Jose Mourinho says he has ‘got used to’ criticism of his coaching style

The Spurs boss has had to deal with regular criticism this season after poor results

Jonathan Veal
Friday 26 March 2021 17:13 GMT
Comments
Jose says his legion of admirers are termed ‘Mourinistas’
Jose says his legion of admirers are termed ‘Mourinistas’ (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says he has learned to deal with people questioning the methods of “one of the most important managers in the game”.

Mourinho’s record speaks for itself as he has won a plethora of trophies at a number of top clubs across Europe, including two Champions League and three Premier League titles.

But in more recent years, the Portuguese has attracted criticism for his style of play and being out-dated in the modern game.

Mourinho, who recently declared his coaching methods “second to nobody”, insists he can shrug off other people’s opinion and says that is just a part of the game.

“I don’t think anybody is going to discuss rocket science with the guys from NASA, with everybody around the world,” he said at a virtual Game on with Mourinho event organised by the club’s sponsors AIA.

READ MORE:

“They think they can discuss football with one of the most important managers in the game. That’s the beauty of football. I got used to it. I appreciate that. So that’s fine for me.”

Because of his success over the years, Mourinho has developed an army of fans around the world, known as Mourinistas, who attach themselves to whatever club their number one man is at.

And Mourinho says it is that support that still motivates him to be the best he can.

“Honestly I get my strength from myself but mainly from the people that I love and the people who I know they love me, even if many of them I don’t know them, I haven’t met them,” he added.

“I used to call them the Mourinistas, because in Portugal we use ‘ista’ in the end of the name of the club that we love, to express the support. For example if you are from Porto you say Portista, if you are from Benfica you say Benficista and if you are from Mourinho you say Mourinista.

“I have so many Mourinistas around the world that I play for them.”

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in