Mediocre.
Jose Mourinho’s dagger jabs at opposing managers and players are beginning to bear irrelevance. His underperforming Manchester United team were swept aside by an average Sevilla in the Champions League Round of 16. It wasn’t Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich we’re talking about but rather a squad that sit fifth in La Liga, 11 points adrift of a Champions League position. Any of the other quarter-final qualifiers will be licking their chops to face Sevilla.
A squad that comprised of world beaters such as Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, David De Gea et al should be dismantling such opposition – instead they showed such lackluster attacking flair that the Stretford End was chanting ‘Attack, Attack, Attack’ in a show of frustration at the defensive mindset encouraged by Mourinho.
The self-proclaimed ‘Special’ one has managed to annoy some of the greatest attacking players in the world such as Arjen Robben, Cristiano Ronaldo and now Paul Pogba with his rigidity which is why Mourinho is better suited managing the underdog where he can deploy his ‘us against the world’ mentality. When he manages the favorite it almost feels as though the grandeur of the occasion and high expectation intimidate him.
Sir Alex Ferguson created a mentality at United which oozed class and flair. He encouraged superstars such as Eric Cantona and Ronaldo to play free and let their creativity takeover games which in turn propelled then into some of the greatest players in the history of the game. Even when United lost under Ferguson, they went down trying to outscore the opposition. That is one of the reasons I respect him most.
Some believe that you deploy tactics to win football matches but I beg to differ. As a manager, you must respect the traditions and culture of great football clubs and ensure that they're embedded in the philosophy you try and instill. When great managers such as Ferguson have created a certain fabric through years of graft, you must respect and abide by some of the core principles.
Mourinho’s arrogance encourages him to try and materially transform philosophies into his own which creates chaos. This is why I feel Manchester United will be the last ‘big’ club Mourinho manages in his trophy laden yet mediocre career.
