by Diego Torres (Translated by Pete Jenson)
Prepare to discover the true character behind the public enigma that is Jose Mourinho.
In an explosive exposé of one of the world’s most successful coaches during his tenure at the helm of top Spanish club Real Madrid, Diego Torres peels off the mask that is essential to the image of Mourinho. And, layer by layer, as the real identity is revealed, in its place emerges a countenance so self-obsessed it could easily rival Narcissus in its avaricious need for attention, vanity and power.
Torres is an investigative journalist for the Spanish broadsheet El Pais, and, once he has stripped away Mourinho’s facade, what remains is a coach who is paranoid, inflexible, vindictive and supremely manipulative.
Phrases such as “nobody knew how to exploit this better than Mourinho”, “his psychological warfare methods” and “the players didn’t mind losing because it meant that Mourinho lost”, and many such, provide the polar opposite of the marketing and promotion persona the Portuguese coach so often portrays to the media and the public.
Another startling revelation in the book is that Mourinho cried when he heard that he would not be the next Manchester United coach. It was the job he had always coveted and, when David Moyes was announced as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor, it was the most “miserable” time for Mourinho and he “felt cheated by Ferguson”.
A common thread throughout is the extraordinary influence of Mourinho’s agent, Jorge Mendes. Torres suggests that the coach’s decisions on who to sign and who to play can all be traced back to whether the players are represented by Mendes or not.
The ugly fall-out with Spanish stars Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos led to a battle of wills within the Real Madrid dressing room. The players had tired of Mourinho’s Machiavellian style and cautious game tactics.
As Torres writes: “What exasperated Mourinho in the autumn of 2012 was the discovery that the players were no longer afraid of him. They ignored him. And the less they responded, the more anxious he became.”
The analysis of Mourinho’s preferred football philosophy – it’s better not to have possession of the ball – makes for interesting reading, both for students of the game and readers who follow football closely.
One trait, though, that seems to characterise the Portuguese’s approach to coaching is the need to always surround himself with players who are prepared to run through a brick wall for him.
He loves loyalty, he demands it. Any shred of doubt is treated with short shrift and such a player struggles to find a place in Mourinho’s team.
With so many astonishing claims made in this book, Mourinho, who has since moved on to coach Chelsea in England, responded with the following quote: “The person who wrote this book shouldn’t write books. He should write books for kids using his imagination.”