Jose Mourinho, born on January 26th, 1963, is a former football player and current coach of Roma, an Italian Serie A club. In Jose Mourinho biography, it is highlighted that he is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time, having won numerous titles and awards.
Mourinho started his coaching career as an interpreter for Sir Bobby Robson at Sporting CP and Porto and then as an assistant at Barcelona under both Robson and Louis van Gaal.
He gained success as a manager at Porto, winning multiple titles, including the UEFA Champions League, before moving on to coach Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and now Roma.
Despite his success, Mourinho’s tenure at some clubs ended in acrimonious fashion. Mourinho has a reputation for prioritizing results over attractive football, and he has been compared to Argentine manager Helenio Herrera.
Everything about Jose Mourinho
You can see Jose Mourinho stats 2023 listed below just to become a little more familiar with the renowned football icon.
- Jose Mourinho Real Name: Jose Mario dos Santos Mourinho Felix
- Jose Mourinho Age: 60 years old
- Jose Mourinho Nationality: Portuguese
- Jose Mourinho Current Team: Roma as head coach
- Jose Mourinho Job: Coach, Manager
- Jose Mourinho All-Time Matches: 1086
- Jose Mourinho All-Time Wins: 684
- Jose Mourinho All-Time Losses: 188
- Jose Mourinho All-Time Draws: 217
Jose Mourinho Early Career
Jose Mourinho biography reveals that he was born in 1963 in Setubal, Portugal, to a middle-class family. Regarding Jose Mourinho’s family, his father, Felix Mourinho, was a professional football player for Belenenses and Vitoria de Setubal, and his mother was a primary school teacher from a wealthy family.
However, the family lost most of their property during the Carnation Revolution that overthrew the Estado Novo regime in 1974.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Mourinho joined the Belenenses youth team and later played for Rio Ave’s reserve team in 1980. In 1981, his father became the first team manager, and Mourinho formed a successful partnership with Mario Reis, scoring around 100 goals with forty-seven from Mourinho.
Although he scouted for other teams, he was rarely selected by his father. Mourinho finally made his debut for Rio Ave in the third round of the Taca de Portugal, helping his team secure a 2-1 extra-time victory over Salgueiros.
During a match against Sporting CP, a defender was injured in the warm-up, and Mourinho was told to prepare to replace him. However, club president Jose Maria Pinho intervened, fearing favoritism, which resulted in both Mourinho and the injured player leaving the club to join Belenenses in the summer.
Changing his Mind about Becoming a Player
Mourinho played mostly for the reserve team, but in a match against Vila Franca do Campo, he scored a hat-trick as a substitute, contributing to the team’s biggest-ever victory in the tournament.
After his father returned to Rio Ave, Mourinho continued playing football in lower leagues with Sesimbra and Comercio e Industria, where he became team captain and saved a teammate from a burning car, an interesting fact in Jose Mourinho biography.
When he realized that he lacked the physical abilities to become a professional player, Mourinho decided to pursue a career in coaching.
Although his mother initially enrolled him in a business school, Mourinho dropped out on the first day to study sports science at the Instituto Superior de Educacao Fisica.
He attended coaching courses held by the English and Scottish Football Associations, and his attention to detail and innovative approach to coaching caught the eye of former Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh.
Mourinho aimed to revolutionize the role of a coach in football by incorporating coaching theory with psychological and motivational techniques.
About His Personal Life
In Jose Mourinho biography, it is noted that he and his wife, Matilde “Tami” Faria, first met in Setubal, Portugal, as teenagers and married in 1989. They have two children, Matilde and Jose Mario Jr. Despite his dedication to football, he emphasizes the importance of being a good father and family man.
Mourinho has also been involved in various social initiatives and charity work, including a youth project and efforts to bring Israeli and Palestinian children together through football. He even donated his lucky jacket to Tsunami Relief, raising £22,000 for the charity. Since 2014, he has acted as a Global Ambassador for the United Nations’ World Food Programme.
Beyond football, Mourinho has gained fame for his strong personality, sharp fashion sense, and entertaining press conferences. He has also been featured in advertisements for various brands such as Samsung, American Express, and Adidas, among others.
An unauthorized biography titled O Vencedor – De Setubal a Stamford Bridge (The Winner – from Setubal to Stamford Bridge) was published and became a bestseller in Portugal. Mourinho did not approve of the book and unsuccessfully attempted to prevent its publication.
A Religious Man
Regarding Jose Mourinho biography, in May 2007, Mourinho made headlines when he prevented animal welfare officials from placing his dog into quarantine. The dog had not received adequate inoculations, but the situation was resolved when Mourinho returned to Portugal with the dog and received a police caution.
Mourinho is a devout Roman Catholic and speaks openly about his faith, stating that he prays and speaks with God every day. He speaks several languages, including Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, Catalan, and English, to varying degrees of proficiency.
Jose Mourinho life story includes the fact that he was awarded a “doctorate honoris causa” degree by the Technical University of Lisbon for his accomplishments in football in March 2009, and in December 2011, he was named “Rockstar of the Year” by the Spanish Rolling Stone magazine.
Jose Mourinho Coaching and Managerial Career
We will begin with how he started to act as an assistant coach up until the point where he became a very successful manager.
Bobby Robson’s Translator
In the early 1990s, after leaving his job as a school coach, Mourinho began his professional career as the youth team coach at Vitoria de Setubal. He then worked as an assistant manager at Estrela da Amadora and later became a scout at Ovarense.
We can see in Jose Mourinho biography that it was in 1992 when he got his big break as a translator for the new manager of Lisbon club Sporting CP, Bobby Robson, who needed an English-speaking local coach to work as his interpreter.
Mourinho began discussing tactics and coaching with Robson in his interpreting role. When Robson was sacked by the club in December 1993, he moved to Porto as their head coach, with Mourinho following him as his assistant coach and interpreter.
The Porto team went on to dominate Portuguese football in the following years, winning the 1993–94 Taca de Portugal, the 1994–95 and 1995–96 Portuguese championships, and the 1994, 1995, and 1996 Portuguese Super Cup, with Mourinho coaching and interpreting for players.
This successful partnership between Robson and Mourinho led to Robson being nicknamed “Bobby Five-O” in Portugal.
Following Robson to Barcelona
Following his successful tenure at Porto, Mourinho and Bobby Robson moved to Barcelona in 1996. Mourinho worked as a translator, planned training sessions, and provided tactical advice to the players.
He became an important figure in the club’s staff and was instrumental in helping the team win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, the Copa del Rey, and Supercopa de Espana in his first season. Robson left the following season, but Mourinho remained as Barcelona was keen to retain him as assistant manager, another thing we decided to include in our Jose Mourinho biography.
After Robson’s departure, Mourinho worked alongside Louis van Gaal at Barcelona and was impressed by his meticulous approach to the game. Together, they helped Barcelona win two La Liga titles in Van Gaal’s first two years as head coach.
Van Gaal recognized Mourinho’s potential and allowed him to develop his own coaching style, even entrusting him with coaching duties for Barcelona B. Mourinho also led the first team to certain trophies, with Van Gaal acting as his assistant, such as the Copa Catalunya in 2000.
His First Role as the Main Manager
We read in Jose Mourinho biography that in September 2000, Jose Mourinho got the opportunity to become a top-tier football manager when he was promoted from his role as assistant manager to the manager of Benfica after the fourth week of the Primeira Liga.
Mourinho refused the club’s suggestion to appoint Jesualdo Ferreira as his new assistant coach and instead picked Carlos Mozer as his right-hand man.
Mourinho was highly critical of Ferreira, whom he had previously encountered as his teacher at ISEF. Despite being given the assistant manager’s role at Newcastle United by his mentor, Sir Bobby Robson, Mourinho turned down the offer and stayed at Benfica.
Mourinho and Mozer proved to be a popular combination and enjoyed a 3-0 win against rivals Sporting CP in December. Mourinho’s tenure at Benfica was short-lived as the newly elected Manuel Vilarinho refused to extend his contract, which led Mourinho to resign from his position after just nine league games in charge.
Moving to Uniao de Leiria and then Porto
Jose Mourinho’s managerial career continued when he secured a position at Uniao de Leiria in July 2001. While there, he led the team to a run of successful matches, achieving six wins and two draws in eight unbeaten matches.
The team was in fourth place, trailing behind Benfica and one point ahead of Porto, with six points behind the top of the league table. This success caught the attention of larger Portuguese clubs.
Mourinho was then selected by Porto to replace Octavio Machado on January 23rd, 2002, with the team struggling in fifth place in the Liga and facing elimination from the Taca de Portugal and UEFA Champions League.
Mourinho made several key signings for Porto, and identified players whom he believed would be the backbone of his perfect team. During pre-season, he shared detailed reports of the team’s training on the club website, filled with formal vocabulary.
One of the main strategies of Mourinho-era Porto was “pressao alta” or high-pressure play, which began at the offensive line. The team’s defenders and midfielders had excellent physical and combative abilities, allowing them to apply pressure from the offensive lines and force opponents to either concede the ball or attempt uncertain passes.
In 2003, Mourinho won his first Primeira Liga title with Porto, finishing 11 points clear of Benfica, the team he had left two years earlier. He also won the Taca de Portugal and the UEFA Cup final against Celtic.
His total of 86 points out of a possible maximum of 102 was a Portuguese record until the 2015-16 season, won by Benfica with 88 points after the rule of three points per win was introduced.
Continued Success with Porto
In Jose Mourinho biography, we see that he continued his success in the following season. He led Porto to victory in the Portuguese Super Cup and lost the UEFA Super Cup to Milan. The team dominated the Primeira Liga with a perfect home record, an eight-point advantage, and a 27-match unbeaten run.
They secured the title five weeks before the end of the season. Despite losing the Taca de Portugal Final to Benfica, Mourinho won the UEFA Champions League two weeks later with a 3-0 win over Monaco. The club had defeated Manchester United, Lyon, and Deportivo de La Coruna to reach the final.
Mourinho’s dramatic celebration after Costinha scored the winning goal against Manchester United in the Champions League is considered the moment he announced himself to the game.
This win over Ferguson’s United was a preview of Mourinho’s move to the Premier League managing Chelsea, where the two men would have a competitive but respectful relationship.
Mourinho accepted a large offer from Roman Abramovich and pledged his immediate future to Chelsea.
Life at Chelsea
After receiving a £1.7 million compensation package, Jose Mourinho joined Chelsea on a three-year contract on June 2nd, 2004, becoming the first Portuguese manager in the Premier League.
In Jose Mourinho biography, a very interesting thing to know is that in his first press conference as Chelsea manager, Mourinho boasted about his and the team’s abilities, stating, “We have top players and, sorry if I’m arrogant, we have a top manager,” before adding, “Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion, and I think I’m a special one.” This statement led to the media dubbing him “The Special One.”
Mourinho brought his backroom staff from Porto and continued to spend heavily, purchasing players such as Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, and Ricardo Carvalho.
Under Mourinho’s leadership, Chelsea won the League Cup against Liverpool and the Premier League title for the first time in 50 years, setting records for the most points and fewest goals conceded.
They also won the 2005 FA Community Shield and the 2007 FA Cup Final. However, tensions arose between Mourinho and owner Roman Abramovich and sporting director Frank Arnesen, leading to speculation that he would leave the club after the 2006-2007 season.
Mourinho’s relationship with Abramovich worsened after the appointment of Avram Grant as director of football, despite Mourinho’s objections.
Signing with Inter Milan
The appointment of Jose Mourinho as the new Inter Milan head coach in 2008 was accompanied by the arrival of his backroom staff from Chelsea and Porto, another fact in Jose Mourinho biography. In his first press conference, Mourinho spoke only in Italian, which he claimed to have learned in just three weeks.
He intended to sign only a few major players in the summer, and he brought in three new players: Brazilian winger Mancini, Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari, and Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma, in exchange for €18.6 million plus young Portuguese midfielder Pele.
In his first season at Inter, Mourinho won the Supercoppa Italiana, and finished first in Serie A, but failed to win the Coppa Italia and was eliminated from the Champions League by Manchester United.
The team struggled in the group stages of the Champions League, but he promoted academy defender Davide Santon and 18-year-old Italian forward Mario Balotelli, who both played a part in the Scudetto-winning season.
New Signings in 2nd Season
Mourinho’s first season was deemed unsatisfactory by some Inter fans because the team did not improve on the performances of Roberto Mancini in the Champions League. Mourinho won the Serie A title on May 16th, 2009, mathematically, after Milan lost to Udinese.
In his second season, Mourinho signed Diego Milito, Thiago Motta, and Wesley Sneijder, among others, and a notable signing was a swap deal of Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o.
Inter struggled in the beginning but improved with a strong midfield led by Sneijder, and Mourinho built a formidable team that thrashed rivals Milan 4-0 and hammered Genoa 5-0. However, Inter lost the Supercoppa to Lazio 2-1 and drew 1-1 with the newly promoted Bari at San Siro.
Mourinho was sent off in the December Derby d’Italia away fixture after he sarcastically applauded the referee for what he felt was a dubious free-kick given to Juventus, and Inter went on to lose 2–1.
Inter achieved a historic milestone on May 22, 2010, by winning the 2010 Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich. This victory not only marked Mourinho’s second Champions League title but also made Inter the first Italian club to achieve the treble.
Joining the Spanish Powerhouse
Jose Mourinho biography reveals that on May 28th, 2010, it was confirmed that he would replace Manuel Pellegrini as the manager of Real Madrid. After signing a four-year contract, he was unveiled on May 31st, 2010, as the new manager, becoming the 11th manager of the club in seven years.
Real Madrid had underperformed before his arrival despite paying record transfer fees for star players.
Mourinho’s first La Liga game ended in a draw on August 29th, 2010. Mourinho won his first trophy in Spanish football on April 20th, 2011, when Real Madrid defeated archrivals Barcelona 1-0 in the Copa del Rey final held at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, ending Real Madrid’s 18-year-long Copa del Rey drought.
Slowly Deteriorating Relations
On April 21st, 2012, Real Madrid won 2-1 against Barcelona in El Clasico at Camp Nou, extending their lead in La Liga to seven points with four matches remaining.
This was the first victory for Real Madrid in La Liga against their archrivals since 2008 and the first overall at Camp Nou since 2007. Mourinho’s side advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second consecutive year.
Real Madrid lost 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund in the first leg but scored two goals in the second leg at home. However, they couldn’t score a third goal to level the aggregate score and advance. After the second leg, coach Mourinho hinted that it would be his last season with Real Madrid.
His relationships with players Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, and Cristiano Ronaldo were strained, and he was criticized for various incidents, including poking Tito Vilanova in the eye. Real Madrid lost the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid, and Mourinho called it the worst season of his career. He and Real Madrid agreed to part ways at the end of the season.
Back to Chelsea
In 2013, Chelsea hired Jose Mourinho as their manager for the second time on a four-year contract, expressing his love and passion for the club. Although he suffered a defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup, he praised his team’s efforts, saying they played fantastically.
During the 2013-2014 season, Chelsea finished third in the Premier League and was eliminated from the Champions League by Atletico Madrid. Mourinho started the 2014-2015 season with a victory over Burnley, welcoming new signings Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, and Thibaut Courtois.
Although they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Bradford City, they won the League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur but were eliminated from the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.
However, it is noted in Jose Mourinho biography that they went on to win the Premier League title, and Mourinho was named Premier League Manager of the Season. In 2015, he signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea but was eventually sacked in December of the same year after a series of defeats.
Almost Three Years with Manchester United
In May 2016, Jose Mourinho signed a three-year contract with Manchester United and had the option to stay with the club until at least 2020. He won his first trophy, the FA Community Shield, on August 7th, 2016, beating Leicester City 2-1. On August 14th, 2016, Mourinho also won his first Premier League game as United boss against AFC Bournemouth.
However, Mourinho faced some challenges in his new role. He lost his first Manchester derby as a manager on September 11th, 2016, and suffered a 4-0 defeat to his former club Chelsea on October 23rd, 2016. On a positive note, he won his second Manchester derby on October 26th, 2016, in a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup.
Despite reaching the EFL Cup final, he faced charges by the FA over his comments about referee Anthony Taylor and was later sent to the stands by Mark Clattenburg during the 0-0 home draw against Burnley.
In the 2016-2017 season, Mourinho won the EFL Cup Final against Southampton, becoming the first United manager to win a major trophy in his debut season. Later on May 24th, 2017, Manchester United won the Europa League with a 2-0 win over Ajax, which was Mourinho’s second major trophy of his first season.
Poor Results
In the summer of 2017, Mourinho further strengthened his side with the signings of Romelu Lukaku, Victor Lindelof, and Nemanja Matic.
Despite a strong start to the season, Manchester United struggled during a difficult winter schedule, which widened the gap between them and city rivals Manchester City. Mourinho was also criticized for Manchester United’s Champions League exit to Sevilla at the last-sixteen stage.
In the 2018-2019 season, Manchester United faced a poor start, losing two of their opening three league games, including a 3-0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur. Mourinho demanded “respect” from critical journalists and reminded them of his success in winning more Premier Leagues alone than the other 19 managers in the league combined.
However, we can see in Jose Mourinho biography that he was involved in a tunnel incident after a game at his former club Chelsea, which resulted in his sacking from Manchester United on December 18th, 2018.
Managing Tottenham Hotspur
Mourinho was appointed as the manager of Tottenham Hotspur on a four-year contract on November 20th, 2019, taking over from Mauricio Pochettino, who had been sacked.
He won his first match with Tottenham Hotspur on November 23rd, 2019, and later made headlines by claiming that a ball boy had “assisted” Spurs’ second goal in a Champions League match on November 26th, 2019. Tottenham Hotspur lost both matches in the Champions League round of 16 and were defeated 0-4 on aggregate against RB Leipzig.
Mourinho achieved his 300th win in English football when Tottenham beat West Ham United 2-0 on June 23rd, 2020. He finished his first season with Tottenham Hotspur in sixth position in the Premier League.
On October 4th, 2020, he managed Tottenham Hotspur to a 6-1 win against his former club Manchester United at Old Trafford. However, they lost to Everton in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and were eliminated from the UEFA Europa League round of 16 after losing 3-0 to Dinamo Zagreb.
On April 19th, 2021, Mourinho was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur after 17 months in charge of the club, just days before the EFL Cup Final against Manchester City. This marked the first time since 2002 that Mourinho had left a club without winning a trophy. He was replaced by Ryan Mason as interim manager.
Head Coach of the Italian Club
In Jose Mourinho biography, it is mentioned that Jose Mourinho was appointed as the new head coach of Roma on May 4th, 2021, taking over from Paulo Fonseca. He won his first match as manager on August 19th, 2021, and his first Serie A match on August 22nd, 2021.
On September 26th, Roma lost to Lazio, making Mourinho the first Roma manager to lose his first Rome derby since 2011. Roma lost 1-6 to FK Bodo/Glimt on October 21st, which was the first time one of Mourinho’s teams had conceded six goals in a single match.
Mourinho won his first Derby della Capitale on March 20th, 2022, and his first trophy with Roma, the UEFA Europa Conference League, on May 24th, 2022.
