Former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho says Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has not lost his “Mojo”

Former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho played under Jose Mourinho in his trophy-laden career during the manager’s early days at Chelsea and has said his former coach still has a lot to offer at the top of management.

They’re ‘natural leaders

The Portuguese defender who revealed that the new Chelsea boss Frank Lampard and Aston Villa Assistant coach John Terry all have an inborn attribute that can make them successful as managers, he said they were ‘natural leader.’

Lampard has enjoyed a somewhat smooth journey in his managerial career, a short stint at Derby County where he almost got them promoted before he was signed by Chelsea. Terry, on the other hand, has had to take a longer route, currently the assistant coach at Aston Villa, where they narrowly missed relegation last season.

However, the Portuguese defender says the pair has what it takes to survive as a manager and believes Lampard is building a fantastic project at Chelsea with a lot of talented young players and believes they are capable of challenging for honors.

“Given he lost Eden Hazard, so far he’s done very well’.

Carvalho is currently an assistant coach at Marseille with Andre Villas-Boas shared
“He achieved a Champions League place for next season which of course is very important, and has brought in young, talented players.

‘Frank is building a very good team, and I expect next year he can fight for the title with those players, for sure.”

Transition from player to coach

Carvalho started his career with Amarante youth academy before moving to Porto and winning the Champions League; he was a big-money signing for Chelsea in 2004/05, where he attained cult-hero status before moving on to Real Madrid and Monaco, Carvalho retired after a short stint in the Chinese League in 2017. He made 210 appearances for Chelsea and won all domestic trophies. Ricardo also won the Euro 2016 with Portugal, which was his only international trophy.

While speaking at a UEFA sponsored event, he said, “I don’t think Mourinho has lost his qualities. I think now that football is very different. The players have changed, and they have more power now.”

“Sometimes, the problem comes from the way in which the players don’t accept who he is-he is like that because he wants to achieve and wants to win trophies.”

Speaking about his new role as an assistant at Marseille, he responded, ‘I am learning a lot. So, at this moment, I don’t think about being a head coach- I am happy with the role that I’ve got.

It’s different. As a player, you take an order and react, but as a coach, you give the order, it takes a little of adaptation for me, and I feel better right now than at the beginning when I started with Andre and his staff.