It’s been 18 years since Jose famously announced himself to the footballing world as he ran down the Old Trafford touchline in chaotic celebration having knocked out Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United on his way to doing the unthinkable and winning the Champions League with Porto to claim his first-ever European trophy.
Tonight, Jose finds himself in the inaugural UEFA Conference League Final as Roma manager, as he prepares to end the Giallorossi’s 14-year trophy drought against Feyenoord and claim not just another European trophy but become the first manager to win all three (new) UEFA trophies in history.
There’s no doubt, if Jose delivers European silverware back to Rome he will be seen as a legend in the eyes of the Romanisti.
You could say that this is Mourinho’s chance at redemption as his reputation and character have taken some serious damage in recent years; except in Italy that is.
The sacking of Mourinho at Spurs just days before the English League Cup Final was the final nail in Jose’s coffin as the “Special One” in the eyes of many in the game.
Jose’s authoritarian man management style was seen as outdated compared to the more compassionate, player-hugging nature of the Jurgen Klopp’s and Pep Guardiola’s.
His playing style was also highly criticized at Tottenham, often for being too defensive-minded or for obtaining low possession of the ball, something quite the opposite of his predecessor, Mauricio Pochettino.
Yet, it wasn’t all bad for Jose. At Spurs he further improved Harry Kane’s game by dropping him deeper and making him more creative in the build-up play, whilst guiding the club to a much-craved cup Final, and who knows maybe he could have won it if he was given the chance.
Hindsight is a great thing, especially when it comes to football.
Upon reflection, Jose is still to date the most successful Manchester United manger post-Sir Alex, winning the League Cup and Europa League in the 2016/17 campaign, which is still the last piece of silverware lifted by the Red Devils.
Yet, after so much domestic success in England, particularly with Chelsea in two terms as manager and Real Madrid, Jose found himself out of a job in April 2021 and regarded by many as outdated.
True, football has changed drastically since Jose first became a manager.
Since his humble beginnings as a translator for the late Sir Bobby Robson to working under Louis Van Gaal and working with arch management rival Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, the football of the late 90s look like a distant memory for Jose now.
Players have more money, more power, and influence than they did when Jose started his managerial career.
In his first role as head coach came at Benfica in 2000.
Jose took a firm stance with his players, he demanded extreme dedication and professionalism, wasn’t afraid to drop experienced, well-established professionals in the process. He lasted only three months before resigning due to conflicts with the Benfica president.
To voluntarily walk away from one of the biggest clubs in his native Portugal showed the kind of grinta that has followed the Portuguese manager throughout his illustrious but confrontational career.
Yet, Jose’s CV speaks for himself, he has delivered titles and cups in almost everywhere that he has gone, spanning multiple countries and decades.
Jose’s siege mentality is prominent everywhere he goes. Even at Spanish giants Real Madrid, he wanted to be the underdog to Barcelona and Pep Guardiola’s tiki-taka Messi machine.
The players that gave Jose their full commitment are often highly rewarded and speak only the highest of praise towards him. John Terry once said that he “Would leave a pitch on a coffin” for Mourinho.
Yet, despite this impact on many of his former players and teams, there is only one club that Mourinho’s legacy and reputation is still god-like at. That club is Inter.
When Jose left England for the first time, he had done so cementing his place as not only as Chelsea’s greatest-ever manager, but also one of the greatest managers that the Premier League has ever seen.
Mourinho had proved to the world after his astonishing Champions League win with Porto that he could win league titles in the most prestigious and competitive championships in the world, whilst also transforming Chelsea from a rich club with potential to domestic giants.
In the summer of 2008, Jose was still regarded as a very special one and was unveiled to the black-and-blue side of Milan, Inter.
The Nerazzurri had decided that Roberto Mancini’s domestic success of winning three consecutive Scudetti wasn’t enough and replaced him with Jose Mourinho.
This could have easily been a make-or-break moment for Inter. They risked the success and stability that Mancini had brought to the club and gambled on Jose, a man with an outstanding track record, but a divisive personality.
Today, this decision looks like a stroke of genius. However, it could easily have gone the way much like it did for Juventus in recent seasons as they threw away the foundations of Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte before him in their pursuit of a more exciting style of play under Maurizio Sarri and Andrea Pirlo.
As a result of this gamble, Juve find themselves being even further away from their Champions League winning dream whilst handing the Scudetto to both Milan sides in the past two seasons.
But Jose didn’t fail.
In his time brief time in charge at the San Siro, Jose continued the domestic dominance of his predecessors and won both league titles in his two years, but he also did the unimaginable and won the treble in his second year at Inter.
Inter’s squad at the time was almost tailor made for Mourinho.
Jose had experienced warriors at the back like Walter Samuel, Lucio and of course the legend that is Javier Zanetti.
In midfield he had the perfect blend of physicality and creativity in Dejan Stankovic, Thiago Motta and Wesley Sneijder at the peak of his powers.
The special one also boasted several special goalscoring machines in his forward-line including Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito with ever-present Serie A striker Goran Pandev and a young, seemingly untamable 18-year-old Mario Balotelli.
This side had everything Jose values the most from his players. They were professionals who would be 100% committed to him and the club, he had experienced players who knew what it took to become champions and he had a blend of height, physicality and creativity in midfield that could support both the already reliable defense and the formidable attacking talents up top.
Some would argue that Jose had taken over a team with an established winning mentality and this would be true.
However, in Jose’s second season the club sold Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona and lost Hernan Crespo, Adriano and Luis Figo. This not only meant that he lost some world-class talent, but also some biggest characters and experienced players in the dressing room.
Yet, Jose turned an already great Inter side in to a legendary one in his second season by winning the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and the Champions League.
This was not only Inter’s third Champions League / European Cup, but their first and only treble in their glorious history.
There has been a consistent theme in Jose Mourinho’s career. When he won the Champions League with Porto, he waved goodbye to the fans at the final whistle and left for a new challenge.
Jose did the same in 2010 at Inter as he beat Bayern Munich to deliver the treble. This decision to leave the club immediately after delivering the ultimate success famously broke the hearts of Inter players who loved the Portuguese coach, most notably Marco Materazzi hugging breaking down in tears when Jose left for Madrid after the game.
This admiration for Jose has not only stayed with his Inter players but created an undying bond with the Nerazzurri faithful. They gave a hero’s welcome to their still very Special One as the stadium serenaded him with their personalized Mourinho chant “Can’t Get My Eyes Off You”, upon his return to the San Siro when managing his Roma side in February 2022.
Although Jose’s time in Italian football was brief, his two seasons spent at Inter were legendary.
Since leaving Italy Jose has had a turbulent time within the game, often criticized for sparking tensions within the Spanish national squad whilst managing Real Madrid, as well as very publicly falling out with many senior players at almost every club he’s managed.
This reputation for creating a siege mentality is not as popular in the modern game with players preferring a more supportive, arm around the shoulder style of management. Mourinho’s old-school style of managing is interpreted more often as being toxic nowadays.
Despite delivering multiple trophies and qualifying for the Champions League during his time at Manchester United, Jose’s downfall began by publicly criticizing some first team players, most specifically Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba.
This inability to motivate younger players with criticism continued at Spurs too as he described Tanguy Ndombele’s performance as “In the first half we didn’t have a midfield” to the media.
Many saw the appointment of Jose to Roma as a significant step down in his career, yet in Italy Mourinho is still the Special One in the eyes of calcio fans and media for his achievements at Inter.
This season has been a respectable one in Rome.
Roma finished Sixth in the Serie A table. Tammy Abraham has become a goalscoring monster under Jose as he broke the record for the most goals scored by an Englishman in a single season in his first campaign at the Olimpico with an impressive 17 league goals. Moreover, Roma find themselves one game away from European glory.
On Wednesday night, after 12 years since carving his name into Serie A legend with Inter, the Special One has a chance to do make Italy love him all over again, this time by winning a UEFA Conference League with Roma.
Will it “Come to Rome” and be a special night for the “Special One” once again in a European Final?