Genius or Journeyman?

The riddle of the moment is this: what lasted 9 years, 151 games and has been through 4 different clubs? The answer is: Jose Mourinho’s unbeaten home record in league matches. An impressive record by any standard, especially if we consider what he has won in that time period: 6 league titles, 2 cups, one league cup, three supercups, one UEFA cup and two Champions League titles. A record that would make any manager proud of his career. But Jose’s career as a first team manager has lasted for only a little over ten years, leaving much room for improvement.

Let us return to the unbeaten home record, recently broken with a 1-0 loss at home to the hands of Sporting Gijon. There is one thing that stands out from that record almost as much as how impressive the numbers are, and that is the fact that he has managed 4 clubs in these last 9 years. In fact, he tallies 6 clubs in this a-little-over-ten-years career. This isn’t much of an issue if we look at modern football, where manager sackings are seen as a way to boost team spirit and where money and the eternal quest for silverware sees little importance given to values like club fidelity. But if we look at the IFFHS list of top managers of the previous decade, we see that only two men stand above Jose Mourinho: Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. And these two managers have stayed at their clubs for years, implemented their mentality and philosophy deep into the club’s roots and stood firm even when things got rough. So we need to ask ourselves one simple question: would Jose Mourinho be a better manager if he held on to the managerial chair for longer?

The above question obviously doesn’t have an easy answer. In Mourinho’s case, it seems like his manager life is haunted by Bela Guttman’s infamously fatal third season. And Bela Guttman is one of Mourinho’s notable influences in football, as are Malcolm Allison and Louis van Gaal, also often called “journeymen” themselves. Again, looking at the way the game is today, we would probably have to say that the examples of Wenger and Ferguson are the exception and that Mourinho follows the norm, although with a lot more success than usual. Some people, however, are quick to point out another thing – his personality.

Mourinho has been accused of being abrasive and of wearing down relationships with club officials and players. These accusations have come from the media, with whatever value you want to give them considering the often fuzzy sources and hearsay accounts, but also from players who have worked closely with him like Claude Makelele. Others will say that it is Jose himself who needs to find other challenges to focus his intense working schedule on.

Whatever reason we might want to point out for this issue, it does seem like with Jose Mourinho genius and success come hand in hand with a touch of madness. It seems like the things that make him great – his vision, his confidence, his ego, his motivating skills, his handling of the press and his insane work rate – are also the things that, in the end, see him burning bridges with players and clubs. And this will just make his story a lot more exciting to tell.

This guest post was written by Joao Fernandes from Coupon Croc. Joao is a huge Benfica fan and fellow countryman of Mourinho.  Benfica will be playing PSV Eindhoven on the 14th April in the Europa Cup quarter final.  If you are going to the game in Holland, Thomson Holidays are offering special supporter packages.