Jose Mourinho's dark arts mean his teams will never be loved like other greats - Winning is everything to Jose Mourinho - whether it is the Barclays Premier League, the Champions League or a charity match
- Chelsea went beyond what is acceptable against PSG but, unfortunately, it is not the first time we have seen them do it. I doubt it will be the last, either
- In a few years from now, we could be acknowledging Mourinho as the most successful manager of all time
- But will he be loved? Chelsea fans undoubtedly adore him. Porto and Inter supporters will too. Yet beyond that? It is debatable
By Jamie Carragher for the Daily MailPublished: 22:30 GMT, 13 March 2015 | Updated: 23:33 GMT, 13 March 2015The first thing you need to know about Jose Mourinho is just how much he loves winning football matches.
It is everything to him — whether it is the Barclays Premier League, the Champions League or a charity match. Last summer, Jose was in charge of the Rest of the World for Soccer Aid, I was playing for Sam Allardyce’s England side and Mourinho’s team were leading at Old Trafford going into the final moments.
To ensure the advantage was preserved, however, Mourinho — with a glint in his eye — had a word with James McAvoy, the Hollywood actor, who he was putting on as substitute. Not long after, James had gone to ground with an ‘injury’ to help run the clock down. The job was done and they won 4-2!
I must stress that it was all good-natured, but on Wednesday night against Paris Saint-Germain, the actions of a Mourinho team were significantly darker. I called Chelsea’s behaviour disgraceful and sad as they pursued a Champions League quarter-final place.
They went beyond what is acceptable but, unfortunately, it is not the first time we have seen them do it. I doubt it will be the last, either.
Mourinho and his teams take winning to a level that other teams and managers do not.
Respect for Mourinho’s achievements in the game is beyond doubt. In a few years from now, we could be acknowledging him as the most successful manager of all time, particularly if he keeps picking up a trophy every 35 matches, as is his current remarkable ratio.
But will he be loved? Chelsea fans undoubtedly adore him. Porto and Inter supporters will too. Yet beyond that? It is debatable.
Will he care how he is remembered? I think he will. Deep down, I think everyone in football cares how they are perceived.
Are trophies more important than creating good memories? I would always argue ‘yes’ to that. During my career, I won 10 major honours but none of the Liverpool teams I played for is particularly remembered for being a top side.
If I’m honest, it annoys me, especially when I hear stories even now of how great Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle team of 1995-96 were or how thrilling the Leeds team were that reached the Champions League semi-final in 2000. Yes, they both played fast, exciting football but what did they win? Nothing.
You want to be successful and have a reputation that spans a lifetime, like the Real Madrid team of the 1950s that Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas inspired to five consecutive European Cups or the Ajax team of Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff from the 1970s.
They took that style on to the Dutch national squad. Cruyff once said, ‘how you play is more important than what you win’ and to some extent, he is right. The Holland side from the 1974 World Cup, for instance, get spoken about more than the West German squad that actually won it.
Personally, I would have rather been a German than in the Dutch squad that came up short. The same goes for Brazil in 1982, the other great team that captured hearts but failed to conquer the world.
I know most of the names of that great squad, as I am sure many do — Zico, Eder, Falcao, Socrates — but what would those men rather have, a winner’s medal — like their compatriots in 1970 — or just the knowledge that everyone loved the football they played?
In an ideal world, you get remembered for winning with style. The best example I have of that from my childhood was the AC Milan team of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten that was guided by Arrigo Sacchi in the late 1980s. Their quality in that period was beyond compare and they remain the last side to retain the European Cup.
Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, however, are the team that took style and success to another level all together. They will still be writing books about them in 50 years, such was the swagger with which they won 14 trophies in four extraordinary years.
When a team wins silverware with imagination and fantasy, it almost seems more special.
Mourinho is just as prolific at collecting trophies as Guardiola but the brand of football his team play does not compare. That is why, in the long-term, you won’t find his teams spoken about like some of the others I have mentioned.
The behaviour of the teams, of course, doesn’t help either. Chelsea have been likened to the Leeds team from the 1970s but I actually think the way they conducted themselves was worse during Mourinho’s first spell in England. They were prepared to push it further still.
None of that might bother Mourinho, in the same way it didn’t bother Rafa Benitez. I remember him once telling me about a conversation he had with a Spanish journalist, about what was perceived as ‘great football’ and ‘winning football’.
Rafa was puzzled by this, so he asked the journalist: ‘Who scored Spain’s winning goal in the 1964 European Championship?’
The reply came: ‘Marcelino’. So Rafa then asked, ‘And how did Spain play in the game?’ to which there was silence.
His point was all that mattered was Spain had won the trophy. Mourinho would clearly understand the logic in that argument.
I can see what he means, too. But the idea of winning at all costs? That is something with which I am not comfortable.
I loved winning, there was nothing better that you could experience in football. But when all is said and done, you want to be remembered and respected for what you achieved.
And if Mourinho’s teams keep taking things to the brink, the love his achievements should secure is unlikely to ever come.
www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2994057/Jose-Mourinho-s-dark-arts-mean-teams-never-loved-like-greats.htmlA Scouse banging on about trophies and winning again.
Yeah, Jose is clearly upset about not being much loveable outside of 3 fan-bases, despite the fact that every club would have him in a heartbeat, including Liverpool.
