Jose' Mourinho

Possession For Possession's Sake

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:56:09 +0000

However, it's not only the opponents who have to run. By chasing the ball and stepping up the pressure, FC Porto also had to run a great deal. That is where the second part of Jose Mourinho's specific training comes in. Aware that physically it is rather difficult for the players to keep pressure on all the time, it is necessary for them to be able to rest on the field.

"It's what I call 'resting with the ball'. With the pace of play that we impose, it's necessary to rest; otherwise no one will make it to the end of the match. The best way to do this, and run fewer risks, is to rest when we have the ball.

In the game against Nacional, we managed to do this in a rather effective, almost perfect, way. Basically, it's about alternating moments of great intensity and pressure with periods of rest with the ball, which is nothing more than gaining ball possession but with the intention of resting. It's possession for possession's sake, with no sporting objective. I have the ball at my feet, I have the game under control and I don't run, thus allowing me to rest."

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Only A Gun WIll Stop Real Madrid

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:51:39 +0000

In saying that "Only a gun will stop Real Madrid." he had meant to take off some of the pressure that the Porto players were feeling, as they were about to face what was probably the best team in the world. On the other hand, Mourinho firmly believes that a theoretically weaker team should be humble and never provoke the stronger one, so as to take advantage of the possibility that their opponents might be 'asleep'. But football is also about having fun, and Jose Mourinho himself wanted to relax and joke a little with his assistants.

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Psychological Beatings vs Methodological Beatings

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:45:59 +0000

When a coach begins his work halfway through the season, he can always make one of two choices. He can opt for a psychological beating- which I don't believe in- or he can choose a methodological beating. The former is purely related to the effects brought about by a changing coach. These are only short-term effects because players are affected on a psychological level. It is a time when everyone wants to prove something to the new coach, but it is no longer effective when things begin to be defined in terms of 'who plays and who doesn't, who's sent to the bench and who isn't'. At this point, the coach can then make a choice. He is either lulled and everything remains the same, or he opts for the methodological beating which, on the contrary, produces long-lasting effects because it brings about structural changes. In this case, changes in the work philosophy and the model of play can be seen.

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Every Player Has To Want To Win

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:10:56 +0000

I found a Porto made up of players who were very different to those I'd left behind when Robson and I moved to Barcelona. Ambition was nowhere close to what it had been in the past, which surprised me somewhat given what I knew about the club.

I believe that a football team is only worthy of being called that when every single player, without exception, wants to win- and wants to win a great deal, regardless of whether or not he is playing.

At Antas, I came across a group of players with very different personalities. I was faced with men who had been overwhelmed by defeat. As an example of this, I remember Paredes, among others. On the other hand, I also saw players who were happy with the life they were leading. They belonged to a club that paid them well, without fail, and which offered them good working conditions. Also, they were living in a city where any family feels comfortable. Thus winning or losing were the same to them, as was getting any titles. Those players made it onto my list of players to be released, and no longer play for Porto today. For all these reasons, I never believed Porto would win the League in the year that I arrived. That wasn't my team, and there were very few players I could count on.

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I Deliberately Intend To Attack

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:08:39 +0000

I promise that I intend to play on the attack. I promise that we will work towards that goal every day, until we reach a perfectly systematic and automatic model. When that day comes, I promise you attacking football; until then, I promise that I deliberately intend to attack.

Pgs 91-92

'Big' Team Mindset

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:01:14 +0000

But even before these results started pouring in, Joao Bartolomeu had begun to understand the coach's philosophy. Also, Jose Mourinho had been very clear when, soon after the league began, he'd said: "Mr President, in terms of ranking, everything's already been said. The previous season was excellent, and it will be difficult to do better. Without losing sight of this goal, there are other objectives that spur us on. In order to make some money with our players at the end of the season, we have to play in such a way that will draw attention to them.

So, we have to play like a 'big team'. As a scout for Barcelona, Porto and even Sporting, I know that the scouts who watch us today take into account the game philosophy of the team in which a footballer plays. It immediately gives them a sense of their mindset. No one will come here looking for a striker who only helps the team defend. If we're talking about a striker, then they want people with an attacking game, and above all an attacking mindset. Basically, the scout needs to feel that a player from a 'small' team can transfer to a 'big' team.

Pgs 77-78

I'm A Little Different

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:52:56 +0000

Yes, Mr President, but it's best that you understand that if that's how others worked, then I'm a little different. I don't work that way.

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With Me No One Runs Without A Ball

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:46:52 +0000

At the beginning of the pre-season, and with the help of the president, Joao Bartolomeu, Jose Mourinho chose a perfect location for the first practices- in the countryside, and not too far from Leiria. Joao Bartolomeu, a man with a great deal of experience and who'd seen many a season kick off, told Mourinho, "This place is ideal. It's private and spacious and there's a lot of fresh air. It will be excellent for the players to run in the mountains and valleys around here."

Jose Mourinho's reply took Joao Bartolomeu by surprise- a rather restrained, but nevertheless obvious surprise. "Mr. President, we won't be doing any running here. Our training will be done on the pitch every day, and nowhere else."

Joao Bartolomeu insisted, "Yes, you'll train on the pitch, but in the morning you can run around here."

Mourinho once again clarified his position: "No, Mr. President, with me no one runs without a ball. There'll be two practices a day and only on the football pitch."

Pgs 74-75

No Regrets About Receiving Manuel Jose's Position

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:43:33 +0000

It was already late at night and Jose Mourinho went to bed with a clear conscience, knowing he had done nothing to lead to Manuel Jose being dismissed. The directors of Uniao de Leiria had presented him with a fait accompli, so that even if it hadn't been him, someone else would have replaced the Leiria coach. Mourinho accepted the offer, he didn't regret it, and would do it all over again today.

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Money Is A Consequence

Andy Kaasa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:40:17 +0000

It was also easy to come to an agreement on this point and the coach accepted a salary of exactly half the amount he'd been making at Benfica- money was a consequence and not the objective.

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