Jose Mourinho Must Do Away With His Hypocrisy

By Parth Pandya
11 years Ago

Letai??i??s not take the trouble of digging deep into unnecessary stats. You don’t need them to know that Jose Mourinho has not been able to yield as many positive results as he might have liked against his perennial adversary Josep Guardiola in a strongly intensified rivalry that has added much to the spice of football in over last four years or so. There is something called destiny. Thereai??i??s no other possible explanation for a rendezvous between the two arranged at the first possibility in an unlikeliest fixture after each ended his respective association with the two biggest clubs in the world. The Super Cup clash between Bayern and Chelsea eventually turned out to be a closely fought contest ai??i?? or at least the scoreline says so ai??i?? than what many would have thought before the game.

However, just when the neutrals all over the world would have been contemplating empathizing with Chelsea players, the fanbase and also the manager for the heart the team showed despite being a man down for the entire length of the extra time, Mourinho had different ideas. The Portuguese had already made his plans to add to his bitterly perceived image by making some outrageous remarks on the role the officials played in influencing the result. Mourinho didnai??i??t speak on these lines for the first time in his life and most certainly not for the last time either.

The remarks clearly were reeking of Mourinhoai??i??s frustration at yet another failure in settling his score with Guardiola ai??i?? not that heai??i??d have settled it anyway had the result gone in his favour, since heai??i??s behind in the head-to-head record by some distance. To make matters worse, Jose is unsure how soon heai??i??ll find another chance to take his count closer since the two are employed in different leagues now. While the disappointment and anguish at losing out a title ai??i?? howsoever insignificant ai??i?? from so close are perfectly understandable, itai??i??s a stretch too far to suggest you were the better team despite the important game stats reading clearly in favour of your opponents. Bayernai??i??s close to 75% possession is only part of the story.

Mourinho is not known for taking the defeats in the most sporting of manners. Perhaps being disgruntled might be working out well for him personally in coming out stronger after every defeat but expressing those feelings in the public domain is one area where he certainly needs to take a lesson or two from some of the seniors in his field. Quite often, without even an iota of hesitation or reluctance, he attributes the poor officiating standards to the vested interests of administrative bodies in conspiring against him and his club. In a way, he also attempts to magnify his persona by suggesting the lesser world needs to resort to a few vicious means to prevail over him. But in the larger effect, the only purpose it serves is the appeasement of his ego.

However, as vivid and animated his demeanour in these situations might seem to be, heai??i??s extremely selective in choosing his words. The very recent example of this tendency is his reaction to the post-match outburst against Naniai??i??s highly controversial red card which saw Manchester United get eliminated at the hands of Real Madrid in the much awaited Champions League clash. Mourinho wasted no time in expressing his disapproval of the decision by admitting, ai???the best team lostai??i??. Quite clearly, the gush among the United fans against the decision was completely warranted and Naniai??i??s dismissal had strongly tilted the game in Real Madridai??i??s favour.

No manager in the world wouldai??i??ve dared to endorse the call but while most would have tried to play safe and avoid further controversies by deeming it an unfortunate moment in the game, Mourinho bothered to go the extra mile and ensured he did everything in his power to win some brownie points within the United circles. One might speculate it was a very shrewd move considering the big job in the red half of Manchester was definitely up for grabs in the near future, though the Big Scot was yet to drop any such hints. And Mourinho was certainly one of the front-runners having already made his intentions clear at making a return to England ai??i?? a country where heai??i??s ai???lovedai??i??. Sir Alex indeed vacated the top job in another few months and it might not be foolhardy to think Mourinho was playing around there to maximize from a situational opportunity. That someone else was ai???chosenai??i?? as the successor, is a different matter altogether.

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It is beyond debate that Jose Mourinho is one of the most celebrated managers in the modern game and even should he decide to quit the game for good at this very moment, heai??i??s already reserved a few pages for himself in the ultimate history books of football. His detractors allege him for treading only those paths where an unconditional support from the purse is guaranteed but juxtaposing a few expensive toys doesnai??i??t exactly create a title winning unit. Ask Roberto Mancini. And hence, what Mourinho has achieved across leagues, often upsetting the status quo is of tremendous virtue and worth every bit of respect. Yet, these, for the lack of a better word, desperate attempts at belittling the counterparts and administration in portraying his image of a victim of well engineered bias is something he must put behind him in order to scale that final yard of glory.

Back in 2004, he was a dynamic and energetic young manager from Portugal, full of fresh ideas who challenged a well established hierarchy in the land of the Queen. His rebellious and enlivening conduct therefore instantly clicked and won him fame and popularity aplenty. But in ten yearsai??i?? time, he is now someone having won titles of highest relevance in four different countries and represents the more senior side in the fraternity. The recalcitrant side of his personality has to be done away with. Itai??i??s about time.

A hero is often not fully recognized and acknowledged by those living through his time. Itai??i??s the retrospective reverence with which they are immortalized. Years later, Jose Mourinho surely wishes, he will be remembered and celebrated as someone who truly made a difference to the game. And for that to happen, there are a few personal traits that demand a quick fix. The earlier he addresses them, the better.

Categories: Chelsea FC, English Premier League, Features
Tags: Chelsea FC Jose Mourinho

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