Jose Mourinho leaves Chelsea
September 19, 2007 11:09 PM Subscribe
Jose Mourinho, spectacular, talented, egotistical, handsome and immensely controversial manager of Chelsea FC has left "by mutual consent".
Farewell Mourinho. You may have been a Grade-A tw*t sometimes, but at least you were our tw*t.
Say what you like, life was more interesting when he was around. Always good for a soundbite and a cheeky grin, and never shy of offending everyone (including, crucially, his boss), he more importantly had the talent (and the record) to back up his ego. Moaning about transfer budgets aside, he really did manage to pull out some amazing wins at the last minute. Sure he may have had a lot of big names playing for him, but that means nothing if your halftime talk is rubbish. How many times did he make a completely different team come out for the second half and turn a losing match upside down? That's the mark of a good manager.
On a side note, some of the UK football sites' comment sections have already devolved into skinheaded anti-Semitism. Nice.
posted by LondonYank at 12:39 AM on September 20, 2007
Say what you like, life was more interesting when he was around. Always good for a soundbite and a cheeky grin, and never shy of offending everyone (including, crucially, his boss), he more importantly had the talent (and the record) to back up his ego. Moaning about transfer budgets aside, he really did manage to pull out some amazing wins at the last minute. Sure he may have had a lot of big names playing for him, but that means nothing if your halftime talk is rubbish. How many times did he make a completely different team come out for the second half and turn a losing match upside down? That's the mark of a good manager.
On a side note, some of the UK football sites' comment sections have already devolved into skinheaded anti-Semitism. Nice.
posted by LondonYank at 12:39 AM on September 20, 2007
Let's all laugh at Chelsea, let's all laugh at Chelsea, la la la la!
posted by ninthart at 2:12 AM on September 20, 2007
posted by ninthart at 2:12 AM on September 20, 2007
haha, no sympathy here. He had all the money in the world, but built a team that looks and plays like AC Milan, ie successful but boring. Winning 1-0 every match, barely being able to fill the stadium, they are the worst team to watch in the premiership.
I'm personally just waiting for Abramovich to get bored and pull his money out of Chelsea... and have a good laugh when the club collapses under the weight of its own wage bill
posted by derbs at 2:41 AM on September 20, 2007
I'm personally just waiting for Abramovich to get bored and pull his money out of Chelsea... and have a good laugh when the club collapses under the weight of its own wage bill
posted by derbs at 2:41 AM on September 20, 2007
How do you say "douchebag" in Portuguese?
posted by psmealey at 2:47 AM on September 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by psmealey at 2:47 AM on September 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
I'll miss his guido tan.
posted by Joeforking at 2:58 AM on September 20, 2007
posted by Joeforking at 2:58 AM on September 20, 2007
Why leave Chelsea? I did not even want to come to Chelsea. Other managers have clubs, they have money, they have players. But not Mourinho. I do not know why. Maybe you can ask the press, maybe you can ask Uefa. Ask them: why does Mourinho not own his own club? It's like when you go to the supermarket - you can buy class 1 egg, class 2, class 3. But can I buy a club? No. All I have is eggs. But I can win Premiership, win Champions League with 11 eggs. Maybe I have 24 eggs in squad. Is a good number. But UEFA tell me: no, Mourinho, you cannot get into group stages with 11 eggs and no club. But I say: Benitez, Ferguson - they are bald, like eggs! I have hair. That is why I leave Chelsea. I can start my own league, my own European Cup. European Egg Cup. Why? Because I am a special one.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 2:59 AM on September 20, 2007 [18 favorites]
posted by the quidnunc kid at 2:59 AM on September 20, 2007 [18 favorites]
In fairness, winning the Premiership two years consecutively is nothing to sneeze at, but the last couple of years their performance has been merely adequate, when you consider the stunning collection of international talent Chelsea have. Maybe Jose is a genius on the training pitch, but his in-match tactical moves seem nothing if not conventional.
posted by psmealey at 3:00 AM on September 20, 2007
posted by psmealey at 3:00 AM on September 20, 2007
Journalists must be weeping at this news. Mourinho gave more good copy than anyone else since Ebbe 'Statistics are like mini skirts, they say so much but keep the best bits hidden' Skodvahl left Aberdeen in the late 1990s. It didn't matter if the game was dull, they always knew Mourninho would be guaranteed to give them an easy back page the following day. He will be missed for that, if not for his largely negative approach to the game.
posted by ClanvidHorse at 3:54 AM on September 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by ClanvidHorse at 3:54 AM on September 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
when mourninho first arrived, people were comparing him to clough. i thought there was an element of truth to that comparison at the time. now, it looks wide of the mark. his shtick has become one-dimensional and predictable over recent months; tiresome. the sullenness and oblique replies to the admittedly asinine questions delivered by the media, increasingly irrelevant. his departure, however, is still a surprise though.
i wonder how much his departure (as well as henri's in the summer) hurt the money men. i don't think in football terms their departures are that big a deal, but they are "big" names who will profit no doubt in other leagues outside england.
posted by iboxifoo at 5:19 AM on September 20, 2007
i wonder how much his departure (as well as henri's in the summer) hurt the money men. i don't think in football terms their departures are that big a deal, but they are "big" names who will profit no doubt in other leagues outside england.
posted by iboxifoo at 5:19 AM on September 20, 2007
Obligatory random Mourinho anecdote: a while back I was walking through the rather beautiful grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea when I passed by the tennis court with some kinds playing. Whose kids get to play there, I thought (the average age of Chelsea Pensioners staying in the Royal Hospital must be close to 75). Mourinho's, it turns out.
He looks just like he does on TV. Not an inch shorter.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:21 AM on September 20, 2007
He looks just like he does on TV. Not an inch shorter.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:21 AM on September 20, 2007
Quite a loss for the English game - his MoTD interviews were always good value.
Fingers crossed Chelsea dont headhunt Watty Smith...
posted by the cuban at 7:37 AM on September 20, 2007
Fingers crossed Chelsea dont headhunt Watty Smith...
posted by the cuban at 7:37 AM on September 20, 2007
How does a Fulham fan react to this news I ask myself? With glee because, naturally, I hate Chelsea. That would be a natural reaction, but I actually like Mourinho a lot and, like others have said, the premiership will be a much more dull place without him. Maybe he'll end up at another premiership club, but I doubt it. Right, that's my moment of reasonableness over with, now it's back to gloating. Ha-ha!
posted by ob at 8:35 AM on September 20, 2007
posted by ob at 8:35 AM on September 20, 2007
Wow this is shocking. Jose was fun to watch, but Chelsea does play boring technical football and given some of the high profile/high money players who have done nothing its not really suprising that his job would be one full of pressure.
I get the feeling that Abramovich and Mourinho had run-ins, with the fame, popularity and money guys like Ballack and Shevchenko had elsewhere it is suprising that they are now pretty much invisible on Chelsea. It also has to frustrating that when Chelsea has such a high payroll they pretty much fall in the toilet when John Terry is injured.
It also sucks that Rogers Sportsnet in Canada is only showing one EPL game a week and the new Chelsea away kit looks terrible.
posted by Deep Dish at 10:01 AM on September 20, 2007
I get the feeling that Abramovich and Mourinho had run-ins, with the fame, popularity and money guys like Ballack and Shevchenko had elsewhere it is suprising that they are now pretty much invisible on Chelsea. It also has to frustrating that when Chelsea has such a high payroll they pretty much fall in the toilet when John Terry is injured.
It also sucks that Rogers Sportsnet in Canada is only showing one EPL game a week and the new Chelsea away kit looks terrible.
posted by Deep Dish at 10:01 AM on September 20, 2007
Please call Chelsea by their proper name, CSKA London. Honestly though, as a Liverpool fan, I'll miss him. Great coach and quite a character. Best of luck to Chelsea - except when you play us.
posted by philad at 10:39 AM on September 20, 2007
posted by philad at 10:39 AM on September 20, 2007
Hey, did you also hear that a faltering bullpen is at the root of Boston's struggles?
posted by dersins at 12:01 PM on September 20, 2007
posted by dersins at 12:01 PM on September 20, 2007
Oh, so this involves some sort of sport?
nevermind.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 12:21 PM on September 20, 2007
nevermind.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 12:21 PM on September 20, 2007
Things started heading south just before the 2006 season, when Abramovitch started making all these high-cost signings and letting proven talent like Gudjonsen go to Camp Nou. It's just not that easy, you can't really build a winning team this way.
posted by clevershark at 4:49 PM on September 20, 2007
posted by clevershark at 4:49 PM on September 20, 2007
Chin up, Mourinho!
What sort of a team sacks their manager three days before they visit their nearest rival? (I'm going with sacked, not 'resigned').
I'll miss him, too. He was bonkers, but he made things interesting.
posted by Infinite Jest at 5:49 PM on September 20, 2007
What sort of a team sacks their manager three days before they visit their nearest rival? (I'm going with sacked, not 'resigned').
I'll miss him, too. He was bonkers, but he made things interesting.
posted by Infinite Jest at 5:49 PM on September 20, 2007
José Mourinho yesterday agreed a £12 million payoff as compensation for his dramatic departure from Chelsea.
Tottenham Hotspur have already privately declared their interest in a man who won six trophies during three unforgettable years at Stamford Bridge, although it is unlikely that the Portuguese would accept an offer to stay in London at White Hart Lane. “I’m going to enjoy my life, I’m going to wait for the telephone calls,” Mourinho said. “I want to work.”
Allegedly.
posted by dash_slot- at 2:24 AM on September 21, 2007
Tottenham Hotspur have already privately declared their interest in a man who won six trophies during three unforgettable years at Stamford Bridge, although it is unlikely that the Portuguese would accept an offer to stay in London at White Hart Lane. “I’m going to enjoy my life, I’m going to wait for the telephone calls,” Mourinho said. “I want to work.”
Allegedly.
posted by dash_slot- at 2:24 AM on September 21, 2007
« Older language endangerment | The dream is over Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Poolio at 11:17 PM on September 19, 2007