Sacked Chelsea boss José Mourinho is undoubtedly one of world soccer’s best as well as most controversial figures. Here are some facts about him which you may not have known.
1. Football is the family business: Jose Mario dos Santos Mourinho Felix was born in Setubal, Portugal on Jan. 26, 1963. His father, Felix Mourinho, was a goalkeeper as a youth and even once played on the country’s national team. He went on to become a soccer coach. Mourinho’s mother, Maria Julia, was a schoolteacher.
2. A born leader: Jose showed skills as an organizer at a young age. He would write up reports and files for the matches his father would coach.
3. Choosing his path: His mother wanted him to study business and enrolled him in school for that. But ‘Mou’ found out quickly that was not what he wanted to do, so he switched to studying physical education.
4. Getting ready to manage: Jose graduated and also completed UEFA’s course for soccer managers in Scotland.
5. His mentor: One of his mentors was Sir Bobby Robson, whom he worked for in Sporting of Lisboa, Porto, and Barcelona as an assistant.
6. Career beginnings: He got to Porto in Jan. 2002 and won two Portuguese leagues titles in 2003 and 2004; the Europa League in 2002-2003; and the Champions League in 2003-2004. He then managed Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea again. He was however sacked again.
7. His story: A book titled “Jose Mourinho – Made in Portugal: The Official Biography,” by Portuguese journalist Louis Lourenço, is a bestseller in that country, but Mourinho attempted to stop its release.
8. A man of faith: During a visit with Inter players to the Vatican, he spent time praying at the Sistine Chapel, then bought and handed out some 30 crosses to players and team personnel.
9. Laundry Basket: After being banned by UEFA for Chelsea’s Champions League quarterfinal match against Bayern Munich in the 2004-05 season, Mourinho reportedly arrived at Stamford Bridge early and hid in the dressing room in order to be able to speak to his players. According to newspapers, he was then wheeled away in a laundry basket so as not to be seen.
10. Quarantine: In 2007, Mourinho was arrested and issued with a police caution after allegedly refusing to allow police to quarantine his pet dog, Leya. “The dog is fine in Portugal. That big threat is away — you don’t have to worry about crime anymore,” he said afterward.
11. Eggs: Ahead of his final match in charge with Chelsea in 2007, Mourinho attacked club owner Roman Abramovich over his incapacity to buy quality players. That resulted in one of Mourinho’s best quotes: “Omelettes, eggs. No eggs, no omelettes. And it depends on the quality of the eggs in the supermarket. They are class one, two or three, and some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. When the class one eggs are not available, you have a problem.”
He really is the special one!
Do you think Chelsea was right to sack The special One, Yes or No?
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