April 19 – Jose Mourinho, who joined Tottenham Hotspur 17 months ago with a point to prove having been sacked from his previous two jobs, went the same way today after failing to live up to expectations and persisting with a playing style that was anathema to the fans.
Whilst the timing of Mourinho’s departure raised eyebrows, having guided Tottenham to next Sunday’s League Cup final against Manchester City, dispensing with his services was widely anticipated after a below-par season culminating in being humiliated when knocked out the Europa League by Dinamo Zagreb in the last 16, squandering a 2-0 first-leg lead.
The Portuguese, who replaced Mauricio Pochettino as Spurs manager in November 2019, leaves with the club seventh in the Premier League and almost certainly out of contention for a Champions League spot, something his predecessor managed to achieve on a regular basis until prematurely being shown the door to make way for the self-styled Special One.
Mourinho, whose career has been littered with trophies, was brought in to do the same thing at Spurs but his star had already waned before joining, with critics warning he was yesterday’s man.
Supposedly a defensive strategic guru, no Premier League side has lost more points from winning positions this season than Spurs while not for the first time Mourinho fell out with key players with a tendency to blame anyone but himself when things went wrong.
Tellingly, it is his shortest spell at a club since announcing himself on the European stage with Porto back in 2004.
His sacking came 24 hours after Tottenham were named as one of six Premier League clubs to announce they were joining a new European Super League and while some reports claimed he had declined to take training in protest at Tottenham’s Super League involvement, this could not be confirmed as having anything to do with his sacking.
“Jose and his coaching staff have been with us through some of our most challenging times as a club,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement.
“Jose is a true professional who showed enormous resilience during the pandemic. On a personal level I have enjoyed working with him and regret that things have not worked out as we both had envisaged.”
Tottenham, who haven’t won a trophy since 2008, said youth coach Ryan Mason had been put in charge, hardly the best preparation for their Wembley appearance against hot favourites and holders Manchester City.
Spurs now go into the game without a manager and most likely their best player, Harry Kane having hobbled off late in the 2-2 draw at Everton in the Premier League on Friday – Mourinho’s final game in charge.
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