José Mourinho

This article is about the Portuguese football coach. For other people named Mourinho, see Mourinho (name).

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is dos Santos and the second or paternal family name is Félix Mourinho.

José Mourinho

Mourinho in August 2010
Personal information
Full name	José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Team information
Current team	Real Madrid (Manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1980–1982	Rio Ave	16	(2)
1982–1983	Belenenses	16	(2)
1983–1985	Sesimbra	35	(1)
1985–1987	Comércio e Indústria	27	(8)
Managerial career
2000	Benfica
2001–2002	União de Leiria
2002–2004	FC Porto
2004–2007	Chelsea
2008–2010	Internazionale
2010–	Real Madrid
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho, GOIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛ moˈɾiɲu]; born 26 January 1963 in Setúbal), is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid in the Spanish La Liga. He has the nickname "The Special One," a self-proclaimed title which was later taken up by the British media.

The son of Portuguese goalkeeper José Félix Mourinho, Mourinho started out as a player but he was dissatisfied with his lack of skill 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 Sir Bobby Robson. There, Mourinho learnt much from the veteran coach and worked with him at Sporting Clube de Portugal and FC Porto in Portugal, before following him to Spanish club FC Barcelona.

He began focusing on coaching and impressed with brief but successful managerial periods at Sport Lisboa e Benfica and União de Leiria. He returned to FC 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 world's 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 Italy's Serie A, signing a three-year contract with Internazionale in mid-2008. Within three months, he had won his first Italian honour, the Supercoppa Italiana, and completed his first season in Italy by winning the Serie A league title. He then followed that up the following year by winning the first treble in Italian history, the Serie A league title, Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League, thus becoming the third manager in football history to win two UEFA Champions League with two different teams, after Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld

Mourinho is regarded by some as the best manager in world football today. In 2010, before their semi-final second-leg clash, Guardiola of Barcelona said: "In terms of the world's best managers, when you compare José [Mourinho] to Sir Alex [Ferguson], Arsène [Wenger] and Fabio [Capello], he is still very young. But even at his age there is a very strong case for him being the best manager in the world. That's the truth."

On 28 May 2010, it was confirmed that Mourinho would take over as head coach at Real Madrid.

Early life and career

Formative years and education

José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho was born in 1963 to a large middle-class family in Setúbal, Portugal, the son of Félix Mourinho and Maria Júlia Mourinho. His father played football professionally for Os Belenenses and Vitória de 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 funded the construction of the Vitória de Setúbal football stadium. The fall of António de Oliveira Salazar's Estado Novo regime in April 1974, however, led to the family losing all but a property in nearby Palmela.

Mourinho was a popular and competitive child and his mother encouraged him to be successful in his endeavors. 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 José Mourinho became a student of the game, observing training sessions and scouting opposing teams.

Mourinho 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 due to a lack of the requisite pace and power. Acceding 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), Technical University of Lisbon, 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 by mixing coaching theory with motivational and psychological techniques.

Entering management

After leaving his job as a school coach, Mourinho looked for paths into professional management in his hometown and became 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, with the manager being Jesualdo Ferreira. Mourinho yearned for greater challenges and in 1992 an opportunity arose to work as a translator for a top foreign coach. Sir Bobby Robson had been appointed as the new manager of Lisbon club Sporting Clube de Portugal 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 through discussing tactics and coaching. Robson was sacked by Sporting but Portuguese rivals FC 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 FC Barcelona in 1996. Their last match as coach and assistant in FC Porto was a 5–0 win against Benfica in Estadio da Luz for the Portuguese Super Cup, a match that is still remembered by most fans in Portugal. In Barcelona, Mourinho continued to show his linguistic dexterity and drive, learning Catalan for the new challenge. Mourinho and his family moved to Barcelona and he gradually became a prominent figure of Barcelona's staff by 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 partnership 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. He let Mourinho develop his own independent coaching style and entrusted him with the coaching duties of FC Barcelona B. Van Gaal also let Mourinho take charge of the first team (acting as Mourinho's assistant himself) for certain trophies, like the Copa Catalunya, which Mourinho won in 2000.

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 Jesualdo Ferreira as the new assistant coach, but Mourinho refused and picked Carlos Mozer, a retired Benfica defender, as his right-hand man instead.

When I spoke with Van Gaal about going back to Portugal to be an assistant at Benfica, he said: "No, don't go. Tell Benfica if they want a first-team coach you will go; if they want an assistant you will stay."

Mourinho was highly critical of Ferreira, whom he had first encountered as his teacher at ISEF, and later lambasted the veteran coach by stating, "This could be the story of a donkey who worked for 30 years but never became a horse." 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 and said he knew Robson would never step down at the club he loved.

Mourinho and Mozer proved a popular combination, enjoying a 3–0 win against fierce rivals Sporting in December. Their reign, however, 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 to test the president's loyalty and he asked for a contract extension. Vilarinho refused the demand and Mourinho resigned from his position immediately. He left 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 União de 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

File:Champions League trophy.jpg

UEFA Champions League, won with Porto and Inter

He was then hand-picked in January 2002 by FC Porto to replace Octávio Machado. Mourinho guided the team to third place that year after a strong 15-game run (W–D–L: 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 União de Leiria; Paulo Ferreira from Vitória de Setúbal; Pedro Emanuel from Boavista; and Edgaras Jankauskas and Maniche, who both 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 his quick wit and the pressuring play, which started at the offensive line, dubbed pressão alta ("high pressure"). The physical and combative abilities of the teams' defenders and midfielders allowed Porto to apply pressure from the offensive lines and forced opponents either to concede the ball or try longer, uncertain passes.

In 2003, Mourinho won his first Portuguese Liga with a 27–5–2 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. Mourinho also won the Portuguese Cup (against former club Leiria) and the UEFA Cup final against Celtic, both in May 2003.

The following season witnessed further successes: he led Porto to victory in the one-match Portuguese SuperCup, beating Leiria 1–0. They lost, however, the UEFA Super Cup 1–0 to AC Milan, with Andriy Shevchenko scoring the solitary goal. The team was dominant in the Portuguese Liga and they finished the season with 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. Porto lost the Portuguese Cup final to Benfica in May 2004, but two weeks later, Mourinho won a greater prize: the UEFA Champions League, with a 3–0 win over AS Monaco in Germany. The club had eliminated Manchester United, Olympique Lyonnais, and Deportivo La Coruña and their sole defeat of the competition came against Real Madrid in the group round.

Mourinho's win over Manchester United foreshadowed a move to the English league, where he and manager Alex Ferguson would compete in the Premier League. Porto were on the verge of an away goals defeat when Costinha scored a goal with only little more than thirty seconds left for the official 90 minutes time, to win the tie and Mourinho celebrated the goal flamboyantly. As a response to his European and domestic success, 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:

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 [Roman] 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.

Liverpool offered their managerial position to Spanish coach Rafael Benítez and Mourinho instead accepted a large offer from Roman Abramovich and pledged his immediate future to Chelsea.

Chelsea

Mourinho at 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  million in transfer fees on players such as Tiago (£10 million) from Benfica, Michael Essien (£24.4 million) from Olympique Lyonnais, Didier Drogba (£24 million) from Olympique de Marseille, Mateja Kežman (£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 secured his first trophy by winning the League Cup against 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 taunts directed towards him whilst Liverpool were leading, before the equalising goal.

The club added more trophies as they secured their first top-flight domestic title in 50 years, setting a string of English football records in the process. He failed, however, 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 started the next season well. They defeated Arsenal 2–1 to win the FA Community Shield, and topped the Premier League from the first weekend 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 signing of Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko in the summer of 2006 for a club record fee would also prove to be a point of contention between Mourinho and Abramovich. Shevchenko, at the time of his signing, was one of the most highly regarded strikers in Europe during his time with Milan, where he won the Champions League, Scudetto, and Ballon d'Or awards in his seven years in Milan. Chelsea had attempted to sign Shevchenko in the preceding two years but Milan rebuffed Abramovich's interest in him. Shevchenko's first season at Chelsea was viewed as a major disappointment by the Chelsea fans as he only scored four league goals and 14 in all competitions. Shevchenko's strike partner, Didier Drogba, had the highest scoring season of his career that year and this led Shevchenko to be dropped from the starting line-up towards the end of the season by Mourinho. Notably, in the Champions League match at Anfield, Shevchenko was not even included on the bench. Abramovich's insistence on Mourinho playing the Ukrainian was widely viewed as a further source of friction between the two men. Shevchenko's signing was not the only one for Chelsea, however, as German captain & Midfield maestro Michael Ballack was also signed to strengthen the midfield on free agent from Bayern Munich. The Icelandic striker Eiður Guðjohnsen, an important player for Chelsea under Ranieri and Mourinho, departed the club for FC Barcelona.

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 FC in the final at the Millennium Stadium. The possibility, however, 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, Chelsea failed to win the Premier League title by drawing 1–1 with Arsenal FC at the Emirates Stadium on 6 May 2007. This meant that the title went to Manchester United. This was Mourinho's 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. There was, however, 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. In spite of these tensions, the 2007–08 transfer season would see the departure of Dutch winger Arjen Robben to Real Madrid and French midfielder Florent Malouda moved to Chelsea. Shevchenko was linked with a return to Milan but he remained at Chelsea for another year.

In the first match of the 2007–08 season, Chelsea beat Birmingham City 3–2 to set a new record of 64 consecutive home league matches without defeat, surpassing the record set by Liverpool between 1978 and 1981. Despite this feat, Chelsea's start to the 2007–08 season was not as successful as previous starts. The team lost at Aston Villa and followed this with a goalless draw at home to Blackburn Rovers. Their opening game in the UEFA Champions League saw them only manage a 1–1 home draw against the Norwegian team Rosenborg BK in front of an almost half-empty stadium. Shevchenko scored Chelsea's only goal in that match.

Mourinho unexpectedly left Chelsea on 20 September 2007 "by mutual consent," although there had been a series of disagreements with Chairman Roman Abramovich. 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 six trophies for the club in three years. He was also undefeated in all home league game s . Avram Grant succeeded José Mourinho as Chelsea manager but failed to win any trophies in his year in charge, although he reached the final of the Champions League and League Cup. Grant's Chelsea also finished second in the Premier League.

Internazionale

Mourinho at press conference.

Mourinho in Moscow, during a 2010 Champions League fixture

On 2 June 2008, Mourinho was appointed the successor of Roberto Mancini at Internazionale on a three-year contract, and brought along with him much of his backroom staff who had served him at both Chelsea and Porto. He chose Giuseppe Baresi, a former Inter player and ex-head coach of their youth academy, as his assistant. He spoke solely in Italian in his first press conference as Inter boss, claiming to have learnt it "in three weeks." Mourinho stated that he only intended to make a few major signings in the summer. By the end of the transfer window, he had brought three new players to the side: Brazilian winger Mancini (€13 million), Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari for reported €14 million, and Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma for a cash/player exchange fee of €18.6 million plus young Portuguese midfielder Pelé.

In his first season as Inter head coach, Mourinho won the Italian SuperCup, beating Roma on penalties, and finished top of Serie A. Inter, however, were eliminated 2–0 on aggregate by Manchester United in the first knock-out round of the UEFA Champions League, and he also failed to win the Coppa Italia, being defeated 3–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria in the semi-finals. As UEFA was beginning to push the larger clubs in top leagues to play more homegrown players, Mourinho regularly played 18-year-old Italian forward Mario Balotelli and promoted academy defender Davide Santon to the first team permanently, installing an Italian contingent into a team previously composed of mostly foreign players. Both teenagers played a part in the Scudetto-winning season and played enough games to earn their first senior trophy.

Despite his domestic successes in winning the Scudetto by a ten point margin, Jose Mourinho's first season in Italy was viewed as disappointing by some Inter fans as they failed to improve on the performances of his predecessor Roberto Mancini in the Champions League. Inter put in a series of lacklustre group stage performances that included a shock 1–0 home loss to Panathinaikos and an away draw with Cypriot minnows Anorthosis. They qualified, however, for the knockout stages of the Champions League but failed to make it to the quarter-finals after being defeated by Manchester United.

Mourinho also caused immediate ripples in Italian football through his controversial relationships with the Italian press and media, and feuds with major Serie A coaches such as Carlo Ancelotti, then of AC Milan, Luciano Spalletti of Roma, and Claudio Ranieri of Juventus. At a press conference in March 2009, he insulted the first two rivals by claiming they would end the season with no honours—and accused the Italian sport journalists of "intellectual prostitution" on their behalf. This rant promptly became very popular in Italy, especially regarding the "zero titles" quote used by Mourinho, and incorrectly pronounced by him as zeru tituli (in correct Italian it would have been zero titoli), which was later extensively referred to by football journalists in Italy. It also became the title's catchphrase used by fans to celebrate Inter's 17th scudetto later that season. The catchphrase was even used by Nike to present the celebration shirts for Inter's Serie A title. After the Coppa Italia final in May, fans of Roma's cross-town rivals Lazio, the new Coppa Italia winners, wore shirts with Io campione, tu zero titoli ("I'm a champion, you have no honours") on it, quoting Mourinho's "zeru tituli" statement.

On 16 May 2009, Inter mathematically won the Serie A title, after runners-up Milan lost to Udinese. This loss left the Nerazzurri seven points above their crosstown rivals with only two games remaining. They would eventually finish ten points clear of Milan.

On 28 July 2009, Mourinho was reported to have shown interest in taking over at Manchester United when Alex Ferguson retired. He was quoted as saying, "I would consider going to Manchester United but United have to consider if they want me to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson. If they do, then of course."

Under Mourinho, Inter have remained active in the transfer market. Adriano left Inter in April 2009, and the exit of the Brazilian striker was followed by the Argentine duo Julio Cruz and Hernán Crespo. Legendary Portuguese attacking midfielder and veteran Luís Figo retired. Figo was on the verge of leaving Inter under Mancini due to a lack of playing time but in his final season, Mourinho used him frequently. Mourinho signed Argentine striker Diego Milito, who fell just one goal short of winning the top scorer award with Genoa, as well as Thiago Motta and Wesley Sneijder, to bolster the midfield. Perhaps his most notable signing of the summer of his second season was a swap deal of Zlatan Ibrahimović for FC Barcelona's Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o and a reported 35 million pound transfer fee also went to Inter. This transfer was the second most expensive in the history of the transfer market, after Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid earlier in the summer. Eto'o got off to a promising start with Inter by scoring two goals in the first two matches of the season.

Ricardo Quaresma's signing from Mourinho's old club FC Porto was viewed as a missing link in the Inter squad, but his play disappointed the club and led him to be loaned off to Chelsea midway through the season, ironically Mourinho's other former club. Mancini also failed to dominate in the midfield and addressing these shortcomings in the transfer market became a priority for Inter. Inter's lack of a creative playmaker, or trequartista, has been blamed for the Champions League failure. In their attempt to deal with this issue, Inter signed Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder from Real Madrid.

Mourinho once again sparked controversy in the summer with his argument with Italy national team coach Marcello Lippi. Lippi predicted that Juventus would win the Scudetto in the 2009–10 season, which Mourinho viewed Lippi's comments as disrespectful to Inter. The previous year, Lippi predicted Inter would win the title and Mourinho did not respond to his prediction. Lippi responded by saying that Mourinho was equal to Ciro Ferrara and Leonardo at Juventus and Milan, respectively, only that he was more experienced. After the row with Lippi, he clashed with Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro over Davide Santon's place in the Inter squad. Cannavaro had said that Santon might have to leave Inter to get regular playing time to gain selection for Italy in the World Cup. Mourinho responded by saying that Cannavaro was acting like a coach.

Inter struggled in their first two matches of the new season. The team lost the Italian SuperCup to Lazio 2–1 and drew 1–1 with newly promoted Bari at the San Siro. Mourinho's team improved dramatically since then, however, as he built a formidable midfield with Sneijder at the heart of it and the likes of new signing Thiago Motta and veterans Javier Zanetti and Dejan Stanković. Inter went on score more than 30 goals (as of the end of November), thrashing derby rivals Milan 4–0, with new signings Diego Milito and Motta both scoring, and hammering Genoa 5–0, the largest margin of victory in the Serie A that season. He was sent off in the December Derby d'Italia away fixture after he sarcastically applauded the referee for what he felt was a dubious free-kick given to Juventus and Inter went on to lose 2–1, courtesy of a Claudio Marchisio winner in the second-half.

Later during the season, Mourinho maintained a strongly critical position against refereeing in Italy, which reached its peak during the 22 February 2010 league game against Sampdoria, ended in a 0–0 tie, with two Inter players being sent off in the first half. At the end of the first half, José Mourinho made a handcuffs gesture towards a camera which was considered by the Football Association as violent and critical of the refereeing performance, and caused a three-game ban against the Portuguese coach. Also, his difficult relationship with young striker Mario Balotelli and the team's loss of form that led Inter to achieve only seven points in six games (and three of such games, including a shock 1–3 defeat at the hands of Sicilian minnows Catania, happening during Mourinho's ban) were heavily criticized by the media and pundits. Despite this, Mourinho achieved what was hailed as one of his career highlights after Inter managed to progress to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals by defeating Mourinho's former team Chelsea in both legs (2–1 win at San Siro, then followed by a 1–0 win at Stamford Bridge).

On 6 April 2010, José Mourinho became the first manager in history to take three different teams to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League (this record was equalled by Bayern Munich manager Louis van Gaal a day later) after his Internazionale managed to overcome CSKA Moscow 0–1 in Russia in the second leg of their quarter-final tie, which ended 2–0 on aggregate. Wesley Sneijder's goal in the sixth minute proved the difference in a match played in laid-back style. This marked the first time in seven years that Internazionale managed to make it to the semi-finals of the competition. On 13 April, Internazionale continued its good season, having managed to qualify for the Coppa Italia final, for the first time under Mourinho, by beating Fiorentina 1–0 away (2–0 on aggregate).

On 28 April 2010, José Mourinho reached the UEFA Champions League Final for the second time in his career after Internazionale beat current holders Barcelona 3–2 on aggregate, after losing 1–0 at Nou Camp (which Mourinho called "the most beautiful defeat of my life"). This brought Internazionale back into a UEFA Champions League Final 38 years after their last (a defeat to AFC Ajax). Mourinho was involved in a brief scuffle with Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés while attempting to join in the Inter celebrations. Mourinho afterwards stated that that "anti-Madridismo" had motivated the Barça fans, suggesting that they were obsessed with reaching the final and winning the tournament in their arch-rival's home ground. Diario Marca proclaimed that Mourinho had passed the test to become the next head coach of Real Madrid, as their fans celebrated the elimination of Barcelona.

On 2 May, after a 2–0 away win at Rome against Lazio, Inter almost secured the Serie A title. On 5 May 2010, the team won the Coppa Italia, defeating AS Roma 1–0, and on the 16 May 2010 Inter beat Siena 1–0 to secure the domestic double. On 22 May 2010, Inter won the UEFA Champions League beating Bayern Munich 2–0, and in doing so Inter became the first Italian club to complete The Treble and Mourinho personally celebrated the second "treble win" in his managerial career and second Champions League win. The day after having won the UEFA Champions League, Mourinho claimed that he was "sad, as almost for sure it's my last game with Inter". He then added that "if you don't coach Real Madrid then you will always have a gap in your career".

After days of discussions between Real Madrid and Inter, a record breaking compensation package was successfully agreed on 27 May 2010, and Mourinho was consequently released by Inter.

Real Madrid

On 28 May 2010, it was confirmed that Mourinho would take over from Manuel Pellegrini at the Santiago Bernabéu. On 31 May 2010, Mourinho was unveiled as the new manager of Real Madrid after signing a four-year deal at the club, and became the 11th coach in the past seven years at Real Madrid. On 29 August 2010, Real Madrid drew 0–0 at Real Mallorca in Mourinho's first La Liga game as manager.The next few games were rather low on goalscoring, but Mourinho assured that it is only a matter of time before Real start scoring. He was right: in the next game against Deportivo la Coruna Real managed to net five goals and provoke an own goal. Against Malaga Los Blancos scored 4 and then went on to thrash Racing Santander 6-1.

Managerial statistics

Team	Nat	From	To	Record					Notes
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Benfica		20 September 2000	5 December 2000	11	6	3	2	054.55
Leiria		January 2001	20 January 2002	31	17	10	4	054.84
Porto		23 January 2002	26 May 2004	123	87	21	15	070.73	2 Domestic League, Domestic Cup, Domestic Super Cup, UEFA Cup, UEFA Champions League
Chelsea		2 June 2004	20 September 2007	185	131	36	18	070.81	2 Domestic League, Domestic Cup, Domestic Super Cup, 2 League Cup
Internazionale		2 June 2008	28 May 2010	108	68	25	15	062.96	2 Domestic League, Domestic Cup, Domestic Super Cup, UEFA Champions League
Real Madrid		31 May 2010		11	9	2	0	081.82
Total				468	317	97	54	067.74	6 Domestic League, 3 Domestic Cup, 3 Domestic Super Cup, 2 League Cup, 1 UEFA Cup, 2 UEFA Champions League

Statistics accurate as of match played 19 October 2010

Unbeaten home record

As of 23rd October 2010, Mourinho is on a run of 140 home league matches unbeaten: 38 (W36–D2) with Porto, 60 (W46–D14) with Chelsea, 38 (W29–D9) with Internazionale and 4 (W4-D0) with Real Madrid.

His last and only home league defeat came when Porto were defeated 3–2 by Beira-Mar on 23 February 2002.

Honours

Managerial

In eight seasons of club management, including an eight month sabbatical in 2007–08, Mourinho has led his club to win its domestic league six times, the UEFA Cup once and the UEFA Champions League twice. Since 2002, Mourinho has not gone a full season or a calender year without winning at least one trophy.

Porto (2002–2004)

• 2003 Portuguese Liga
• 2003 Portuguese Cup
• 2003 UEFA Cup
• 2003 Portuguese Super Cup
• 2004 Portugese Liga
• 2004 UEFA Champions League

Chelsea (2004–2007)

• 2005 FA Premier League
• 2005 League Cup
• 2005 FA Community Shield
• 2006 FA Premier League
• 2007 League Cup
• 2007 FA Cup

Internazionale (2008–2010)

• 2008 Supercoppa Italiana
• 2009 Serie A
• 2010 Serie A
• 2010 Coppa Italia
• 2010 UEFA Champions League

The Treble (League, Cup and European trophy)

• 2002–03 with Porto: League, Cup and UEFA Cup
• 2009–10 with Internazionale: League, Cup and UEFA Champions League

Individual

• UEFA Manager of the Year (2): 2002–03, 2003–04
• Portuguese Liga Manager of the Year (2): 2002–03, 2003–04
• Premier League Manager of the Month (3): November 2004, January 2005, March 2007
• Serie A Manager of the Year (1): 2009
• IFFHS World Manager of the Year (2): 2004, 2005
• UEFA Champions League Manager of the Year (2): 2002–03, 2003–04
• UEFA Team of the Year Coach of the Year (3): 2003, 2004, 2005
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award (1): 2005
• Onze d'Or Coach of the Year (1): 2005
• World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year (2): 2004, 2005
• International Sports Press Association Best Manager in the World (1): 2010

Special awards

• Honoris causa – degree by the Technical University of Lisbon for his accomplishments in football.

Controversy

Mourinho has often been seen as a controversial figure in football. His time at Chelsea, in particular, fueled this viewpoint as he frequently made outspoken comments that saw him face punishment from the footballing authorities.

On 27 January 2003, after a Porto-Boavista derby in Estádio das Antas, Mourinho refused to shake hands with Boavista coach Jaime Pacheco, quoting "I don't shake hands with someone I don't know". The two coaches were exchanging words all the week before the match. Pacheco returned the favor in February 2007, before a Champions League match between Porto and Chelsea, calling Mourinho sick and mentally retarded.

On 31 January 2004, after a Sporting Clube de Portugal vs. FC Porto 1–1 match in Lisbon, Porto keeper Vítor Baía and Sporting midfielder Rui Jorge exchanged shirts. Mourinho took Rui Jorge's shirt from Baia and ripped it. Mourinho was not punished for the action. On 26 February, after the Porto vs. Manchester United match at Dragão, an angered Alex Ferguson (United's manager) argued with Mourinho on the touchline but later they settled their differences. In March, before a Barcelona vs. Celtic match for the UEFA Cup, Mourinho criticized Celtic's coach Martin O'Neill and his team for playing non-attractive football, and recalled the 2003 UEFA Cup final between Porto and Celtic, when, as he said "we kept the ball and they just ran all over the pitch trying to get to us with their horrible and aggressive style". O'Neill responded harshly criticizing the "diving" Porto players used to get fouls. "Mourinho's comments are just unbelievable. I just treat them with the response they deserve. He's still to get over the embarrassment of Vitor Baia lying out on the turf for three or four days" O'Neill said.

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 after 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 FC 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 retire prematurely. The UEFA referee's chief, Volker Roth, labeled 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 then 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 labeled 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 Henrique Hilário. Everton issued a statement threatening legal action and calling on Mourinho to apologize, which he later did.

In August 2009, Mourinho again found himself causing controversy after commenting that the performance of Muslim player Sulley Muntari was lacking fitness and energy due to fasting during the month of Ramadan. He was reported to have said, "Muntari had some problems related to Ramadan, perhaps with this heat it's not good for him to be doing this [fasting]. Ramadan has not arrived at the ideal moment for a player to play a football match." The comments sparked an angry response from Muslim leader Mohamed Nour Dachan, who responded, "I think Mourinho could do with talking a little less. A practising [Muslim] player is not weakened because we know from the Institute of Sports Medicine that mental and psychological stability can give a sportsman an extra edge on the field."

On 21 April 2010, after Inter's 3–1 win against FC Barcelona in Milan, Catalan media alleged that Mourinho and Portuguese referee Olegário Benquerença (who was the referee of the San Siro match) were long time friends and also that they co-own a restaurant called O Menino in Leiria, Portugal, accusing Benquerença's friendship with Mourinho of being responsible for Inter's win. Catalan radio and media also claimed that Benquerença is called Larapio ("thief") in Portugal, since a 2004 match between Benfica and Porto in Lisbon in which Benquerença disallowed a dubious goal by Benfica's Petit, thus helping Porto to win 1–0; however, that match took place the season after Mourinho's departure from the club. Mourinho himself denied any such allegiances. "I have no restaurant with anybody" he said, "maybe [Barcelona manager] Pep [Guardiola] has a restaurant in Oslo", taunting Norwegian referee Tom Henning Øvrebø's role in Barcelona's qualification against Chelsea in London for the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League semifinal.

Mourinho has already stirred up controversy in the Spanish press since his arrival in Madrid. On September 27th 2010, Mourinho blasted out at the press after he was pushed too far regarding the exclusion of Pedro Leon from the squad to play against Auxerre.He said, "Don't you want to ask me who will play tomorrow? I have already told you that Benzema will start. If I were a reporter, I would ask who the other 10 players are. Will Higuain play with Benzema or be on the bench? But no – you only insist on Pedro Leon, it seems as if he is Maradona or Zidane...", before he walked out of the press conference abruptly.

Just 3 days before this outburst, Mourinho came out in the press, attacking Sporting de Gijon for putting out a weaker team against Barcelona.He said in a press conference, "If teams gift their games to Barcelona, it will be harder to win the league. They think that they will not win and therefore play with their reserve squad – this would complicate the league for us."

Pep Guardiola, manager of Barcelona refused to be drawn on the matter.

Personal life

Mourinho with his children, Matilde and José Jr.

Mourinho met his wife Tami when they were teenagers in Setúbal, Portugal, and the couple married in 1989. Their first child, daughter 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. José Mourinho is a Catholic.

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.

In 23 March 2009, José Mourinho was awarded a doctorate honoris causa degree by the Technical University of Lisbon for his accomplishments in football.

Mourinho speaks Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and English fluently. He also speaks Catalan.

See also

• List of UEFA Cup and Europa League winning managers
• List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winning managers
• José and his Amazing Technicolor Overcoat
• Special 1 TV
• José Arrogantio, a character based on Mourinho in comedy series Harry and Paul

External links

• José Mourinho management career statistics at Soccerbase
• José Mourinho at IMDb