Kolkata: Love him or hate him the man from Portugal has won a plethora of trophies and accolades over the years and has brought success to every team that he has managed. Jose Mourinho’s latest triumph coming in the form of the EFL Cup, where his Manchester side rallied to win against a resilient Southampton FC.
What makes this win even more special is a piece of history that comes along with it. No other manager in Manchester United’s history has been able to win a trophy in their first season at Old Trafford, but Mourinho has broken that curse and could yet add to his collection as he will face his former employers Chelsea in the quarter final of the Football Associations Cup (FA Cup).
When Mourinho was announced as the new Manchester United manager, the fans received it to be the most intelligent piece of business they have done since the great Sir Alex Ferguson had retired. First came David Moyes and then the Dutchman Luis Van Gaal, yet under them United seemed to be a shadow of their former selves. In came Mourinho with a promise to bring back the glory days and United finally seem to have found a solution for the gaping hole that Fergie left when he stepped down.
What separates Mourinho from the rest is his desire to win more. For a man who has been known to throw a medal or two into the crowd, Jose Mourinho loves a trophy. Whatever his faults maybe, what makes him the manager that he is his insatiable appetite wo win trophies. Only a select few have the hunger and drive for silverware that this man has.
After winning his last League Cup with Chelsea in 2015, Mourinho said: “It is difficult for me to live without winning.
“I need to feed myself with titles. I need to feel like a kid. Before a final, I need to feel like I did before my first final I don’t know how many years ago.”
Love him or hate him, rejoice or recoil at the lengths to which he will go to win, Mourinho’s formidable trophy haul across four of Europe’s major leagues – England, Spain, Italy and his native Portugal – makes it easy to understand why Florentino Perez described him as “toda una garantia de exito” – a veritable guarantee of success upon his appointment as Real Madrid coach back in 2010.
(With inputs from The Metro)