Marc Pozzo
Having just returned from a week in Mzanzi, where I went for some medical tests, I had time to think and ponder on a few issues that have been on the back burner for sometime. One of them being Jose Mourinho . He fascinates me; the “ Special One”. I am no fan, but just intrigued as to what goes on his head .
At the same time this was going through my head , the sad news filtered through on social media and news channels that the greatest musician to ever come out of Zimbabwe, Oliver “ Tuku” Mtukudzi, passed away. I shared a stage, many a time ,with this legend of a musician as MC at corporate events and concerts. Our friendship was always one of warm greetings and an embrace every time we met up.
His legacy will live forever, and it was fitting that even in South Africa, most radio stations played a” Tuku “ song almost every hour . May the almighty creator give comfort and strength to the family and may his dear soul rest in peace.
Now, I have been wondering of late what’s next for one Jose Mourinho. My first thought; has football overtaken Mourinho: He was an early adopter of a coaching methodology born out of his native Portugal called “tactical periodisation”.
But the game evolves. In the past few years Mourinho has been trying to reproduce a way of working and thinking that many feel has already had its day. Despite the success – albeit perhaps below the elevated expectations he enjoyed at Real Madrid, his philosophy had not fully worked there. Players in Spain had begun to challenge him . The issues persisted in his second stint at Chelsea, where it’s fair to say he left a few friends behind when he was sacked in 2015. Those that worked with him in his first period believe he was a totally different man the second time round.
The best Mourinho teams won by defending in their box. It was mighty difficult to create a chance against them. Games were won by set pieces, counter attacks and the need for discipline. However football has moved forward technically.
Some managers suggest that Mourinho’s insistence on focusing the efforts of his teams on annihilating the rival has made him forget about the identity of his own sides. But they all admire one thing: he still understands the game as a complex entity. Like all coaches, he searches for order but is capable of creating uncertainty for opponents too, finding ways of playing that are difficult to defend against.
At the top of his game, he can bring changes to a match (in terms of tactics and personnel) that disrupt what opponents were working towards. But perhaps, they admit, we have seen less of that recently.
Mourinho opted not to update his methods at Old Trafford but instead to insist on their implementation, and in the process fell out with his most loyal lieutenant, Rui Faria, who had worked alongside him at every club he managed.
In the opinion of many who were there, Mourinho was not the same after his fellow Portuguese left. He decided against settling down in Manchester, and instead picked a five star hotel . That just told a story on its own. It was always going to be a short stay . From day one, he created a culture based on fear, mistrust and a siege mentality of “ us against the world “ .
He could not buy into his philosophies. Many within the club believe he deliberately forced his way out, aware that he could neither change the attitudes of his footballers nor improve his team enough to rise to the challenge of the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool. The day he walked out of Carrington, the atmosphere around the club would improve within a day after he left . And they were right.
A regime bordering on the unstable had created a negative atmosphere that affected everyone. The body language of the players and performances on the pitch, that followed his departure says it all. He tried to justify what happened at United by blaming the players and the club for his dismissal. I don’t buy into this.
It was Mourinho, no-one else, who came up with the ‘Special One’ tag. That is some title to live up to.
His demands for “respect” were theatrical but they come from a deep belief that he has done enough to be treated differently. For 20 years he has been considered one of the elite and rewarded handsomely for his excellence.
He appears to have arrived at the conclusion that he is, in fact, brilliant because he gets the best jobs and gets paid fortunes for running big clubs. He has been successful in every city he has worked in and if he doesn’t reach the level of success he was brought in to achieve he gets a huge payout. So for two decades he has been receiving evidence that he is brilliant at what he does.
But some suggest that it is his own self-belief that has blinded him from seeing others who have overtaken him on leadership and management during the past few years of dramatic change in football.
The way he dealt with star midfielder Paul Pogba – who took the battle with his manager to the digital world – showed he did not appreciate the huge power of the digital world.
He remained stuck in analogue mode, still giving huge importance to his news conferences, despite the fact that the control that managers exercise from the press room has been seriously diminished.
