The manager of Liverpool football club, Jurgen Klopp has pointed out that he respects the football philosophy of the coach of Tottenham Hotspur, Jose Mourinho which is result-oriented. He said the Portuguese tactician prioritize winning games above playing fancy football style.
The German tactician noted that Jose Mourinho‘s ability to get the needed result to the detriment of playing fancy football style has made him one of the most successful football managers around.
Over the years especially when Jose Mourinho became the manager of Chelsea in 2004, the 57-year-old football tactician is known to be a coach whose teams are very defensive and switches football style as many times as a game demands. He is always touted as a “pack the box” merchant because of his ability to make his teams soak in the pressure and wait for an opportunity to score mostly from counter-attacks.
This football style is being criticized by some football fans who believe the style of football is boring and out of fashion. But that style of football has won the coach virtually everything in club football.
In every club he has managed, he always wins at least a major title and he is expected to end the long wait of Tottenham for a major title this season.
So far in his career as a football manager, Jose Mourinho has won over 25 major titles including two UEFA Champions League titles with two different clubs, Porto and Inter Milan.
He has won league titles in four major leagues in Europe – two Primeira Liga with Porto, three Premier League with Chelsea, one La Liga with Real Madrid, and two Serie A with Inter Milan.
“I think with the very long time Jose Mourinho has been successful in the football business, he played pretty much all different systems and a lot of different styles,” said Klopp.
“As a coach, you have to adapt to the quality you have and mix up the ideas you have and that is one of the best skills of Jose Mourinho.
“At the end of the day it is all about getting results and that is the best skill of Jose because in the decisive moments he is not bothered about the style he is just bothered about the result and that makes him the most successful manager around and I respect that.”
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool forced Mourinho to get sacked when he was the manager of Manchester United by slamming United with a 3-1 defeat in 2018. Two days after the defeat, Manchester United sacked the Portuguese tactician and left him jobless for over a year.
“I don’t think you can compare the last game of Man United with the way they play now. From a confidence level it is completely different,” Klopp noted.
“Has he (Mourinho) reinvented himself? I don’t know – it looks a little bit like that when you see him on Instagram!
“But apart from that he is just so experienced and smart he knows what to do. I think he asked for time in the beginning and obviously, it paid off.
“Tottenham have the quality of the top teams and when they have the ball they show that.
“They defend like a top team and at the moment probably have the best counter-attacking movements.
“It is not that they play just a little bit of football, they are a proper package at the moment but that doesn’t cost me confidence when I think about my team. It is business as usual.”
At the end of tonight’s game, Tottenham Hotspur could remain the table leaders if they win over Liverpool. The victory will keep them on top with 28 points in 13 league games. The reversal could be the case if Liverpool emerge winners of the fixture.
