Jose Mourinho is seen as a manager who always win trophies wherever he goes. From 2002, the Portuguese tactician has managed 7 top clubs, including Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Chelsea. And in all those clubs, he has won at least two titles except at Tottenham where he is yet to spend a full season.
Since he returned to the Premier League in November 2019 to take up the Tottenham‘s job, the question on the lips of sportswriters and in the heart of Tottenham‘s fans is, can Mourinho give Tottenham a silverware for the first time since 2008 when they won the League Cup? In an attempt to answer such a question on Friday, Mourinho reminded the fans and the media that the success Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp currently enjoys at Liverpool didn’t come overnight.
Here is Mourinho’s argument
When Klopp took over Liverpool in 2015, the legendary club was on the verge of becoming an average club that was accustomed to failing to qualify for Champions League, not to talk of challenging for a title.
Klopp was allowed to struggle with Liverpool for almost three years before he started showing a sign that he was on the path to success. In 2017, he took the club to Europa League final but lost it to Seville. In 2018, he got Liverpool to UEFA Champions League final but lost it to Real Madrid and in 2019 they won everything in Europe including the FIFA Club World Cup.
This season, Liverpool brought their dominance from European competitions to domestic football by winning the Premier League with 7 games in hand then. Klopp became the first coach to achieve such a feat with Liverpool in 30 years.
They are currently playing for nothing but records. They are at the verge of breaking Manchester City’s 100 points in a season record as they have garnered 92 points with 4 games remaining. Klopp and his men need to win three out of the four games to break the record.
Tottenham case before and under Jose Mourinho
As for Tottenham, they started the season as a team that have not recovered from their Champions League final loss to Liverpool in 2019. Their bad run of games forced the club to sack the coach that took them that far, Mauricio Pochettino and replaced him with Mourinho.
Though the arrival of Mourinho changed the downward movement of the club to an inconsistent upward movement, the pressure on Mourinho to deliver within the life span of his three years contract with Tottenham his raging on.
“How long it took for Jurgen [Klopp] and Liverpool?” Mourinho questioned on Friday during a press conference. “Four years, four seasons. Buying one of the best goalkeepers in the world, buying one of the best centre-backs in the world and so on and so on and so on.
“I’m focused on my three-year contract. I believe that in my three-year contract we can win trophies. If we don’t, but the club does it in the new era if I stay here only for three years, I will be happy with that.”
Jose Mourinho and his men are currently sitting on the 9th spot with 49 points in 34 games. He has a game against Mikel Arteta Led Arsenal team that currently occupy the 8th spot with 50 points in 34 games. Mathematically, Mourinho still has the chance to qualify Tottenham for next season’s Champions League if he wins his remaining four matches and those above him keep losing.
