New Roma manager, Jose Mourinho, has always dined out on his famous press conference where he labelled himself ‘a special one.’
Certainly, early in his managerial career, that moniker was appropriate.
His Porto and Chelsea teams were magnificent, and for one season Real Madrid were world beaters under his tutelage.
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However, he’s long since been a coach that is ‘forward thinking,’ and the traits he relied upon 15-20 years ago are no longer applicable in the modern era.
Yes, he’ll still do reasonably well at clubs in a first season, as players look to impress, but as we saw at both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, the feel good factor quickly wears off.
France coach, Didier Deschamps, no doubt spoke for most people when he savagely put down the Portuguese in a recent interview.
“I cannot see any weakness. If I had to say one team to win it, I will say them [France] – because the group of players is fantastic. ,” Mourinho wrote in his Euro 2020 column for The Sun.
“They have to win it. If not, it is an unsuccessful Euros.”
That didn’t curry favour with Deschamps.
“I thought the same thing about his Tottenham team, but it did not end up happening like that,” he told French television channel TF1, cited by the Daily Star.
“Automatically, with the status of world champions, we are favourites, with three more years of experience. I have a very important offensive potential.
“But it’s not just that. You talk about balance but I don’t disconnect them from our midfield too. We will do everything to have the ball as much as possible but there will be times when we will not have the ball.”
Mourinho will still be around for a while yet, but jobs at the top level are becoming fewer and farther between for him.