José Mourinho

Über José Mourinho

José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of Primeira Liga club Benfica. He is one of the most decorated managers and is widely considered to be among the greatest managers of all time. Mourinho has won league championships in four countries, is one of only six managers to have won the European Cup with two clubs, and is the only manager to have won all three current UEFA club competitions. After an uneventful career as a midfielder in the Portuguese leagues, Mourinho retired from playing aged 24 and moved into coaching. He was first an interpreter for Bobby Robson at Sporting CP and Porto, before gaining success as an assistant at Barcelona under Robson and then his successor, Louis van Gaal. After brief managerial stints at Benfica and União de Leiria, Mourinho returned to Porto in 2002, winning two Primeira Liga titles, the Taça de Portugal, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. That success earned him a move to England with Chelsea in 2004, where he famously remarked, "I think I'm a special one" at his first press conference — a quote that led the British media to dub him "The Special One". With Chelsea, Mourinho won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and two League Cups in three seasons, before departing in 2007 amid reports of disagreements with owner Roman Abramovich. In 2008, Mourinho joined Italian club Inter Milan. He led them to the Serie A title in his first season, before winning a continental treble — Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League — in 2010, a first in history for an Italian club. This made him one of five coaches to have won the European Cup with two clubs, and later that year, he was crowned the inaugural FIFA World Coach of the Year. Mourinho then moved to Real Madrid in Spain, where he won the La Liga title in 2011–12, breaking several domestic records including for points, goals, and wins in a season. He also became the fifth coach to win league titles in four countries. Mourinho left Real Madrid in 2013 and rejoined Chelsea, where he won another league title and League Cup, but was dismissed in 2015 after a poor run of results. Mourinho was appointed manager of Manchester United in 2016 and of Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, but both tenures ended acrimoniously. Despite this, Mourinho won the UEFA Europa League and a League Cup with Manchester United, and led Tottenham to a League Cup final — though he was sacked less than a week before. He managed Roma from 2021 to 2024, winning the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League in his first season. It was Roma's first European title and their first trophy since 2008, and it made Mourinho the first manager to win a major European competition with four clubs, and the third to win all UEFA club competitions. He joined Turkish Super Lig club Fenerbahçe in 2024. Mourinho was named Portuguese Coach of the Century by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) in 2015. Due to his tactical knowledge, charismatic and controversial personality, and a reputation for prioritising results over attractive football, he has drawn comparisons — from both admirers and critics — with Argentine manager Helenio Herrera.