José Mourinho has had an impeccable start to life in his early days at Manchester United. Four wins out of four in competitive games, including an official trophy, a couple of impressive signings and a fine tuning of a seemingly disgruntled club.
The Portuguese boss has given the Manchester United faithful enough reason to believe that this may finally be their year after several seasons of below-par finishes. But that could all have been avoided, had things gone his way in 2013; the year that saw the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson depart after nearly three decades in charge.
Despair
“Mourinho is a really good coach but that’s as far as I would go really.”—Sir bobby charlton on josé mourinho
7th May 2013. Shockwaves are sent around the footballing world as Sir Alex Ferguson announces his retirement after a 26-year association with the club. Having already sealed a historic 20th league title, Ferguson thought the time was right to step down as manager and step up as a member of the club’s directors.
The same day also saw a frantic atmosphere in Portugal, where Gestifute, football’s most powerful agency, led by super-agent Jorge Mendes, were getting a barrage of calls from a distraught José Mourinho. David Moyes was chosen by the departing Sir Alex Ferguson to be the next Manchester United manager.
Mourinho had been Gestifute’s poster boy for several years, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. Disappointing him was a major failure for the agency, especially considering Jorge Mendes had more ties with the Old Trafford boardroom than any other agent.
The fact that José Mourinho’s CV had a whole host of honours including two Champions League titles and league titles in four different countries compared to no major trophies for Moyes was a further sucker punch for the Portuguese.
Terrible
The disappointment of missing out on the United job came on the back of a terrible season with Real Madrid. The Blancos were miles behind Tito Vilanova‘s Barcelona in the La Liga title race for much of the season, lost out in the Champions League semi-finals to an inspired Borussia Dortmund and only had consolation by being in the Copa del Rey final against Atlético Madrid—a sour story on its own.
For a side which probably has the largest budget in the world, the Copa del Rey seemed to be a minor trophy—one that is seen as mere solace for a club like Real Madrid. With the final being held at Real’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium, combined with the fact that Atlético had not tasted victory against their city rivals since 1999, there was only likely to be one winner.
A near-certain victory was not concentrated upon by Mourinho, who was still reeling from the bombshell dropped by Sir Alex Ferguson. According to ‘The Special One: The Secret World of José Mourinho‘ by Spanish journalist Diego Torres, Mourinho seemed ‘absorbed, sunken-eyed, pale and melancholic’—characters largely unassociated with the man.
The game ended in a sour defeat for Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo scored early in the first half but mistakes by the back line, along with a second yellow and subsequent sending off for the goalscorer and Mourinho himself, allowed Diego Costa to equalise and João Miranda to score the winner in extra time. Three days later, Mourinho and Madrid parted company on a ‘mutual agreement’ with Mourinho citing the season as the “worst of his career”
Double-Cross
“maybe he thinks that he knows everything and that the coach cannot improve him anymore”—José mourinho on cristiano ronaldo
Mourinho wasn’t just having a bad time on the pitch, off it his relationship with his trusted men on duty was deteriorating. His captain, club legend and icon Iker Casillas, was dropped after poor form in the middle of the season. This, along with the eventual purchase of Diego López from Sevilla, caused a rift within the club as well as the fans.
Mourinho felt Casillas was the mole in the club and was crucial in the break-up of the relationship between him, president Florentino Pérez and the Madridistas. The Spanish media picked up on the case and further speculated what may have been going on at the club, further dampening Mourinho’s image. The fact that the club never denied any bust-ups publicly between the pair failed to clear his suspicions.
Whether it was Chelsea, Inter Milan or Real Madrid, Mourinho always had a fine relationship with his compatriots at the club. In this case, it was Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo, who were his lieutenants on the pitch for much of his tenure.
Relationships with both players broke down in the second half of the 2012-13 season. Pepe called for more respect to be shown towards Casillas, an act which put his future in doubt. In the failed Copa del Rey final, he was dropped in favour of Raúl Albiol—a man who had featured infrequently over the course of the season. He did manage to get himself amongst the action, however, installing himself as the coach after Mourinho was sent off.
His relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo worsened after he felt the forward couldn’t accept criticism and in Mourinho’s words, “maybe thinks that he knows everything and that the coach cannot improve him anymore.” He left the club on a sour note and broken entities with players, fans and the boardroom.
Failure
“I hope he doesn’t win everything, I hope he leaves something for the others.”—José mourinho on david moyes
His departure from Real Madrid saw him return to a place at which he was always loved: Chelsea. While he was paving the way for glory at Stamford Bridge, David Moyes was struggling in Manchester. The Scotsman failed to carry on the exploits of his predecessor and was sacked in April, while Mourinho took Chelsea to a third-placed finish and was in the title race for large parts of the season.
Mourinho’s second season saw his Chelsea side dominate their opponents and cruise to the league title, while Moyes’ replacement, Louis van Gaal, a mentor of Mourinho, was helping to rebuild the fallen United. He helped them back to the Champions League, and he wanted more.
Similar fortunes in the following season saw both men get the boot along the course. Mourinho suffered similar fate as to what he had at his final season at Real Madrid, with players like Diego Costa, Cesc Fàbregas and Eden Hazard underperforming and turning their backs on him. He was out of the club by December.
The same month saw Louis van Gaal and Manchester United disappoint, but he was persistent. Amidst rumours of Mourinho taking over, van Gaal managed to claw his way and just narrowly miss out on the elusive fourth place spot. He won the FA Cup in his last game, but it wasn’t enough. Sacked three days later, it paved the way for football’s worst kept secret to come out, as José Mourinho earned his dream job, where he would meet a familiar face on his return to management.
Nemesis
Much of Mourinho’s time at Real Madrid had a lot of attention towards his rivalry with Barcelona counterpart Pep Guardiola. From his battles with the man as Inter manager to the infamous Champions League semi-final clash in 2011, the two have helped propel each other to a grand status.
The pair meet again on Saturday afternoon as managers of two of England‘s biggest clubs at the moment, with both wanting to keep their pride. El Clasicos were games to look out for, but with their arrival in England, Manchester will be the football capital of the world this weekend, and for the course of their stay.
main photo
