The Chelsea boss has come out with some pretty crazy and controversial stuff since his arrival in the Premiership, but once in a while he actually comes out with some insightful and thoughtful words. In an interview with some Portugese folks, he said,
“Just a few days ago I told a player of mine that the easy life is not that of one who fails, nor that of the icon of success,”
“The easy life is that of those who survive mediocrity. Managing success is managing your career. It’s a mentally dominating society, a society which adores us and which wants our permanent success and pushes us towards it, but it’s also a society which envies us and hopes for, often feeds, our failure.”
“I advise players to cultivate themselves and surround themselves with people who don’t idolise them. I advise their family and friends not to let them lose contact with the real world out there.”
“We should go and queue if we want to go to the bank, we should pay the fines if we commit traffic offences, we should wait at the restaurant like others. Others are always fundamental in our perception of the real world.”
Too true. Only last week we were having a CaughtOffside function at a nearby public house and were immediately swarmed by a hoard of locals and pub employees. They were banging on about not paying our bill the previous week and whether we were responsible for the puddle of vomit behind the bar.
Not sure where that story was going, but Mourinho is right. If you’re a famous footballer with a dodgy haircut who can’t score a penalty, don’t be a butt and throw hot coffee in our face just because we spat in the general direction of your Range Rover at a traffic light last Wednesday. You get paid thousands so we can abuse you in public, remember?