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Imagining Manchester United's Season If Jose Mourinho Was Manager.
tiki_taka 11 years ago Edited
Barcelona, France 367 9768

What would Manchester United look like today had Jose Mourinho taken over? The question is, of course, a fanciful one, but the idea that Mourinho could be running United did not seem beyond the realm of possibility ahead of David Moyes’ announcement as "The Chosen One."

The day that the United squad learned about Sir Alex Ferguson’s impending departure, they attended the Chester races. According to the Irish Examiner's Miguel Delaney, the chatter amongst the players was mostly centred around the idea of Mourinho getting the job.

So, here is some "Special One" speculation, imagining a world where that had come to pass.

  • Transfers :

Marouane Fellaini would probably not be at United. Given that Juan Mata was deemed surplus to Mourinho’s requirements in real life, it seems unlikely he would have brought him to United in the parallel universe we are discussing here.

Mourinho did not bring anyone in tow from Real Madrid to Chelsea but given United’s desperate need to improvement in the centre of midfield, perhaps he could have persuaded Luka Modric to move to Manchester with him.

Given that Cristiano Ronaldo "considered" a return to Old Trafford last summer, per Sky Sports, maybe a detente between the two Portuguese men could have been arranged, following their "falling out," per The Telegraph.

Of the players Mourinho has signed for Chelsea, perhaps a similar hijacking of Tottenham Hostpur’s move for Willian would have been arranged. Willian has been a revelation for Chelsea, and his pace, power and tactical flexibility would have been a welcome addition at United.

Given Mourinho’s tactical preference for a 4-3-3, one new midfielder probably would not have done the trick and a more physical, ball-winning type might have been on the shopping list. It is probable that the summer’s transfer business would have been carried out in a more decisive fashion.

As for departures, Anderson would likely still have been on his way, his injury record and his lack of consistency probably would not have fit into Mourinho’s plans.

Shinji Kagawa might have found himself in the Juan-Mata-At-Chelsea role, on the bench because of a perceived lack of defensive contribution.

Nemanja Vidic, on the other hand, may well have been more likely to stay under Mourinho, given John Terry’s return to form this season, could the Portuguese have revitalised Vidic’s United career in similar fashion?

It is hard to imagine any really high profile departures from United. Although, given Mourinho’s history of isolating a key player in his sides (Iker Casillas at Real Madrid, Juan Mata at Chelsea), perhaps someone unexpected would have found themselves out of favour.

  • Tactics :

The Portuguese's tactics at Chelsea this season are somewhat un-Mourniho like. Playing a true 4-2-3-1 with one centre forward, three players behind him with two holding midfielders is atypical for him.

United’s squad, with a couple of additions would lend itself to either the 4-2-3-1, or the more expected 4-3-3. Much hinges on how Mourinho would have used Wayne Rooney.

Given Chelsea’s summer-long pursuit of Rooney, presumably to play as an out-and-out centre forward, there is some irony in the idea that Rooney is in many ways, Mourinho’s ideal wide inside forward. Dangerous and creative in attack but also disciplined and dogged when the opposition has the ball.

A 4-3-3 with Robin van Persie central and Rooney and Danny Welbeck cutting inside from wide positions, in front of Michael Carrick, Luka Modric and, say Arturo Vidal, with attacking full-backs, seems like a very Mourinho-esque set up.

However, he is a manager who has demonstrated considerable tactical flexibility, and his current Chelsea side show he is not afraid to vary his standard tactics based on the personnel available to him. Given the excellent centre-forwards United have available, could we have seen a 4-4-2 from Mourinho? It seems unlikely but certainly possible.

  • Results :

Given how difficult Moyes has found life at United, it is hard to imagine how Mourinho’s results could have been worse. The key question is how much better they would have been.

This whole discussion is, of course, speculative, and this is the most speculative area, but it seems to me a solid argument exists to suggest Mourinho’s results would have been dramatically better than Moyes’ have been.

The fallout from Ferguson’s departure has been about as cataclysmic as it could have been. With Vidic leaving, reports than van Persie is unhappy, per The Independent's Jack De Menezes, and under-performance throughout the squad, it is not a huge leap of imagination to suggest that the new manager’s regime is not working for his players. As a consequence, they do not really seem to be working for him.

Moyes has problems Mourinho would not have done. Mourinho is a serial-winner, and he could point to domestic and European success equivalent to, or better than, United’s medal-laden squad. Given the suggestion, mentioned earlier, that the players wanted Mourinho, presumably they would have taken a good deal less convincing that his methods would be successful.

Losses at home to Newcastle, West Bromwich Albion and Swansea, the draw with Fulham, the loss to Sunderland in the Capital One Cup and the first leg at Olympiacos. It is hard to imagine all these fixtures having gone the same way had Mourinho been in charge.

Much has been made, by those who would defend Moyes, of some apparent lack of quality in the United squad but do the most hardened of Moyes’ defenders truly believe United would have been out of the running for Champions League qualification if Mourinho was in charge?

  • The Future :

Moyes’ appointment was heralded by Manchester United’s PR roll-out as being an appointment for the long-term. It is an attempt to recreate Ferguson’s dynastic, era-spanning reign and empower a manager considered to have the raw ingredients to be a success, if not the CV to match.

Mourinho has never built a dynasty. In 14 years he has managed six clubs and one of them in two separate spells, making his average tenure two years. Manchester United, though, has something his previous clubs have not. It has both profile and behind-the-scenes stability and typically the sides Mourinho has managed have had one or the other but not both.

He left Chelsea because of a "troubled" relationship with Roman Abramovich, per BBC Sport. He left Inter because Real Madrid came calling, he left Madrid because he had apparently exhausted Madrid’s patience, as noted in the Daily Mail.

So what would have made him leave Manchester United? Would he have poked Steve Bould in the eye during a touchline scrap? Would he have fallen out with David de Gea? Would he and Ferguson have clashed over the unseen influence of the elder?

Or would he have settled down and spent a few years at a club which seems a reasonably good match for his personality and abilities? Even if he had left after a couple of years, having won a couple of trophies, would that not have been an easier transition to manage than the precipitous drop off in results that has occurred under Moyes?

We will probably never find out what Mourinho’s United would have looked like. Although it has been a long, difficult and fundamentally unsuccessful season, some hope remains that Moyes will find his feet and we will see why Ferguson made the choice he did.

By Paul Ansorge, B/r.

Considering PL actual level, i think Mourinho could have qualified ANY English team to CL, and make Tottenham champions if he spent himself the 100 M of Bale departure. He was righ to comeback and unless a dramatic end, he has already won EPL considering he managed well all the big confrontations, only 2 remains 1 at home Vs Arsenal, and one at Anfield.

1
  • History
Showing previous versions of this text.

What would Manchester United look like today had Jose Mourinho taken over? The question is, of course, a fanciful one, but the idea that Mourinho could be running United did not seem beyond the realm of possibility ahead of David Moyes’ announcement as "The Chosen One."

The day that the United squad learned about Sir Alex Ferguson’s impending departure, they attended the Chester races. According to the Irish Examiner's Miguel Delaney, the chatter amongst the players was mostly centred around the idea of Mourinho getting the job.

So, here is some "Special One" speculation, imagining a world where that had come to pass.

  • Transfers :

Marouane Fellaini would probably not be at United. Given that Juan Mata was deemed surplus to Mourinho’s requirements in real life, it seems unlikely he would have brought him to United in the parallel universe we are discussing here.

Mourinho did not bring anyone in tow from Real Madrid to Chelsea but given United’s desperate need to improvement in the centre of midfield, perhaps he could have persuaded Luka Modric to move to Manchester with him.

Given that Cristiano Ronaldo "considered" a return to Old Trafford last summer, per Sky Sports, maybe a detente between the two Portuguese men could have been arranged, following their "falling out," per The Telegraph.

Of the players Mourinho has signed for Chelsea, perhaps a similar hijacking of Tottenham Hostpur’s move for Willian would have been arranged. Willian has been a revelation for Chelsea, and his pace, power and tactical flexibility would have been a welcome addition at United.

Given Mourinho’s tactical preference for a 4-3-3, one new midfielder probably would not have done the trick and a more physical, ball-winning type might have been on the shopping list. It is probable that the summer’s transfer business would have been carried out in a more decisive fashion.

As for departures, Anderson would likely still have been on his way, his injury record and his lack of consistency probably would not have fit into Mourinho’s plans.

Shinji Kagawa might have found himself in the Juan-Mata-At-Chelsea role, on the bench because of a perceived lack of defensive contribution.

Nemanja Vidic, on the other hand, may well have been more likely to stay under Mourinho, given John Terry’s return to form this season, could the Portuguese have revitalised Vidic’s United career in similar fashion?

It is hard to imagine any really high profile departures from United. Although, given Mourinho’s history of isolating a key player in his sides (Iker Casillas at Real Madrid, Juan Mata at Chelsea), perhaps someone unexpected would have found themselves out of favour.

  • Tactics :

The Portuguese's tactics at Chelsea this season are somewhat un-Mourniho like. Playing a true 4-2-3-1 with one centre forward, three players behind him with two holding midfielders is atypical for him.

United’s squad, with a couple of additions would lend itself to either the 4-2-3-1, or the more expected 4-3-3. Much hinges on how Mourinho would have used Wayne Rooney.

Given Chelsea’s summer-long pursuit of Rooney, presumably to play as an out-and-out centre forward, there is some irony in the idea that Rooney is in many ways, Mourinho’s ideal wide inside forward. Dangerous and creative in attack but also disciplined and dogged when the opposition has the ball.

A 4-3-3 with Robin van Persie central and Rooney and Danny Welbeck cutting inside from wide positions, in front of Michael Carrick, Luka Modric and, say Arturo Vidal, with attacking full-backs, seems like a very Mourinho-esque set up.

However, he is a manager who has demonstrated considerable tactical flexibility, and his current Chelsea side show he is not afraid to vary his standard tactics based on the personnel available to him. Given the excellent centre-forwards United have available, could we have seen a 4-4-2 from Mourinho? It seems unlikely but certainly possible.

  • Results :

Given how difficult Moyes has found life at United, it is hard to imagine how Mourinho’s results could have been worse. The key question is how much better they would have been.

This whole discussion is, of course, speculative, and this is the most speculative area, but it seems to me a solid argument exists to suggest Mourinho’s results would have been dramatically better than Moyes’ have been.

The fallout from Ferguson’s departure has been about as cataclysmic as it could have been. With Vidic leaving, reports than van Persie is unhappy, per The Independent's Jack De Menezes, and under-performance throughout the squad, it is not a huge leap of imagination to suggest that the new manager’s regime is not working for his players. As a consequence, they do not really seem to be working for him.

Moyes has problems Mourinho would not have done. Mourinho is a serial-winner, and he could point to domestic and European success equivalent to, or better than, United’s medal-laden squad. Given the suggestion, mentioned earlier, that the players wanted Mourinho, presumably they would have taken a good deal less convincing that his methods would be successful.

Losses at home to Newcastle, West Bromwich Albion and Swansea, the draw with Fulham, the loss to Sunderland in the Capital One Cup and the first leg at Olympiacos. It is hard to imagine all these fixtures having gone the same way had Mourinho been in charge.

Much has been made, by those who would defend Moyes, of some apparent lack of quality in the United squad but do the most hardened of Moyes’ defenders truly believe United would have been out of the running for Champions League qualification if Mourinho was in charge?

  • The Future :

Moyes’ appointment was heralded by Manchester United’s PR roll-out as being an appointment for the long-term. It is an attempt to recreate Ferguson’s dynastic, era-spanning reign and empower a manager considered to have the raw ingredients to be a success, if not the CV to match.

Mourinho has never built a dynasty. In 14 years he has managed six clubs and one of them in two separate spells, making his average tenure two years. Manchester United, though, has something his previous clubs have not. It has both profile and behind-the-scenes stability and typically the sides Mourinho has managed have had one or the other but not both.

He left Chelsea because of a "troubled" relationship with Roman Abramovich, per BBC Sport. He left Inter because Real Madrid came calling, he left Madrid because he had apparently exhausted Madrid’s patience, as noted in the Daily Mail.

So what would have made him leave Manchester United? Would he have poked Steve Bould in the eye during a touchline scrap? Would he have fallen out with David de Gea? Would he and Ferguson have clashed over the unseen influence of the elder?

Or would he have settled down and spent a few years at a club which seems a reasonably good match for his personality and abilities? Even if he had left after a couple of years, having won a couple of trophies, would that not have been an easier transition to manage than the precipitous drop off in results that has occurred under Moyes?

We will probably never find out what Mourinho’s United would have looked like. Although it has been a long, difficult and fundamentally unsuccessful season, some hope remains that Moyes will find his feet and we will see why Ferguson made the choice he did.

By Paul Ansorge, B/r.

Comments
Marcus2011 11 years ago
Chelsea FC, England 277 6501

Sir Alex Ferguson

Over 26 seasons Sir Alex built and rebuild several teams . Like we mentioned he had excellent scouting abilities and some academy players that were also brought to academy due to Sir Alex . However, every season he spent some money on young or experienced players .

Plus , when he was buying them at the time , he did not spend much on them , because market was very different so it was pennies compare to this days. Therefore , it was sort of fortunate for him to get the core of the team during that time .

For example , Sir Alex bought Cristiano Ronaldo for 12 million pounds . Think about how much young prospect like Cristiano would have cost today ? What about Rooney , Tevez , Nani and etc he got them fairly cheap . Media hypes up on every young player who shows glimpse of great talent . Their prices get jacked up to stupid high .

Just recently we saw Neymar , who came from Brazil's Santos , transfer to Barcelona for total of 85 million Euro . That is just crazy for 20 years old player . ( Yes , Neymar is amazing player but so is C. Ronaldo that time when he was playing sporting lisbon )

So , he constantly brought players who substituted aging players. Last time He brought young strongs players was around Abramovich early days who later brought 5 league titles , Cl and few other domestic titles.

However, later he started to have trouble of bringing good young talents . Whole reason why Wayne Rooney complained since 2009 and wanted to leave . And the last push for title in 2013 showed his excellent management skills , but not excellence of his players . He did not rebuild United that obviously lacked a lot of qualities in many areas and left it for Moyes.

Back to transfers ..

He has spent incredible low considering it was over 26 seasons in total .

But then again you have to think about players like Eric Cantona , Roy Keane and etc who costed pennies .
He built empire and attracting players for pennies was piece of cake during those times . He built the core and was adding players here and there , but nothing major and now we see that United is struggling with aged and overrated squad which was winning due to Sir Alex brilliance to bring out the best out of average player.

Back to Moyes ...

Now Moyes , has to rebuilt and spend a lot because those players have aged and young and good players do not come cheap ! Sir Alex sort of left wrecked ship for Moyes to manage .

P.S. Still this does not excuse Moyes from having a such a poor season , because United has enough quality to compete for top four.

Moyes is struggling to attract players . Chelsea was in that situation before .

Just let me ask you , Who wanted to come to Chelsea during Mourinho years ? Not many at all unless you pay big fee or lure them with high wages . Now things are different , because many young players crave to join Chelsea. Now we can lure players for lower fees because they themselves put pressure on their parent club to make the transfer happen . ( Like Schurlle or Willian ) .

So there again reason why Mourinho spent that amount in Chelsea .

Conclusion

If you read it until this paragraph , you are just great :D

In conclusion , argument that Mourinho spend a lot is true , but not that much as everyone makes it sound like to make him look as average coach . Everyone can spend and bring the best players in the world , but can you make them a team ? Remember that period of Galacticos when they just stopped winning after Busque left and Makelele left ? or right before Mourinho came to Madrid so many great players but could not play together . Madrid spent billion euros and what success they had before Mourinho came ?

He knows how to spend and he always justifies it . It is not easy as it looks to everyone . Mancini spend so much money but could not make past CL group stages. He won 3 titles and that EPL title was on the last day against declining United team that took it back following season .

People forget to look why he spent and what results it brought to the club he managed .

It is not easy to change the clubs and to adapt and built the team that wins titles in such short period of time . He could have stayed in one club where he feels comfortable and has backing of the fans and already has his loyal players .

However, now he will do stay at one club . He has achieved a lot and now he wants new challenge and that is to help Chelsea built empire as big as Sir Alex's United. He will be loyal to the project .

I hope my analysis was comprehensive . Thank you for reading :)

1
Dynastian98 11 years ago
Real Madrid 483 7140

@Marcus

I agree. That's mostly my opinion too anyways. :P

But again, he can't succeed without spending ridiculous amounts of money. The amount of hype bent on Neymar is ridiculously more than the hype that used to be on an 18 year-old CR7. Remember that Neymar is Brazilian, and that makes a HUGE difference to the hype around him (Hazard is more talented than Neymar...... but look at his price tag. Just because Neymar is Brazilian, he cost 2x more than Hazard, even though Hazard is clearly the more talented one). Proof right there that CR7 was nowhere near as hyped as Neymar, who had already won the Confed. Cup with Brazil and scored well over 100 goals in his career (Ronaldo only scored 5 up to that point lol). That's the difference between CR7's transfer and Neymar's.

1
tiki_taka 11 years ago
Barcelona, France 367 9768

Nice work Marcus, Mourinho makes all the players gain value by the way, you can look to some good buisness he did in Inter bringing Lucio, Sneider, Etoo with good prices in Inter, then Ozil, Khedira and many others in RM for a low price....

The Neymar / Bale signing has something more than just sportive signings, they paied their future marketting earnings.

When you look what Cr7 costed, but specially his contribution to RM sportive and financial success, you understand that everything is about speculation.

The fact Neymar is a Brazilian is enough to double his price, in a marketing term, Barça will gain more fans and already won millions in selling Barça kits considering that Brazilian people are mad of Football, also all this competition in Europe made speculations explode.

Neymar is trademark on his own, what he can generate in term of money and maybe in term of sportive sucess is huge enough to make Barça/Real fight for it.

At the end its not only about who plays better, or which team is more succesful but now, new criterias were born around Football, since money decide eveuthing in modern life, Football is not an exception.

Thats why Dortmund or Atletico players and staff have my respect, the level they have reached without bringing best stars and their focus on sportive results is something amazing, but they are obliged every year to sell their best players and find new ones, thats how it works saddly.

1
expertfootball11 11 years ago
Real Madrid, France 64 2837

Would it be so good? Not so sure.

0
Marcus2011 11 years ago Edited
Chelsea FC, England 277 6501

@tiki , thank you ))
@dynastian98 @tiki

I calculated money he spent over the years and he averages about 30 million euro every season . Not so bad . I even think it is small amount if you considering that in every new club he had to change the whole football style of the team and chemistry .

The price was ridiculous and you both are right just because he is Brazilian . Big Brazilian football names like Pele , Ronaldinho , Ronaldo and etc all were hyping about Neymar as next big thing . And yes , I think he is next big thing and he has a huge potential . I personally like him a lot as player . However, when media started to compare him to Messi and C. ROnaldo , they just went to far , because just like you mentioned he has not even reached Hazard level yet . Too young and overhyped .

Not to turn this into Ronaldo vs Neymar , but Neymar is striker and CR7 is winger, so to me it is normal that Neymar scored more goals before he reached 20 .

Remember that SIr Alex gave Ronaldo more freedom only towards his last two seasons of his career in Man United which started to shape him as prolific goalscorer . Then Mourinho Turned Ronaldo into goal machine in Madrid.

As far as overhyping players

I also think because of the growing influence of social media and growing internet usage worldwide . It became so much easier to make a big fuss about a player to millions of football fans around the globe .

One of the simple ways is just go to youtube to upload a video with highlights of the player then title it next "Pele " or "Maradona " or "Zidane" and pay youtube to advertise it . Soon enough sport papers will start talking about him and speculate on possible transfers destinations which will erupt first illusional race between clubs to sign him then soon after real one starts . Eventually his price tag will sky rocket.

Simple model of marketing a young talented prospect .

However, like tiki , said due to players growing popularity or established recognition around the world , club who is buying that player will make money back at least in two years by selling merchandise and gaining more fans around the world. Hell , they will even make profit on top of it .

Just rounding this back to topic about Mourinho .

When Mourinho bought players like Ozil , Khadiera , Modric and etc Real made their money back quick and they sold Ozil with profit . Just because of Ozil , whole Turkey even prime minister was happy and proud that player Turkish descent is playing in one of the most prestigious clubs in the world as starting playmaker . Same way Egypt greeted Khadeira signing and ex Yugoslavian states , Modric's transfer .

So, it kind of makes me think that Mourinho hardly ever bought flop players and they eventually ended up to be profitable for the club .

I can think of Shevchenko , but it was not his transfer . It was Roman's transfer .

0
  • History
Showing previous versions of this text.

@tiki , thank you ))
@dynastian98 @tiki

I calculated money he spent over the years and he averages about 30 million euro every season . Not so bad . I even think it is small amount if you considering that in every new club he had to change the whole football style of the team and chemistry .

The price was ridiculous and you both are right just because he is Brazilian . Big Brazilian football names like Pele , Ronaldinho , Ronaldo and etc all were hyping about Neymar as next big thing . And yes , I think he is next big thing and he has a huge potential . I personally like him a lot as player . However, when media started to compare him to Messi and C. ROnaldo , they just went to far , because just like you mentioned he has not even reached Hazard level yet . Too young and overhyped .

Not to turn this into Ronaldo vs Neymar , but Neymar is striker and CR7 is winger, so to me it is normal that Neymar scored more goals before he reached 20 .

Remember that SIr Alex gave Ronaldo more freedom only towards his last two seasons of his career in Man United which started to shape him as prolific goalscorer . Then Mourinho Turned Ronaldo into goal machine .

As far as overhyping players

I also think because of the growing influence of social media and growing internet usage worldwide . It became so much easier to make a big fuss about a player to millions of football fans around the globe .

One of the simple ways is just go to youtube to upload a video with highlights of the player then title it next "Pele " or "Maradona " or "Zidane" and pay youtube to advertise it . Soon enough sport papers will start talking about him and speculate on possible transfers destinations which will erupt first illusional race between clubs then real one starts . Eventually his price tag will sky rocket. Simple model of marketing a young talented prospect .

However, like tiki , said due to players growing popularity or established recognition around the world , club will make money back at least in two years by selling merchandise and gaining more fans around the world. Hell , they will even make profit on top of it .

Just rounding this back to topic about Mourinho .

When he bought players like Ozil , Khadiera , Modric and etc Real made their money back quick and they sold Ozil with profit . Just because of Ozil , whole Turkey even prime minister was happy and proud that player Turkish descent is playing in one of the most prestigious clubs in the world as starting playmaker . Same way Egypt greeted Khadeira signing and ex Yugoslavian states , Modric's transfer .

So, it kind of makes me think that Mourinho hardly ever bought flop players and they eventually came to profitable to the club .

I can think of Shevchenko , but it was not his transfer . It was Roman's transfer .

@tiki , thank you ))
@dynastian98 @tiki

I calculated money he spent over the years and he averages about 30 million euro every season . Not so bad . I even think it is small amount if you considering that in every new club he had to change the whole football style of the team and chemistry .

The price was ridiculous and you both are right just because he is Brazilian . Big Brazilian football names like Pele , Ronaldinho , Ronaldo and etc all were hyping about Neymar as next big thing . And yes , I think he is next big thing and he has a huge potential . I personally like him a lot as player . However, when media started to compare him to Messi and C. ROnaldo , they just went to far , because just like you mentioned he has not even reached Hazard level yet . Too young and overhyped .

Not to turn this into Ronaldo vs Neymar , but Neymar is striker and CR7 is winger, so to me it is normal that Neymar scored more goals before he reached 20 .

Remember that SIr Alex gave Ronaldo more freedom only towards his last two seasons of his career in Man United which started to shape him as prolific goalscorer . Then Mourinho Turned Ronaldo into goal machine in Madrid.

As far as overhyping players

I also think because of the growing influence of social media and growing internet usage worldwide . It became so much easier to make a big fuss about a player to millions of football fans around the globe .

One of the simple ways is just go to youtube to upload a video with highlights of the player then title it next "Pele " or "Maradona " or "Zidane" and pay youtube to advertise it . Soon enough sport papers will start talking about him and speculate on possible transfers destinations which will erupt first illusional race between clubs then real one starts . Eventually his price tag will sky rocket. Simple model of marketing a young talented prospect .

However, like tiki , said due to players growing popularity or established recognition around the world , club will make money back at least in two years by selling merchandise and gaining more fans around the world. Hell , they will even make profit on top of it .

Just rounding this back to topic about Mourinho .

When he bought players like Ozil , Khadiera , Modric and etc Real made their money back quick and they sold Ozil with profit . Just because of Ozil , whole Turkey even prime minister was happy and proud that player Turkish descent is playing in one of the most prestigious clubs in the world as starting playmaker . Same way Egypt greeted Khadeira signing and ex Yugoslavian states , Modric's transfer .

So, it kind of makes me think that Mourinho hardly ever bought flop players and they eventually came to profitable to the club .

I can think of Shevchenko , but it was not his transfer . It was Roman's transfer .

@tiki , thank you ))
@dynastian98 @tiki

I calculated money he spent over the years and he averages about 30 million euro every season . Not so bad . I even think it is small amount if you considering that in every new club he had to change the whole football style of the team and chemistry .

The price was ridiculous and you both are right just because he is Brazilian . Big Brazilian football names like Pele , Ronaldinho , Ronaldo and etc all were hyping about Neymar as next big thing . And yes , I think he is next big thing and he has a huge potential . I personally like him a lot as player . However, when media started to compare him to Messi and C. ROnaldo , they just went to far , because just like you mentioned he has not even reached Hazard level yet . Too young and overhyped .

Not to turn this into Ronaldo vs Neymar , but Neymar is striker and CR7 is winger, so to me it is normal that Neymar scored more goals before he reached 20 .

Remember that SIr Alex gave Ronaldo more freedom only towards his last two seasons of his career in Man United which started to shape him as prolific goalscorer . Then Mourinho Turned Ronaldo into goal machine in Madrid.

As far as overhyping players

I also think because of the growing influence of social media and growing internet usage worldwide . It became so much easier to make a big fuss about a player to millions of football fans around the globe .

One of the simple ways is just go to youtube to upload a video with highlights of the player then title it next "Pele " or "Maradona " or "Zidane" and pay youtube to advertise it . Soon enough sport papers will start talking about him and speculate on possible transfers destinations which will erupt first illusional race between clubs to sign him then soon after real one starts . Eventually his price tag will sky rocket. Simple model of marketing a young talented prospect .

However, like tiki , said due to players growing popularity or established recognition around the world , club will make money back at least in two years by selling merchandise and gaining more fans around the world. Hell , they will even make profit on top of it .

Just rounding this back to topic about Mourinho .

When he bought players like Ozil , Khadiera , Modric and etc Real made their money back quick and they sold Ozil with profit . Just because of Ozil , whole Turkey even prime minister was happy and proud that player Turkish descent is playing in one of the most prestigious clubs in the world as starting playmaker . Same way Egypt greeted Khadeira signing and ex Yugoslavian states , Modric's transfer .

So, it kind of makes me think that Mourinho hardly ever bought flop players and they eventually came to profitable to the club .

I can think of Shevchenko , but it was not his transfer . It was Roman's transfer .

Dynastian98 11 years ago
Real Madrid 483 7140

@Marcus

Mourinho bought Pedro Leon and Sergio Canales, both of whom were flops who hardly played for us. They made a combined total of 29 appearances for us, and scored only a combined total of 2 goals, and gave 2 assists. Absolute garbage.

Fabio Coentrao has also been extremely disappointing in regards to his price tag. We spent 30 million on him, he's worth more like 5-8 million.

Nuri Sahin was touted to be the best player in the Bundesliga, but he didn't work out either.

I didn't watch Inter in 2008-10 enough, so I'm sure there's plenty of mishandled transfers there too. :P
Mourinho isn't perfect. He bought plenty of flop players. He also bought plenty of very good players as well. You just need to do a little research.

1
Marcus2011 11 years ago
Chelsea FC, England 277 6501

@dynastian98

I guess I do need to do little more research on this .

Well , I always thought Mourinho just preferred Xabi and Khedira pair . Xabi is very smart player who has huge respect of the team and motivational figure that needs to start in first eleven . And Khedira more like big skilled bully of the defensive mid that can lay deep and push forward too . Nuri would have fit to Barcelona style more or like Arsenal . Plus , he came fairly cheap and he is on loan , so he should get another shot . Btw He failed at Liverpool too . Brendan Rogers sometimes reminds me of Mourinho with his tactics , so it might style of Nuri the problem .

As Far as Fabio he used him when he needed Real to be more defensive and Marcelo when attacking .

That is how I saw i thought he intended .

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Dynastian98 11 years ago
Real Madrid 483 7140

@Marcus

That's true about Coentrao, but not anymore. Marcelo has improved on his defending quite a bit after Ancelotti came (except for that dumb penalty he gave away against Rayo). Now Coentrao is not even given a chance (because Marcelo is better at both attacking and defending) unless Marcelo needs to be rested or has a suspension/injury. And whenever Coentrao does play, he doesn't do that well. In fact, he got sent off in his first start for us this season.

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WayneRooney 11 years ago
Manchester United, Argentina 52 488

^we can take Coentroa if u guys want :P, i def wouldnt mind.

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Marcus2011 11 years ago
Chelsea FC, England 277 6501

Coentrao has incredible stamina and last time I remember he used to have amazing work rate . I think his head is not in Madrid ever since Mourinho left . He is thinking about transfer therefore probably performance dropped .

Also it is hard to compete against Marcelo who is in my opinion best left back in the world . Coentrao can be revived just Ancelotti may not be the man to do it or simply Real Madrid not a place for him .

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