#2 Jose Mourinho’s love for Cup competitions
Managers like Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino regularly get exasperated fielding questions whether their choice of line-ups for cup competitions represents a lack of respect. Mourinho, on the other hand, has never faced any similar accusations – he is open and clear about his ambition to triumph in every competition he is part of.
Mourinho's immaculate European record was kickstarted in 2002-03 with a Europa League Trophy (then named UEFA Cup) with FC Porto. The following season, they went on to win the UEFA Champions League, which represented the breakthrough point of a young Mourinho's managerial career.
No one needs to teach the Portuguese manager the value of trophies – and indeed, no one needs to coach into him the highly tactical and disciplined nature of European contests.