Jose Mourinho’s name is always associated with confidence, excessive self-respect, arrogance which seems to be the identity of this top Portuguese coach. Although he is now 56 years old, it does not eliminate this arrogant nature.
Few days ago, when Mourinho appeared in a press conference session Tottenham will host the Greek team, Olympiakos on Matchday of the Champions League group. Mourinho was bombarded with questions that essentially compared him to the previous Tottenham coach, Mauricio Pochettino. In fact there are journalists who think that Mourinho is carrying a heavy burden. Because, last season, Tottenham with Pochettino, could appear in the final. What does Mourinho have to say?
“To arrive in the final is an incredible achievement but it’s not history. History is winning”. This is what Mourinho said as quoted by The Guardian. “Just so you know, I have never lost in the final of Champions League,” continued the coach who had dubbed himself as The Special One.
Apart from his arrogant attitude, actually Mourinho’s attitude can be understood. In the Champions League, he does have great achievements. He has won twice. In fact, in the history of the Champions League which was held starting in 1956, there were only five people who could win twice with different clubs. Well, of the five people, only two are still actively training. Namely Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti. That’s a difficult achievement. In fact, Pep Guardiola, who won twice with Barcelona, has not been able to win with other clubs. Not with Bayern Munich. Also not with Manchester City.
In short, Mourinho is like a top actor who returns to the stage for his pleasure. A stage that is familiar to him. On this stage, Mourinho knows how to get applause and standing ovation from the audience. Therefore, it is quite reasonable if Mourinho then boasts of his achievements. Although, it’s been a long time.
Anything can happen in football. However, the journey is still very long. What is clear, in his come back to the Champions League after the last time appearing with Manchester United on March 13, 2018 ago, Mourinho’s first task was to pass Tottenham into the round of 16 knockout round.
Well, victory over Olympiakos, will make the Spurs qualify for the knockout round. In the Group B standings, Tottenham is ranked 2 (7 points) below Bayern Munich (12 points). Llau Crvena Zvezda is ranked 3 with 3 points and Olympiakos is in the standings with 1 point.
Last weekend, Mourinho, who is now getting used to wearing a thick purple jacket a la Tottenham style when training, made his debut sweetly. His team won 3-2 over host West Ham United in the English League. At that time, Mourinho played the 4-2-3-1 scheme. He placed Harry Kane as the sole targetman with Son Heung Min and Lucas Moura as wing attackers. Also, Dele Alli is the “number 10 player” who plays behind the attacker.
Mourinho is not merely a coach who likes to stay with the “bus parking” strategy. In fact, in that match, Mourinho seemed to ‘forget’ how to survive. Tottenham’s victory almost disappeared when the host scored two goals at the end of the fight.
However, from the three goals, from how the Tottenham players express on the pitch, people are reminded of what he said when he was appointed as Pochettino’s successor. Mourinho said he would bring passion to the team nicknamed Lilywhites. He started well. Mourinho wants to change the ‘aura’ of Spurs players who have often appeared with a ‘flat face’ without expression when playing, becoming expressive.
“He wants us to play well, bring passionate energy to the pitch and fight for the club. That’s what we did against West Ham,” Harry Kane was quoted as saying here. Regardless of his big name, he must be able to ‘take attention’ of Spurs players.
Therefore, Mourinho takes a personal approach to his players. When Tottenham was rumored to be recruiting Zlatan Ibrahimovic because he had always been close to Mourinho, the coach who was once a translator said briefly. “No. Why would we bring Zlatan if we already had the best striker in England (Kane),” Mourinho said.
He also managed to win the hearts of Dele Alli through his frank remarks. To the England national team player, Mourinho said he needed to have fun on the field. He then called the Spurs midfield as Dele and his brother Dele when placing him as “player number 10”.
“I’m laughing. That’s actually the first thing he said to me. To say it honestly to your face is good, because many people prefer to say it behind your back,” Alli was quoted as saying here.
ASL
