express and Adidas, amongst others. An unofficial biography of Mourinho, titled O Vencedor - De Setúbal a Stamford Bridge (The Winner - from Setúbal to Stamford Bridge), was a best seller in Portugal. However, Mourinho did not authorise the biography and attempted, unsuccessfully, to prevent the book from being published.
Mourinho was part of an unusual event in May 2007 when he was arrested for preventing animal welfare officials from putting his dog in to quarantine. The dog had not been sufficiently inoculated but the situation was resolved after it was returned to Portugal and Mourinho received a police caution.
See also
External links
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