The decline & demise of José Mourinho

Last week José Mourinho was sacked from AS Roma.

After his time at Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United he moved down a level to Tottenham Hotspur and Roma.

Now where?

He has not managed PSG nor Barcelona, nor AC Milan, but more likely he will take over the Portuguese national team.  With compensation received he must be worth north of £50 million so money is not necessarily an imperative.

TV punditry? Possibly.

The Special One occupies a strange status in the game.

His teams are effective and win trophies but are rarely easy on the eye. No one knows much about him personally, his family or his interests – he only exists through football.

His contribution tactically is that of setting a team up to recover possession and then, once in the lead, to take the air out of a game.  He was sought after by club Presidents who wanted trophies.

He rarely brings in young players, preferring to buy expensively or rely on players he inherited.

At Inter, for example, he had a cadre of South Americans – Milito, Zanetti, Samuel, Cambiasso – who together – with the penalties imposed on Juventus – won that club the scudetto.

At Chelsea he had John Terry and Frank Lampard.

The press adored him as he was always quotable, fans less so. There always seemed to be a three-year cycle of appointment, winning trophies and then departure.

In his second spell at Chelsea he seemed to set up his own departure.

Should he return to the Premiership – and I can’t see any club where the fit would work – we will be informed “He is back where he belongs“.