It is almost a week into the new year and Jose Mourinho is still jobless. Jose Mourinho as proud as ever made an assertion after he was relieved off his duties before Christmas last year, that he was angling towards a return to the managerial hot seat more preferably that of Louis Van Gaal at Old Trafford. This was the plan but the seeming reluctance from the camp of United and the reported refusal to take the Real Madrid job midway through the season has left The self proclaimed Special One in a bit of limbo and jobless for the foreseeable future.
The apparent lack of big jobs is a sign from above to Jose to sit back and reinvent himself as a coach and a person overall. The old adage goes, 'you cannot teach an old dog new tricks' but Mourinho is not so much of an old dog at the age of 52. During his enforced break, it would be beneficial for him to work on a few aspects of himself.
1. ATTITUDE
The former Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Madrid manager has had some issues in relation to his attitude. This has set him back with some of the biggest clubs in the world as seen with his eye gouging poke of former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova during his stint in Spain. Also, his constant attacks albeit verbally on rivals does him a lot of harm than good. This not only makes him look bad but also does his clubs no good in the media. His mentality is more often than not transferred to his players which makes his teams appear violent with reference being made to Pepe at Madrid and Diego Costa at Chelsea. His media antics though entertaining, sometimes crosses the line. He is often seen to be criticizing the footballing associations where he has coached. It is for such reason he has often been overlooked for jobs such as that of Bayern Munich and most recently, Manchester United.
He is an entertaining character no doubt but should refine his attitude to make him endearing to fans, players and bosses alike. Maintaining a healthy rivalry with managers as well as letting his players know when they cross the line on the pitch. A bad attitude is like a flat tire. Failure to change it will get you nowhere. But just as flat tires can be changed, an attitude can be changed for the better.
2. TACTICS
A football manager is as good as his tactics. Also, an adaptable coach is one who can switch tactics to suit the opposition at hand. This is something Mourinho seems to be lacking. A fixation on 4-2-3-1 formation has led to his downfall. When he lacks the kind of players suited to this style, his teams are outplayed and out thought on the pitch. Before his return to the dugout, Mourinho must not only reinvent himself from an attitudinal perspective but also, a tactical point of view. Also his defensive mentality should be switched to a more balanced style to his teams to satisfy the attacking and defensive needs of his teams. All in all a general adaptability should be infused into his tactical approach just as Guardiola to make his teams multidimensional
A few other things to work on is his long term abilities as a manager. He should formulate long term goals for himself as a coach for his teams. He should use maintain an eye on the youth teams and be a fatherly figure rather than an authority figure with the younger ones.
Also learning to hold his tongue should prove to be a good weapon for him.
The Special One may be down but it would be a mistake to count him out. During his time out work on rebranding himself should be paramount to ensure success in the short term as well as long term.
Watch Out World! A New and Improved Jose is coming.
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