Jose Mourinho : Time To Hang His Whistle?

Jose Mourinho. Arguably one of the greatest manager to ever grace the game. Being triumphant with lesser known teams and building teams from scratch and winning on a consistent basis was his forte. But nobody stays at the top of his game all his life. Where there's a start there's an end. And probably Mourinho's cycle is also over. The rigid but solid and catchy Portuguese is entering the final phase of his managerial career. Mourinho's Roma lost to Bodo 6-1 in the Europa league last week. the biggest defeat of Mourinho's 1009 match coaching career.

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At the dawn of his career Mourinho had huge promise, so much to offer. Mourinho's 4-3-3 formation brought a new wind to football in the early 2000's, with Mourinho's 4-3-3 specialty having defensive solidity. Winning the Champions League in 2004 with Porto was the biggest breakthrough in Mourinho's young coaching career, which attracted new Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich. Who was looking to build a team resemblant to his own image. Ruthless. Mourinho came to England with Abramovich. Most teams in English football back then were still playing a flat 4-4-2, which is why only a few English teams in Europe, such as United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, have been doing well. Mourinho's 4-3-3 was a new surprise for English football. Mourinho's first step in implementing his plan was to bring his two disciples, right back Paolo Ferreira and centerback Ricardo Carvalho to Chelsea. And along with Chelsea's Captain Terry and William Gallas, they were quite the defensive lineup. This would give the formation some more solidity in the back. At the midfield, Michael Essien, Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard made the best "Triangle Shaped Mid" in the Premier League, and in front of them was Joe Cole, a wide winger, along with Arjen Robben on the other side. And most importantly, Didier Drogba through the middle. With them, Mourinho formed a formidable team and was able to win the Premier League twice in a row. After that period at Chelsea, Mourinho's remarkable part was winning the treble at Inter Milan. His win against Pep Guardiola's Barcelona was a huge achievement and a tactical masterclass. That game was way more personal than it looked. Because, after Franc Rijkaard, Barcelona were looking for a new manager. Everyone at the board was suggesting Jose Mourinho. Mourinho was a coach at Barcelona in his early life. Mourinho was ready to leave everything for Barcelona. But then sporting director Johann Cruijff said otherwise. He suggested the coach of Barcelona B, Pep Guardiola. Who happened to be a resounding success. Mourinho was quite hit with the whole scenario so when he beat that Barcelona he celebrated wildly.

After Inter, Mourinho flew to the capital of Spain, Madrid. Where he was appointed by the famous all whites in Real Madrid after seeing his success with Porto, Chelsea and Inter. He replicated his pivot of Chelsea of Makelele and Michael Essien with Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira. Mesut Ozil in front of them. And the Drogba of this system would be Cristiano Ronaldo. Counter attack was his main weapon throughout Mourinho's career, he knew that possession could affect the outcome of the game but he never paid much attention to it. By this he broke the Barcelona dominance in Spain and dethroned that powerful team from the summit of La Liga. Originally, Mourinho did not evolve much over time, shifting from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1, but it still has the shadow of the old Mourinho.

Modern football did not stop for the Portuguese. While the Spanish Tikitaka, the German Gegenpressing football, Has gained acceptance as an update. And Mourinho's football philosophy faded in the void of time. Again, like the first part of his career, Mourinho's influence in the dressing room has diminished. Success is not possible without reliance on one's own system. Current players are bored with his bus parking system, with the outcome of the game. Yes they may win a fine portion of games but they're tactically bound to express their footballing creativity. That's why in the mid-season the players lose confidence and the result starts to go bad.

All in all, Mourinho's downfall, and Mourinho's weakness are the strongest two points of his almost contemporary great coach Pep Guardiola. Which is why Guardiola is still a long race horse, and the special one has lost his touch.