Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been given the opportunity to end his four-month long hiatus but the job offer might not be what the ‘Special One’ had in mind.
The Portuguese has been without a job after he was shown the exit door at Stamford Bridge in December 2015, with Chelsea just one point above the relegation zone following nine defeats in 16 Premier League games.
Although Mourinho has been linked heavily with Manchester United over the last couple of months, a bizarre job offer by the Syrian Football Association has found its way onto Mourinho’s desk.
As per the Facebook post of the Syrian FA, an offer has been made to the former Chelsea manager after serious deliberation. The post on their official Facebook page reads: “After a meeting between the president of the Syrian Football Federation; Salahuddin Ramadan, the vice-president of the Syrian Union Chairman of the national teams, the director of the first team, Fadi Dabbas and secretary-general of the Syrian Football Federation Qutaiba al-Rifaiit, it was agreed to send a formal offer to the agency of the coach Jose Mourinho to train the Syrian national football team.”
The Syrian team, which achieved its highest FIFA ranking in June 2015 of 73, has slumped to 123 in recent months. With the position of head coach vacant, the Syrian FA is attempting to lure one of the most sought-after managers in world football to fill the void.
Will Mourinho go the Syrian way?
Although neither Mourinho nor his agent have come out and commented on the offer, the ‘Special One’ is unlikely to accept the job offer and move to the Middle East. Manchester United remains his most likely destination, with a return to La Liga or the Serie A possible should Ed Woodward decide to not appoint him this summer.
The former Inter Milan manager has come close to managing an international team before (England) and has expressed his desire to try his hand as a national team coach in the future, but it is likely to be with his native side Portugal.