Jose Mourinho is an enigma in the realm of world class soccer. This is the man who has managed a myriad of world class teams like FC Porto, Milan, and Real Madrid in the past, leading some of them to victory and winning many prestigious awards along the way. Not to mention his astounding leadership of Chelsea a mere six months ago, in which he lead them to victory in the Premier League for the 2014-15 season.
Despite his past success, the sense around the league is that Mourinho has overstayed his welcome and it’s time for a change in management.
This is the man who has been widely regarded as one of the best managers of his generation, by his peers and many players he’s coached. Yet here we are today with Chelsea losing to usual bottomfeeders such as Southampton, Stoke City and West Ham. The most puzzling part of all this is that he’s managing a team oozing with talent. You have Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa, John Terry, Falcao, Pedro, Oscar, Thibaut Courtois, the list goes on and on. With an attacking line of Costa, Falcao and Remy, it should be plenty enough to at least compete with most of the premier league teams.
Instead, we have a situation where Chelsea has suffered seven losses out of 12 games against mediocre teams and Mourinho refuses to take blame for any of it. This is the man who left Oscar, Loic Remy and Falcao in England as punishment due to their “bad attitudes.”
Did I mention that he also refused to play the captain of the team, John Terry, for the same reasons? It seems that Mourinho has slowly been losing his mind as the season progresses. Chelsea continues to fall in the midst of the season and along with it, Mourinho’s sanity seems to be on the decline as well.
Sure, you could point to his accolades and suggest that Mourinho is actually a genius and this is all a part of his master plan. Though, I’d be hard pressed to believe in a plan where you play out of form players like Branislav Ivanovic while you argue with your star player (Diego Costa) after he gets suspended for a couple of games. Rather than some discrete plan, Mourinho’s numerous blunders this season can more likely be attributed to his pride.
His lack of acknowledgement in taking responsibility for any of the team’s obvious setbacks is mindboggling to say the least. Though, what’s even more of a mindfuck is that he’s openly putting the blame on his team, like when star players such as Hazard and Fabregas were benched in response to a loss to Crystal Palace.
Many of the players on the team are publicly criticizing Mourinho and I don’t blame them. You have a mutiny brewing within the team as well as the fans who are scratching their heads, wondering if Mourinho is actually a double agent, trying to sabotage the team.
An interesting fact to note is that every club that Mourinho has managed, he usually stays for around two seasons, but sometimes when he stays for a third season, it always seems to be a disaster compared to the last two. An example would be when he previously managed Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013 where Madrid came out on top during the Copa del Rey as well as taking the league title in La Liga the following here. The following season, controversy was brewing as tensions rose between the players and Mourinho, which was all escalated after he got involved in a brawl and poked the eye of a Barcelona assistant coach.
The Premier League this year has been a perplexing one. Leicester City being promoted from the lowest division of English soccer to the highest and on top of that, sliding their team into first for a couple weeks has been quite interesting. Not as shocking as Chelsea’s performance, however.
I would normally look for the bright side in this situation and let the Chelsea fans feel some reprieve that after a circus like the one Mourinho has put on for us, he would be on his way out in no time. I can’t due to the fact that Chelsea will be stuck with Jose Mourinho for another four years (until 2019 to be exact) due to his contract.
Watching Chelsea rise to the top and then crumble right after being crowned kings is quite a sight to see for all soccer fans and, of course, a grueling experience for Chelsea faithful. And if history is any indication of Mourinho’s habits, it’s safe to say that no one has any idea what’s going to happen in the future with this man and the club itself. Here’s hoping he gets sacked.
