Jose Mourinho's aggressive narcissism was his undoing as he struggled to steady the boat at Old Trafford
Jose Mourinho has finally been put out of his Manchester United misery. The Red Devils today jettisoned the Portuguese after he continued to fail to turn around the fortunes of the planet's pre-eminent socc.er club.
Make no mistake, Mourinho is not exactly a poor man. In addition to the millions he has banked down the years, he will be going back to his London mansion with a 25 million pounds Christmas gift from Manchester United. However, it is not about the money. It is about his reputation. You may recall that he was also dismissed by Chelsea only two and half years ago.
He was once the most desired manager in soccer. Where did it all go wrong?
Earlier in his career, Mourinho had shone like a million stars winning the Champions League with Porto in 2003 when he was just forty. He thereafter moved to Chelsea where he won the Premier League twice.
In 2008, Mourinho was hired by Serie A club Inter Milan. Shortly after joining, he won his first Italian honour, the Supercoppa Italiana, and completed the season by winning the Serie A title. In his second season, Inter became the first Italian club to win the treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League. The Portuguese became one of just five coaches to have won the European Cup with two different teams. He was also the recipient of the first ever FIFA World Coach of the Year award in 2010.
However, perhaps because of his successes, people began to notice a chink in his armour. He became narcissistic or his narcissism came to the fore and his man-management suffered.
When the people at United appointed him, they thought they were having the old Mourinho. They soon found out they were wrong. They are currently sixth in the table.
Probably, the biggest mistake he made was failing to re-invent himself as he went along. At Manchester United, Jose failed to learn and honour the traditions of the club. For instance, he often castigated his players in front of journalists who just went and and had a field day.
Mourinho complained that the club failed to give him the players he wanted. However, it is on record that he has spent over 400 million pounds on players since he came to the club just over two years ago. The players he bought he seldom used. For example, he and his 89 million pounds acquisition from Juventus, Paul Pogba, never saw eye to eye. Alexis Sanchez who earns 500,000 pounds a week seldom played.
Sadly, Mourinho never blames himself for anything that goes wrong. It is always someone else. He refuses to learn that modern players need astute management and careful handling. Although he never saw Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool and Pep Guardiola of Manchester City lambast their players openly, he refused to learn from them.
At the end, he was unable to get the best out of his players.
Earlier in his career, Mourinho had shone like a million stars winning the Champions League with Porto in 2003 when he was just forty. He thereafter moved to Chelsea where he won the Premier League twice.
In 2008, Mourinho was hired by Serie A club Inter Milan. Shortly after joining, he won his first Italian honour, the Supercoppa Italiana, and completed the season by winning the Serie A title. In his second season, Inter became the first Italian club to win the treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League. The Portuguese became one of just five coaches to have won the European Cup with two different teams. He was also the recipient of the first ever FIFA World Coach of the Year award in 2010.
However, perhaps because of his successes, people began to notice a chink in his armour. He became narcissistic or his narcissism came to the fore and his man-management suffered.
When the people at United appointed him, they thought they were having the old Mourinho. They soon found out they were wrong. They are currently sixth in the table.
Probably, the biggest mistake he made was failing to re-invent himself as he went along. At Manchester United, Jose failed to learn and honour the traditions of the club. For instance, he often castigated his players in front of journalists who just went and and had a field day.
Mourinho complained that the club failed to give him the players he wanted. However, it is on record that he has spent over 400 million pounds on players since he came to the club just over two years ago. The players he bought he seldom used. For example, he and his 89 million pounds acquisition from Juventus, Paul Pogba, never saw eye to eye. Alexis Sanchez who earns 500,000 pounds a week seldom played.
Sadly, Mourinho never blames himself for anything that goes wrong. It is always someone else. He refuses to learn that modern players need astute management and careful handling. Although he never saw Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool and Pep Guardiola of Manchester City lambast their players openly, he refused to learn from them.
At the end, he was unable to get the best out of his players.
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