BarcelonaJosé Mourinho has returned to a European final five years later. It has done so far from the focus of the elite, with Roma and the Conference League, the third continental competition. The Portuguese coach left Madrid almost a decade ago and over the years has shown his decline as a coach. Mourinho is still the character he wanted to win without wondering how, although he does it less and less often. In Rome, however, he installed a climate that connected him to a part of the city and turned him into a mass idol. This Wednesday, in front of Feyenoord (9 pm, Movistar Champions League), he will try to lead the team yellow Red to his first continental trophy.
Mourinho is only moved by one thing: winning. And to do that, he is able to use foul play in the press rooms or despise his players. It has not changed over the years: it applies the scorched earth strategy. “Moorishism is not a tactical current, not even merely football, it has something countercultural. It is a way of understanding the competition. There was an identification between Real Madrid and Mourinho’s personality and values - leadership, competitiveness and aggression – to the point that most white players became militants of Moorishism itself, “recalls journalist Javier Pérez Mojica.
Since leaving the Santiago Bernabéu, Mourinho has been moving away from the titles. With Chelsea, however, he won a Premier League. The winter of the following season, the blues he was fired with the organization occupying the sixteenth position. With Manchester United he was unable to revive a free-fall project from Alex Ferguson’s farewell, despite lifting a Europa League. Nor did he succeed with Tottenham, who got rid of Mauricio Pochettino months after being a Champions League finalist. The wardrobe ended up completely divided. “Mourinho was consumed by the ideological-football war between 2009 and 2012, first with Inter Milan and then with Madrid, in both cases against Barça, in which he ended up becoming an extremist figure. I’ve never seen such a brilliant coach degenerate so quickly in football, it’s one of the most Dantesque and disconcerting falls I can remember, “said Premier League analyst Ander Iturralde.
“Mourinho’s first goal was to stop the absolute dominance of Guardiola’s Barça, this was his most valuable title in Madrid. His legacy survives, because part of the European success of the whites is attributable to the competitive concept. there are white supporters who consider themselves mourners even before they are Madrid fans “, remarks Pérez Mojica. Mourinho’s canonical football, more of a soul than a slate, continued to be written under the same story of resistance, of trenches, once it left Madrid behind. “When he doesn’t win, he has nothing left. He creates a hysterical obsession with victory. If you lose believing in a process, thinking that today’s defeat will help you win the next day, you have room for improvement. For Mourinho, in change, everything is a war. With him, there is no room to grow “, comments Iturralde.
Moorishism unites him to Rome
The character has not evolved: Mourinho continues to offer frantic press conferences, embraces the excuse of arbitration and rarely self-criticizes. In this Conference League, he suffered the most outrageous defeat of his career by losing 6-1 to Norwegian Bodo / Glimt. “I decided to put this eleven, it’s my responsibility. I wanted to give a chance to players who don’t play much, but we lost to a team that had more quality. It’s that simple. The best thing today is that you won’t come back to me. to ask why I always play with the same eleven “, he reprimanded at the end of the match. Seconds Corriere dello Sportafter another defeat, addressed the players saying: “The biggest flaw of a man is the lack of eggs and personality. And you are people without balls. If you are afraid to play big games, go to play matches in Serie C (Third Division) “.
“Rome needed a shock and that is what has brought Mourinho’s enthusiasm. He understood that this is a passionate city, with a great sense of belonging, and the fans are delighted with him. This year things have not gone very well. well, but the stadium fills up almost every game, “said Marco Juric, a journalist who follows the team. In Rome, due to the lack of depth in the squad, they consider the season to be very good: they are sixth in Serie A and have reached a European final.
“Nostalgia is the only distraction for those who do not believe in the future,” Jep Gambardella told The great beauty from his attic in Rome. In the Conference final, Mourinho will try to stop the decline as a coach by embracing, once again, an immortal Moorishism.