Kaka, Casillas, Mata: Victims of the "Special One"

Mou, as he is affectionately addressed to by his fans, is well known for his flamboyance, the man is not very fond of sticking to conventional ways and will always do what he feels is right for the team. The Portuguese will select a player only on the basis of his abilities and will overlook the players’ past or current status in the eyes of the club or its fans. Mourinho has often received flak for the kind of treatment he has dished out to certain players who the Portuguese feels need not necessarily fit into the first team squad on a regular basis. Despite many of his protégés finding ultimate success in world football, the manager has been accused of causing some damage to the individual careers of certain players.

Here are a few of them:

Ricardo Quaresma (Inter)

Quaresma was a huge signing for Inter. The strangest thing about the signing was that Inter Milan owner Massimo Moratti wasn’t very excited about it but had to reluctantly sign the player on Mourinho’s insistence. Quaresma was never given a chance to shine by Mourinho as the winger was often warming the bench at Inter. The forward made only 13 league appearances in his first season at Inter. The Portuguese never achieved what was expected from him at Inter. Expected to be Mourinho’s golden boy, the forward instead ended up winning the 2008 Bidone d’Oro, an “award” given for mocking the worst Serie A footballer. Mourinho remained adamant that Quaresma won’t be a vital part of Inter and he was later loaned to Chelsea where he also failed to succeed. Quaresma has gone on record to say that joining Inter Milan was his “biggest regret”. Now back at Porto, the 30-year old is looking to get his career back on track.

Kaka (Real Madrid)

Florentino Perez’s signing of Kaka made headlines all over the world. The Brazilian cost Los Blancos a whopping €65m, the second highest transfer fee at that time only behind Zidane (€75m). Kaka was an ambitious move and was part of Perez’s plan of rebuilding the team in order to bring the coveted Champions League trophy back to the Bernabeu. However, Kaka had to endure the toughest period of his entire career during the 4 seasons in Spain. The midfielder was plagued with injuries at the starting of his Real Madrid career and later fell down Mourinho’s pecking order as the manager had recruited the German sensation Mesut Özil. Mourinho later on decided to use Kaka on very rare occasions and chose not to give the former Milan player much game time.

Kaka, a world-class player at that time, was reduced to a mere back-up under Mourinho and could never prove himself at the club. It is also believed that Mourinho refused to sell Kaka to European rivals Manchester United and AC Milan as he felt threatened that the Brazilian will be a success over there. Real Madrid eventually off-loaded Kaka to Milan for free in the 2013 summer transfer window. The midfielder is now enjoying his return to Italy and looking to regain a spot in the Brazilian National team for the World Cup 2014.

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

Mourinho rubbed the fans as well as some of the senior players the wrong way when he chose to drop Casillas for Adan in a La Liga game against Malaga, which Real Madrid eventually lost. Despite the loss, Mourinho chose to play Adan between the sticks instead of the club captain until Adan received a red card for a reckless challenge early in the match against Real Sociedad. Just when things looked like they had gone back to normal at Real Madrid, Casillas went on to injure his hand badly in a Copa Del Rey game against Valencia. The injury sidelined Casillas for more than a month and Mourinho made a move for Diego Lopez in the 2013 January transfer window in order to fill the void left by Iker. Diego Lopez was more than impressive between the sticks and won a permanent spot for himself in the playing 11. Mourinho did not choose to field Casillas again that season.

Casillas is still forced to warm the bench by current manager Carlo Ancelotti who only chooses to field the World Cup winner in Cup and Champions League games. Having been considered one of world’s best goalkeepers, the way Mourinho treated Casillas was strange and had an effect on the Spaniard’s morale. Casillas admitted that the way Mourinho treated him reduced him to tears and he spent sleepless nights at times. Being sidelined for a long time now, Casillas may consider moving away from Real Madrid sooner or later.

Juan Mata (Chelsea)

One of the most shocking things for Chelsea fans this season has been the consistent absence of midfielder Juan Mata from the starting line-up. Juan Mata was awarded Chelsea’s player of the year for the second time in a row at the end of 2012-13 season. From being one of the most prominent players at the club, Mata was reduced to just a substitute after the appointment of Mourinho in the manager’s role. Under Mourinho’s reign Mata has fallen down the pecking order as the Portuguese prefers to start Hazard and Oscar in the attacking midfield roles. The signing of Willian has only worsened the Spaniard’s plight.

Mou insists that he is not even slightly happy with the way he is treating Mata. However, the Portuguese is adamant that Mata does not suit Chelsea’s style at the moment and must change his style in order to regain his place in the team. The no. 10 has been linked to various clubs across Europe and it won’t be a surprise to see him make a move away from Chelsea this January in order to enhance his chances of playing in the Spanish National team for the upcoming World Cup.