November 20th is Jose Mourinho’s birthday with Tottenham Hotspur. One year already Mourinho is in control of the North London white camp. Mourinho was appointed as coach after Mauricio Pochettino was fired last year. However, did Mourinho bring Tottenham to be better?
Before that, let’s look at Tottenham’s condition when Mourinho arrives. Tottenham did not start the 2019/20 season well. Of the 17 matches in all competitions, Pochettino was only able to lead Tottenham to five wins. In domestic competition, Tottenham are scattered at number 14.
After Mourinho arrived, Tottenham’s performance slowly improved. Finally, The Lilywhites were able to finish in sixth and qualify for the European League. In the 12 months of the 57-year coach’s work, only Liverpool (82) and Manchester City (68) have been able to score more points than Tottenham (62).
Although football is a sport of end result, the process is also unforgettable. How the team plays cannot be separated from the attention of fans and the media. Moreover, Mourinho, a coach known to be pragmatic and reactive, replaced Pochettino who played proactive football with high intensity pressure.
Looking at the statistics for Passes per Defensive Actions (total passes divided by defensive action), Tottenham under Mourinho has decreased. A high number means a team allows an opponent to control the ball by passing. In other words, the team did not press the opponent intensely. A low number indicates that the team applies high pressing with high intensity.
Starting from the start of training in the 2014/15 season until he was fired, Tottenham under Pochettino recorded a PPDA of 9.54 and became the second best in the Premier League. Since Mourinho arrived, the PPDA figure has risen to 12.16. Dropped all the way from number two to number nine.
Another parameter that can be used is the opponent’s average time to control the ball. As with PPDA, high numbers indicate the team tends to be reactive when defending. Pochettino’s Tottenham recorded 17.8 seconds while Mourinho’s Tottenham went up to 23.2 seconds. It can be concluded that Tottenham are indeed more reactive when defending.
Moving on to the attacking phase, Tottenham under Mourinho are also no better than Pochettino when looking at the average goals per game. Tottenham scored 1.84 goals per game under Pochettino versus 1.82 under Mourinho’s regime. Different thin, but no significant changes.
Likewise, the value of expected goals (xG) minus expected goals against (xGA). From the xG value, one can conclude how the quality of a team creates opportunities. Meanwhile, the xGA value illustrates how a team reduces opponents in making opportunities.
Tottenham under Pochettino (0.36) were superior to Tottenham under Mourinho (0.22). Even so, this statistic fell far down to zero in Pochettino’s last 34 matches. It could be argued that Mourinho’s Tottenham were more stable than Pochettino’s Tottenham at the end of the Argentina coach’s career in North London. The style of play may change, but Mourinho slowly raised Tottenham’s form again.
Mourinho does play reactive football, but have no doubts about the quality of Tottenham’s attack. 19 goals in the Premier League only lost to Chelsea by one more. Total xG per 90 minutes also ranks second, only losing to Liverpool.
The two main pillars of Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Son Heung-min have been outstanding this season. From the initial eight games, Kane scored seven goals and eight assists. Meanwhile, Son scored eight goals and two assists. Thumbs up for the two players but their impressive performance cannot be separated from the role of Mourinho.
When asked by F Dating Sports about the performance of the two players, Mourinho explained that the relationship between the two players was very influential. They have been playing together for so long. Besides that, both Kane and Son are players who place great importance on the team. For the rest, Mourinho and Tottenham’s coaching staff are looking for the right combination and movement for the two players. Mourinho knows that Son has incredible speed and Kane is very dangerous not only in the box, but also when it comes to picking up the ball. No wonder Tottenham’s many goals came from Kane’s scheme to go down and release a through ball to Son.
The transfer of Tottenham last summer also provided a breath of fresh air. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as a defensive midfielder had an important role in balancing the game. Sergio Reguilon is clearly much better at attacking than Ben Davies. Gareth Bale can provide things that other Tottenham wingers don’t have. Matt Doherty can be an option to see Serge Aurier’s inconsistent performance. Meanwhile, Joe Hart, Joe Rodon and Carlos Vinicius did not seem projected to be the main players. Naturally, to see a total of only € 15 million to bring in the three players.
“The experienced one, I’m very experienced. Everything that happens in football right now is like dejavu to me, something I have experienced before, “said Mourinho, still on an interview with F Dating Sports. It is undeniable that Mourinho is a coach full of experience with a myriad of achievements, even though the last he won the league trophy was in the 2014/15 season. Mourinho has so far been able to make Tottenham better than the end of Pochettino’s period. If it continues to improve, it is not impossible for Mourinho to stop Tottenham’s title fast from the 2007/08 season.
ASL
