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Now the football season has ended in Europe and other parts of the world, next stop is South-Africa.

All eyes should be
focused on the World Cup now but mine and many others are still focused
on one man- Jose Mourinho, popularly known as the “special one”, and
the “chosen one” in more recent times.

Call him cocky,
proud, arrogant, loud mouthed, and you’ll probably not be wrong. Some
even say he is aloof and obnoxious especially judging from the things
he said about Arsene Wenger, Rafa Benitez, Claudio Ranieri,
journalists, Italian Football Federation and even players.

He picks fights
with anyone and everyone. He plays defensive football that isn’t very
pleasing to the eye, but he’s won 3 trophies this year! You’ve got to
give him credit for that and the truth remains that he has proven
himself over and over again. Besides, I always say being cocky with
results is good.

Relishing challenge

Mourinho is a man
who has caused me a lot of pain-Manchester United’s loss to Porto in
2004 in the Champions League, during his time in the English
Premiership; yet, I have secretly admired him. His looks, his
arrogance, his bluntness, his achievements and even the way he
dresses… How I wish he will one day coach Manchester United! You have
to admit Mourinho is a super manager-a coach who did not lose at home
for so long, (both at Stamford Bridge and the San Siro) it’s amazing.

It really is difficult to lose at home when the coach is an absolute defensive genius.

He’s also a smart
man, knowing that, 30 years or more down the road, people will only
remember statistics (and his is excellent), instead of words like “his
teams aren’t nice to watch but are ruthlessly efficient”.

For a man who is
always looking for new challenges, he certainly has one now. After two
years in charge of Inter Milan where he won the Serie A title and the
most sought after treble, he is off to the Bernabeu.

Perhaps this is the end of poor performances by Real Madrid?

Technically
speaking, he won the champions league for Inter Milan after 45 years,
surely Madrid’s nine-year wait for a champions league title is nearly
over.

I have always
thought that Sir Alex Ferguson was the best club coach of all time.
Mourinho though has brought a new dimension to that title and is
definitely in contention. The difference between the two men is that
Ferguson achieved all his successes with one club, while Mourinho is
moving around winning with different clubs. It really is a big
challenge and that makes him the best at the moment.

It’s nice to know
also that it has nothing to do with money, but for Samuel Eto, there
were no major stars on his winning team whereas a lot of managers have
spent thousands and nothing in return.

On the issue of
people complaining about Mourinho’s teams playing “unattractive”
football, wouldn’t you rather be a Mourinho follower than an Arsene
Wenger follower? In all honesty I didn’t think that this year’s UEFA
Champions League final was a fantastic final, but then it is not all
about winning.

Titles are more important

Agreed, Man Utd and
Barcelona won playing a more attractive brand of football, but
personally, I don’t care how my team plays as long as they win.

A boring victory is more attractive to a team’s fan base than an entertaining loss. Ask any Arsenal fan.

The beauty is in
the winning and winning in style. And while doing so he defeated the
best team in England, Chelsea, a team that broke all kinds of records
and won a double. He also beat the best team in Spain and defending
champions, Barcelona and then finally put to the sword, the best club
in the German Bundesliga.

His move to Real
Madrid will surely add a lot of spice to the rivalry between Barcelona
and Real especially as Barca fans have not forgiven him for his
pre-match comments that Barcelona would be undone by their “obsession”
with winning back-to-back Champions League titles.

In winning the
champions league with Inter, he joins the likes of Ottmar Hitzfeld
(Borussia Dortmund 1997, Bayern Munich 2001) and Ernst Happel
(Feyenoord 1970, Hamburg 1983) as managers to have raised the European
Cup with different clubs and he has vowed to become the first man to
win the title with 3 different clubs.