I’m fascinated by the fact that a “name” is still one of the things that carries the most weight in football. In some cases, it even seems more important than what a person is actually capable of delivering today. The example of Neymar is clear: people still call for him to be in the Brazil national team, even when he can no longer deliver physically or technically, not even against theoretically weaker sides. But people don’t watch the matches, they don’t try to understand, they just hold on to the idea that because it’s Neymar, he has to be there.
And this doesn’t only happen with players. Today it’s about José Mourinho, because he’s being linked with Newcastle United.
I honestly don’t understand how there are still people who see anything fascinating in the current Mourinho or place him anywhere near a top 10 or even top 25 coaches in the world. I genuinely don’t. And you don’t even need to watch every match, just look at the results, because they say a lot about what he can offer today.
He hasn’t truly competed for the league title, almost failed to even reach the Champions League playoffs, and that only went under the radar because of that match where Trubin pulled off a miracle against Real Madrid. He was knocked out in the Portuguese Cup quarter-finals by Porto and can’t win matches against Porto and Sporting CP. This is not top-level performance.
So what exactly is Newcastle expecting from a manager who is clearly past his peak?
Mourinho was one of the greatest managers I’ve ever seen, that’s not even up for debate. But the point is: what does he show today to still be considered for projects at this level? Before, people talked about the Portugal national team and even then, you could somewhat understand it because of nationality, although I don’t even agree with the idea that a national team must have a manager of the same nationality.
The problem is that there have been several poor spells over the years. The “Special One” hasn’t been special for 10, 12 years. And it’s important to separate things: one thing is respecting and admiring what he achieved, another completely different thing is understanding what he is today. Just like in Neymar’s case.
Conclusion
I don’t understand how Mourinho continues to be an option at the top level of football with what he has shown for so many seasons. It feels much more like a matter of name than actual ability right now.
But living off a name guarantees you nothing, and trying to relive what he was more than a decade ago makes no sense at all.