5 great managers who were average players

#3 Jose Mourinho

José Mourinho has won 431 competitive games as a manager

As a player, José Mourinho made just fewer than 100 appearances for 4 different Portuguese clubs, in that time he scored 13 goals. None of those clubs held any weight in the world of football, José played for; Rio Ave, Belenenses, Sesimbra and Comercio e Industria. Don’t worry, I haven’t heard of any of them either.

The fact that José pursued a career on the pitch is a testament to his love for the game. As a teenager, he worked for his father as a scout in Portugal. It was from this interest in football that he decided to stop scouting and instead become the one being scouted.

Nothing really materialised from his short career on the pitch, but at least it provided the foundation for one of the most successful managerial careers we’ve ever seen. The 54-year old has gone onto manage 664 games, winning 20 honours in the process.