Man of the Hour

Earlier this week, a reader chimed in with a comment about his dislike for Jose Mourinho. Can't blame him, since Mourinho can be an insufferable jerk half the time. Either way, he's a polarizing figure - ya love him or ya hate him and there's no in-between. I, for one, think that the Portuguese coach is a brilliant tactician, an amazing success-story, and an outspoken, opionated breath of fresh air. Oh, and he's an asshole, too. I'm sure that the man himself wouldn't claim otherwise.

Mourinho's rise to prominence is a stunning one. Not too long ago, the present-day coach of one of the world's biggest and best club teams was nothing more than an assistant to Bobby Robson at Barcelona, a guy employed more for his translating abilities than for any soccer knowledge. Fast forward to today and he's already won domestic titles in Portugal and England and collected European soccer's crown jewel, the Champions League trophy. He has out-coached some of the world's best coaches. He has found a way to motivate a group of 'galactico' players at Chelsea, keeping them hungry for more & more success. He has spent owner Roman Abramovich's millions wisely, investing in an intelligent mix of up & coming youngters and established superstars. He has molded these playaers into a cohesive unit, one with its own identity. No one can doubt this man's soccer IQ. But to do so, to be so successful, he has employed his own unique - borderline unfair - methods. Chelsea's dealings in the transfer market are questionable to say the least; at best, they overspend by such a wide margin that they unnaturally distort the market, hurting a wide variety of clubs; at worst, they are flat-out breaking the rules, employing any means necessary to throw their weight around & acquire any player they damn well please. As a coach, Mourinho consistently motivates his players by making them believe that everyone is out to get them. From the refs to the opposing team's medical staffs, everyone hates Chelsea and wants to knock them off their perch atop the soccer world. Before his players can be lulled into complacency, Mourinho ratchets up the tension of any match by ripping the other team, the other coach, the other fans...whatever it takes. The man is a motivational genius.

Of course, he's also a poisonous element. Any soccer fan knows that there's already enough of that in the sport already. Whatever the situation may be, Mourinho will inflame it, injecting it with all sorts of controversy and ill-will. Half of the time, this is just not fair - almost all of the time, this is just bad for the game. Case in point: this week Mourinho ripped Barcelona's players, claiming that most of them were divers; he questioned the ref, saying that he didn't know if the match could be officiated fairly with so much cheating from the other team; he even criticized the host country, proclaiming that the Spanish league was a country full of divers and cheaters. What would have otherwise been a showcase of two of the world's best teams battling in a crucial match was suddenly a tense, hostile affair. And the match played out just like Mourinho would have planned. His squad, already well on its way to clinching qualification in the next round, stormed out of the gates, matching the intensity of a Barca team that had much more to play for. The match boiled over on numerous occasions, with players constantly at each other's throats and in the referee's face. When Drogba scored an equalizer in injury time, Mourinho showed more excitement than Marcello Lippi at the end of the World Cup final. All of the passion proved contagious, even prompting the normally mild-mannered Frank Rijkaard to confront the ref at the final whistle. Mourinho had done it again.

For all of his motivational tricks and on-field success, Mourinho has done a great deal of damage off the field. Just last month, he claimed that a Reading player intended to hurt Petr Cech by leaving his foot in as he barged in on goal, then blamed Reading for not getting medical care to the injured keeper quickly enough. The situation was already bad enough as it was - Cech had a depressed skull fracture. The Reading player was clearly shaken; it is hard to imagine that he had meant to hurt Cech, even harder to imagine that he ever could have imagined that he would hurt him so badly. And to think that an opposing Premiership club either didn't have adequate medical services or didn't make enough of an effort to aid an injured player is just plain ludicrous. For someone who's had the success and good fortune that he has enjoyed, Mourinho has more ill-will than can be explained in one column, but suffice to say that he is one bitter, bitter man.

What happens in the future is anyone's guess. On the one hand, it's only a matter of time before Mourinho lands himself in some serious trouble. UEFA is looking into the various incidents during the Barca match, but investigations are becoming routine for Chelsea. As for the coach himself, one wonders if he really enjoys what he's doing. Maybe he has to stay bitter to stay motivated, but that can only go on so long. It is hard to imagine that he can keep up at this pace, with so many controversies and problems and incidents, for many more years. With so many feuds brewing, you have to think that before too long it'll all blow up in his face. If he doesn't burn out or get himself into loads of trouble, then you have to think that eventually his act will get old. Sure, all anyone cares about in sports is titles. If you've got talent, then that's what counts. But after that trophy case is good and stocked, fans and executives start to get greedy - eventually, they'll want to see beautiful soccer, likable coaches, classy players, and personable executives. And what will happen to good ole Jose then? Stay tuned...

In the meantime, get used to seeing Mourinho on your tele and in the news. He's everywhere. Of course, outside of the friendly confines of Stamford Bridge, he is well-liked just about nowhere. But hey, since when was sports a popularity contest?