Mourinho - like a dead river

Men's Tears

At 2pm on Tuesday, December 18 (London time), instead of leading a training session at Man Utd's Carrington headquarters, Jose Mourinho sat drinking a cup of tea in the lobby of the Lowry Hotel. "He has just received a notice of dismissal, and is in the process of checking out," the newspaper reported.The Timesdescription. Mourinho stared blankly out the window, behind him was a violin, but no one played farewell cards, on the day the famous coach left his residence of the past two and a half years.

No one knows what Mourinho was thinking at that moment. But being fired was a foregone conclusion to a relationship that had been unstable from the very beginning.

Let’s go back in time 5 years, when Alex Ferguson retired and Man Utd had to find a successor. On March 8, 2013, the world’s largest player agency and management company Gestifute passed on a top secret piece of information: Mourinho was sobbing like a child on the phone. The man who was considered the second most powerful man in the company, after the tycoon Jorge Mendes, was almost devastated.

The news that Alex Ferguson had chosen David Moyes as his successor sent shockwaves through Mourinho's mind. Gestifute had eyes and ears everywhere, they knew things the media didn't know, not to mention Jorge Mendes had a close relationship with Old Trafford. Since breaking off his relationship with Mino Raiola, Ferguson had worked with Mendes the most in the player agent world.

For months, Mendes tried his best to do what Mourinho had asked him to do: recommend the "Special One" to Ferguson. Mourinho believed that the coaching position at Old Trafford was definitely his. He had caused trouble with almost every opponent in the Premier League, but Mourinho always left Ferguson alone. When Mourinho's Real Madrid knocked Man Utd out of the Champions League in 2013, Mourinho was humble for the first time in his life when he declared: "Today, the better team was eliminated."

But in the end, Ferguson chose David Moyes - a coach who had never won a title in his career, but was a fellow Scot. On the nights of March 7 and 8, 2013, Mourinho could not sleep, constantly holding his phone waiting for the latest news. When he learned that Moyes was chosen, he cried like a child.

The signals were sent out before, but Mourinho ignored them all. Legendary Bobby Charlton, when asked if Mourinho was a candidate, replied: "A Man Utd manager is never allowed to do what he did (gouging Tito Vilanova's eyes and mocking him in a press conference). Mourinho is a good coach, but that's not enough to replace Ferguson". When asked more about the seemingly good relationship between Mourinho and Ferguson, Charlton said: "As far as I know, Ferguson doesn't really like Mourinho much".

Later, it was also known that David Moyes was not the first choice of Ferguson and the board of directors. The first position belonged to Guardiola, but Man Utd could not convince the person who had already found a comfortable position at Bayern Munich. That also means that when losing the number one target, Man Utd would rather choose Moyes than Mourinho.

Then, when Mourinho went to Chelsea and called himself "The Happy One", those closest to Mourinho knew he was lying. Ferguson's choice of Moyes left a scar on Mourinho's heart that was no less than when Barca chose an unknown Guardiola in the coaching world, and even more than appointing Mourinho, who was then the most sought-after coach in the world. Mourinho's pride was dealt two shocking blows. Those tears, those bitterness, the public almost did not know.

Another face

Why Barca and Man Utd did not choose Mourinho from the beginning, perhaps everyone knows too well. Besides his controversial personality, Mourinho is also pragmatic to the point of fanaticism. He spent many years breathing the atmosphere of attacking football at Barca, but did not absorb the philosophy of Johan Cruyff. That is because of an anecdote told over and over again about the young Mourinho, when he received the news that his father was fired on Christmas Eve.

The story goes that Mourinho was only 10 years old at the time, his father was so sad that he couldn't even eat because he was fired by the local club. His livelihood and honor were lost on the night when every family should have been happy, that horrible memory made Mourinho afraid of failure. He read many books, from Sun Tzu's Art of War in the East to Machiavelli's "The Prince" in the West. Mourinho gradually became a villain in football, with the immortal philosophy that to win, one must first not lose. Mourinho's thinking is not constructive but critical, he always tries to eliminate the opponent's strength, instead of promoting his own inner strength.

I would rather betray others than let others betray me. Mourinho tried to force himself to be above all. He got involved in political games and position-grabbing. In front of the media, he showed an indifferent face. When he was in Madrid, Mourinho often let the players practice while he sunbathed shirtless to tan his skin to look... beautiful and manly. Mourinho let his close friend Jorge Mendes move freely around Valdebedas like he was going to the market.

When Mourinho attended the recent 60th anniversary of the Munich disaster with Man Utd, he wore black shoes with white trim and a polo shirt underneath his club uniform. The Man Utd board were shocked. But Mourinho always does what he wants. When Mourinho wanted his son Jose Mario Mourinho Jr. to sit next to him during the match against Swansea in April, he just let him sit on the bench.

But whether arrogant or superstitious, Mourinho has always been respected for his achievements. Now, the greatest strength that made him arrogant is gone. Mourinho has had a worse start to the season than David Moyes. His goal difference after 17 Premier League rounds is zero. The former defensive mastermind now sees his team concede more goals than second-to-last Huddersfield.

The previous times Mourinho was fired, his students more or less said goodbye. This time, everyone was almost silent. Even Paul Pogba was visibly happy, with a photo of him smiling mysteriously on social media. It seemed like everyone felt relieved, as the atmosphere in the locker room became lighter. The teacher who once protected his students to the death was now a sacrificial lamb for the media to "burn". Mourinho also began to show signs of... aging, when he was busy talking about his past legacies.

In the classic movie Dark Knight, Harvey Dent has a classic quote: "Either you die a hero, or you live long enough to become the villain."

Mourinho has probably lived too long and seen himself sliding down the path to becoming a football villain. It was 11 years ago that he was first fired by Chelsea. The opponents who used to create thrilling battles with him are now retired (Alex Ferguson), some have left their posts in pain (Arsene Wenger), some have even run out of time and are taking charge of small teams (Rafa Benitez). Around Mourinho, his capable assistants and brothers are no longer around. Andre Villas-Boas started his own business, had some achievements, and also suffered the bitter fruit of failure, and is now quitting his job to turn to racing. Rui Faria, his right-hand man for more than 10 years, is now starting his own career. Mourinho is gradually becoming lost.

While the wind of change kept blowing, Mourinho tried to stay put, with an old mindset. When the Premier League spokesmen were young coaches, with trendy pressing football, Mourinho stood still in the face of the times. Then one day, Mourinho realized he had become the people he had criticized: struggling like a welder (Ranieri) and losing so much that he became a specialist in failure (Wenger).

The Christmas sadness of a 10-year-old boy fueled his dream of success, of making a name for himself and of being in control of his own destiny. Then, on Christmas 2015, Mourinho was fired by Chelsea for the second time. Right before Christmas this year, he was fired by Man Utd. Tragic and classic like Greek mythology. This time he left, people don't know when he will return. Mourinho has fought the whole world before. But how will he fight, with fate and the inevitable elimination law of life?