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News recently broke that Jose Mourinho has taken a job working in the Qatari media, potentially a sign that he will not be returning immediately to management. His stock is at an all-time low following dismal results at Manchester United.
However, his achievements cannot be understated. In his 15 years at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and even United, Mourinho won trophy after trophy, working with (and having a huge influence on) some of the greatest to ever play the game.
Here is perhaps the finest XI that can be made from players who played for Mourinho.
Also See : Barcelona Transfer News, La Liga Transfer News, EPL Transfer News.
Goalkeeper: David de Gea
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With the announcement of his impending retirement, this could be an opportunity to celebrate the undoubtedly impressive career of Petr Cech, and the years he spent under Mourinho.
However, more recently, Mourinho worked with a contender for the finest keeper of this century. It is an uncomfortable exercise to ask a Manchester United fan to imagine the last six years without David de Gea. A lock-in for Player of the Season at United every year, de Gea continued to show his quality under Mourinho, denying opponents to a demoralizing extent.
Right back: Javier Zanetti
Javier Zanetti is an automatic choice at right-back. Paulo Ferreira was a reliable first choice for several years at Porto and Chelsea, but he misses out to a genuine legend of the game, by any standard.
Zanetti filled in at full-back and across the midfield, spending the best part of twenty years with Inter. The most successful period of that time came with Mourinho at the helm. In two seasons, Mourinho and Zanetti won four trophies, including the incredible treble in 2010. The Argentinian played over 100 times in this period, as one of the key contributors to perhaps Mourinho's finest ever work.
Also See : Durand Cup, Durand Cup Schedule, Calcutta Football League
Centre-back: Ricardo Carvalho
Beating out competition from Lucio and Sergio Ramos is a Mourinho stalwart who slots in at the heart of the defense. Mourinho inherited Ricardo Carvalho at Porto, where they went on to win the Champions League, before bringing him along upon his move to Chelsea.
Carvalho was part of a defense that conceded only 15 goals in an entire Premier League season and he went on to become a Chelsea legend. When Mourinho took the Real Madrid job, it was again Carvalho who he turned to in order to shore up the defense, where they again won a league title together.
Some friction characterized the last few months of their time together, Mourinho telling his Portuguese countryman publicly that he had 'no career' if he chose to stay in Madrid. However, for his role in three of Mourinho's finest sides, he more than earns his place in this lineup.
Centre-back: John Terry
Less controversial is Carvalho's defensive partner. One of the finest defenders of his generation, John Terry captained all three of Mourinho's title-winning Chelsea sides. One of Chelsea and England's finest ever players, Terry was a world-beating defender, with no qualms about hurling his head in harm's way to prevent, or even score, a goal.
Better on the ball than many gave him credit for, Terry was also assured in possession, capable of starting counter attacks from the back and threading passes further forward. As he aged, managers like Rafael Benitez and Andre Villas-Boas looked at phasing him out. But upon Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge, Terry was instantly restored to the heart of the defense, where he would go on to win his final title.
Left-back: Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole is widely regarded as the only full-back to ever truly match Cristiano Ronaldo on the opposing wing. For all those who despise him because of the mischief he gets up to off the pitch, Cole proved himself to be one of the finest full-backs of a generation on it.
He had the pace and attacking instincts of the likes of Marcelo and Roberto Carlos, combined with the defensive nous and tenacity of players like Gary Neville and Paolo Maldini. Cole only spent a season-and-a-half under Mourinho, winning the FA Cup, but this line up would not be complete without him.
Defensive midfielder: Esteban Cambiasso
In his autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson dedicated a chapter to Mourinho, describing his methods and success. In one passage, he broke down Inter Milan's famous victory against one of the finest club sides ever assembled:
'(Mourinho) had weapons of his own, mainly concentration and positioning. Esteban Cambiasso...was a vital component in that Inter team. If Messi appeared over here, so would Cambiasso. Should Messi pop up in another area, Cambiasso was there as well. It sounds easy, but as part of a general team plan in which all the defensive duties would connect, it was marvellously effective'.
Mourinho's reputation as a defensive coach comes from his preference for two defensively-sound midfielders to play in front of the back four. That's the system this team will play, and it's inevitable that Cambiasso will fill one of these berths. Man marking Messi is an impressive calling card in itself, but Cambiasso was also another ever-present player in that Inter Milan team, recycling possession and spraying passes from the base of midfield.
Defensive midfield: Claude Makelele
In his last two jobs, 6'4" Nemanja Matic has been Mourinho's man at the base of the midfield, using his frame to bully opposition number tens. This team, however, will utilize two more diminutive figures who were no less voracious in their efforts to regain possession.
Makelele was the original N'golo Kante, to the extent that the role is informally named after him. In the 2004-05 season, Mourinho's finest in England, he declared Makelele Chelsea's player of the season, which tells you everything you need to know about his importance to their set up.
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Right-wing: Wesley Sneijder
In the 4-2-3-1 that Mourinho traditionally prefers, occupying an unfamiliar role on the right-hand side is Wesley Sneijder. There are still many who wholeheartedly believe that the 2010 Ballon d'Or, the first that Lionel Messi won, should have instead gone to the Dutch playmaker, for his role in the Inter Milan treble and the Netherland's progression to the World Cup final.
More recently, the Dutchman's inconsistency has been frustrating. But for the two seasons Mourinho managed, he turned every ounce of Sneijder's superlative talent into results on the pitch.
Attacking midfield: Frank Lampard
Perhaps the main reason Mourinho was so perpetually dissatisfied with Paul Pogba was his experiences with Frank Lampard as the driving force in midfield. In the three full seasons Mourinho had at Chelsea's helm, Lampard missed four league games, racked up 60 goals in all competitions, won the 2005 FWA Footballer of the year and came second to Ronaldinho in the same year's Ballon D'or.
He was the ideal Mourinho midfielder, with the work rate to defend in his own box, the range of passing to start attacks, the stamina to support them and finally, famously, the goal-scoring prowess to finish them off.
Left wing: Cristiano Ronaldo
Mourinho's time at Real Madrid was just as contentious as his most recent spell at Old Trafford. Whilst results did not disintegrate to the extent they did at United, Mourinho had a fraught relationship with the Spanish media, substantial sections of the Bernabeu, and many on his playing staff.
Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas are two of Spain's greatest ever players, who did not make this XI in part because of their combustible relationship with Mourinho. Cristiano Ronaldo was another who clearly did not see eye-to-eye with Mourinho, but there must have been some recognition that the pair needed one another.
Mourinho delivered the first league title Ronaldo won in Spain (which he has only won once since). For his part, Ronaldo's performances for his Portuguese countryman were consistent with the rest of his career — more than a goal in every game.
Striker: Didier Drogba
With the five-man midfield he frequents, Mourinho tends to search for a one-man army to lead the line. Diego Costa stamped, scratched and booted his way through Premier league center-halves on his way to 20 league goals for Mourinho, a total Diego Milito bettered in the treble winning season.
And while he also used Karim Benzema and Samuel Eto'o, no one represents the archetypal Mourinho striker quite like Didier Drogba. The man for the big occasion, Drogba has a record of 10 goals in 10 finals, scoring the winner in the 2007 FA Cup final for Mourinho, as well as winning two League titles.
A complete forward, who was equally adept at bringing others into play as he was at scoring goals himself, Drogba racked up 71 assists in his time at Chelsea. He is undoubtedly one of the all-time great Premier League strikers, and would flourish in this lineup.
