Jose Mourinho has helped Tottenham Hotspur to qualify for the final of the EFL Cup, also known as the Carabao Cup, for the first time in 13-years. The last time Tottenham Hotspur won the league cup was in 2008 when the club defeated Chelsea in the final of the competition.
The club has not been able to win any title after winning EFL Cup in 2008. Tottenham came very close to breaking their trophy-less run during the 2018-2019 season when the club’s former coach Mauricio Pochettino took the club as far as the UEFA Champions League final. Tottenham lost the title to Liverpool.
Since Jose Mourinho replaced Pochettino at Tottenham in 2019, the club has been looking like a team that might win a major club title this season. There was a period in the season that Tottenham was topping the league table, but they are currently placed in the 4th spot on the league table with 29 points in 16 games.
Jose Mourinho and his boys are still very much involved in this season’s FA Cup. Their next fixture is a FA Cup 3rd round match against Marine on Sunday, 10 January.
On Tuesday, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Championship side Brentford 2-0 in an EFL Cup semi-final match. The victory qualified Spurs for the final of the league cup and they might face either Manchester City or Manchester United in the final.
The fact that Jose Mourinho qualified Tottenham for the final of the EFL Cup has made him the third coach in the history of football in the United Kingdom to take three different clubs to the final of the league cup. Two other coaches who share such a record are Ron Saunders and Ron Atkinson.
Mourinho is also the coach with the highest number of EFL Cup titles (4). More so, in the five times, he has made it to the final of the EFL Cup, he has only lost it once which means that the possibility of winning the title against City or United is high especially now that his players are picking up their form.
When asked what his secret has been as far as his success at the EFL Cup is concerned, Mourinho said: “I come to England in 2004 and I remember that in that period I had to learn the meaning of the cups here and I always took it seriously.
“If there is any secret it’s to take it seriously. To respect what English football is, what English clubs are, what English lower divisions are, and try to not be surprised in any of the games from a smaller quality, and when you have like we had this season a game against Chelsea to go serious and with ambition. Apart from that, there is no other secret.
“What I sense in the team is exactly that desire. I’m not saying winning mentality, I’m not saying we are this or that.
“I just say we are honest people. The guys since the first game against Chelsea, then Stoke, and now the guys took it seriously.
“And that’s what I hope to do on Sunday in Crosby against Marine (in the FA Cup). Try to be serious, respect the opponents, and try to progress.”
๐ฃ "๐ช๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ."
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 5, 2021
Jose's message to the fans after tonight's semi-final win โคต๏ธ#THFC โช๏ธ #COYS pic.twitter.com/iff14O1xUp
The second EFL Cup semi-final will take place today, January 6, between Manchester United and Manchester City, at 20:45. The winner of the match will meet Tottenham in the final of the league cup on a soon to be announced date.
โจ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ-๐ฌ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ โจ#THFC โช๏ธ #COYS pic.twitter.com/Wu5mUFMWsd
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 6, 2021
