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Tottenham manager José Mourinho over the years has proven to be a master tactician not only on the field but in the conference room as well, where he plays his infamous mind games.
Throughout his managerial career, he has shared a love-hate relationship with the football media and has become a figure that pundits and journalists love to hate. This is seen the most in his interactions with the English press; where he has spent the bulk of his career.
He is currently managing high-flying North London club Tottenham, which is his third team in England and second in London. José Mourinho arrived in England with a bang, marking it with a celebratory sprint down the touchline at Old Trafford after knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League on his way to winning it with his famed Porto team.
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His success in Portugal earned him the Chelsea job the next season where he labelled himself the 'Special One' in his very first media interaction. He proved himself worthy of his self-declared title by winning two consecutive Premier League titles and challenging Sir Alex Ferguson's dominance of English Football.
José Mourinho then went on to achieve great success at some of the top European clubs such as Inter Milan where he won a historic treble, Real Madrid where he won the La Liga during Barcelona's era of dominance, Chelsea once again and then Manchester United where he lasted for two and a half years before being replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjær in December of 2019.
His stint at Manchester United where he won the Europa League and EFL Cup in his first season; and then finished second with 82 points behind a rampant Manchester City team the next season, is considered to be the most unsuccessful period of his career. This criticism of his time at Manchester United is evidence of his greatness; that a term consisting of two major honours and a second place finish was labelled unsuccessful.
After his dismissal from Old Trafford, José Mourinho took a year's break from managing and served as a football pundit during this time. In December last year, he took over the reins at Tottenham after replacing Mauricio Pochettino.
Tottenham were down in the league table struggling for form when he took over and immediately José Mourinho began his games with the media by claiming that he has to start with minus points in the race for the top 4; thus lowering Tottenham's minimum expectation of securing Champions League football.
Tottenham manager José Mourinho: The Master Narrator
José Mourinho is a serial winner but on top of that he is a man who knows what he and his team is capable of achieving at any point in the season. This leads him to always lower the expectations that people have from him or overplay the position his team has already secured.
These tactics were most seen during his mixed spell at Manchester United where he came across as a man who believed that the media was his enemy. José Mourinho has always tried to control everything that he can whether it is the opponents on the field or the narrative off it.
José Mourinho claimed that finishing second in his second season with ''this United team'' was his greatest ever achievement and this was after his 18 minutes speech on football heritage earlier in the same season after getting knocked out in the UCL round of 16 by Sevilla.
He spent that entire press conference and his whole time at Manchester United trying to make people believe that he is overachieving at Old Trafford given their history since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.
But he can not and should not try to lower expectations or oversell his achievements with Tottenham this season as they have a very good chance of achieving great things this season. José Mourinho should focus his energy and tactics on the field rather than trying to control the narrative off it.
If he does that, Tottneham's trophy drought might well come to an end.
Also read: Jose Mourinho takes a dig at Real Madrid after Gareth Bale's winner for Tottenham Hotspur
Jose Mourinho and the story of the 'second season'
José Mourinho has an exceptional managerial record and what is even more remarkable is his record in the second season for his clubs. Up until his stint at Manchester United, José Mourinho had the phenomenal record of winning the league title in the second season at all the clubs he had managed till then.
Even in his second season at Old Trafford he amassed an impressive 82 points and finished second only behind record-breakers Manchester City. Though technically speaking this is his first full season at Tottenham; it is his second season overall and José Mourinho will be eager to add to his impressive second season record.
José Mourinho's time at Manchester United was marked by his dissatisfaction with Ed Woodward and the board who failed to sign some of his top targets throughout his term. But at Tottenham, José Mourinho has been backed by Daniel Levy who is otherwise frugal when it comes to transfer spending.
Tottenham and Jose Mourinho have had a good transfer window
In the two transfer windows that José Mourinho has been in charge at Tottenham, a total of 10 players have arrived either on a loan or a permanent transfer. These signings have given José Mourinho a big squad full of quality and versatility that can help him tackle the 4 competitions that they're participating in.
Signings of Sergio Reguilon, Gareth Bale, Matt Doherty and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg have added quality to positions that are key to José Mourinho and given him a first XI that can realistically challenge the best in the league.
Form and injury problems for rivals could finally make this Tottenham's year
In addition to the quality in his own squad, José Mourinho's and Tottenham's quest for success is aided by the form of other rivals and injuries to their key players.
Liverpool though sitting first in the table look vulnerable compared to last season and are also dealing with a slew of injuries to key players. Manchester United look a different team at weekends and do not seem capable of challenging for top 4 let alone the title; while Manchester City are not at their free flowing best. Arsenal are doing what Arsenal does best by being one of the most unpredictable teams in the league.
This state of the other top teams provides José Mourinho with the perfect opportunity to try and add to his 3 English League titles and answer his many critics who say he is finished.
Tottenham squad is filled with match-winners
However the biggest reason that José Mourinho can not downplay expectations this season is the presence of a number of match-winners and leaders in the Tottenham squad.
At Manchester United, he spoke of the need of having "Generals" on the field and also claimed he had few who could do that role for him at Old Trafford. But at Tottenham he not only has a number of leaders but also genuine match winners who are capable of winning games single handedly.
Hugo Lloris, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane all have leadership qualities and can be the generals that José Mourinho needs in his team. On the other hand José Mourinho also has players who are world beaters and can take any challenge head on. Son Heung-Min, Kane and Bale to name a few.
It all seems to be perfectly in place this season for José Mourinho to return to his "Special One" ways and lead Tottenham to their first major trophy in a very long time; if only he focuses his tactics on his opponents rather than on the media.
José Mourinho has spent recent years taking on the press and trying to control the narrative but this is the year he can write his story solely by focusing on the game and leading his team to success.
