The Special One : 100 fascinating facts about Mourinho - how much do you know?

Mourinho is one of the most vivid and controversial figures in football. Countless rumors and anecdotes circulated around him. While many people know about the famous "laundry basket incident," there are many more rare and surprising details about this "special one."

Some of this information is hard fact; some has gradually become "legendary stories" through interviews with former players, assistants and club staff; and some comes from the book "José Mourinho: Made in Portugal" - a book that Mourinho himself is not interested in.

1. Mourinho was a perfectionist as a child. His mother once mentioned that he had shown excellent organizational skills since he was a child and had a strong obsession with neatness.

2. He has been obsessed with notebooks since he was young and often wrote down various ideas. Later, these notebooks became a tool for him to formulate tactical plans and observe players.

3. Before starting his football coaching career, he worked as a physical education teacher for five years. With his personal charisma, he changed students' views on physical education classes - a former student recalled: "Before he came, no one wanted to take physical education classes; after he came, no one wanted to skip classes."

4. He studied at the University of Lisbon, but only stayed for one day. After his mother signed him up, he immediately lost interest in the course.

5. Mourinho loves chess and often regards chess as “brain training” to practice tactical thinking. He often plays with assistants before games.

6. He tried to prevent the publication of "José Mourinho: Made in Portugal" due to the family details involved in the book, but the court ultimately rejected his request on the grounds of "freedom of speech."

7. At the age of 17, he scored a hat-trick for Belém in a 17-0 victory in the Portuguese Cup.

8. Also 17 years old, when his father Felix Mourinho was coaching the Rio Ave team, he was responsible for scouting opponents at his father's request.

9. At the age of 19, he began to coach the Rio Ave U16 echelon, but in order to avoid accusations of "nepotism", the team did not let him lead the team to play against the Sporting CP U16 echelon. Soon after, Mourinho and his father both left Rio Ave.

10. When scouting opponents, he will hide his identity among the fans to avoid being recognized.

11. Bobby Robson once invited him to serve as an assistant coach at Newcastle, but he declined and chose to stay at Benfica to pursue an independent coaching career.

12. Once a reporter had a dispute with the team, Mourinho completed the translation word for word. It was this experience that made Robson trust him.

13. During his tenure at Barcelona, ​​he secretly listened in on club management conversations and never revealed that he knew Catalan.

14. He speaks seven languages: Portuguese, German, English, Spanish, Catalan, Italian and French. It is said that in 2020, in order to better communicate with Son Heung-min, he also learned Korean.

15. When Van Gaal coached Barcelona, ​​Mourinho served as an assistant coach. He was temporarily in charge of the Barcelona first team and led the team to participate in friendly matches and the Catalan Cup.

16. He once wrote poems for his wife, but later he felt embarrassed and burned them all.

17. While in Barcelona, ​​he would hide his tactical ideas in the Bible because he was worried about "spies" in the hotel.

18. He also wrote a secret diary during his time at Barcelona, ​​and the tactics recorded in it later came in handy when coaching Porto.

19. In 2000, he left Benfica after just 77 days in charge due to differences with the club over transfer and contract issues.

20. Before Porto faced Monaco in the 2004 Champions League final, Mourinho's family received threats, which forced the club to tighten security measures.

21. He once played "psychological warfare" with Ferguson: before the 2003-04 Champions League game against Manchester United, he revealed that Porto's budget was only 10% of Manchester United's; and after Porto won, he gave Ferguson a bottle of rare wine.

22. In order to catch those lazy players, he once hid in Porto's training bus to "raid".

23. After winning the Champions League, he surprised the players by dancing in the dressing room.

24. He would have local lunches with Porto players to bond with each other.

25. He once gave his coat to a Porto fan who got soaked in the rain.

26. To prove his “mental toughness,” he would compete with players in arm wrestling matches and often win.

27. After Porto loses, he will leave the stadium wearing the team jersey and blend in with the fans to avoid excessive attention.

28. Once drove 320 kilometers to personally inspect a 15-year-old young player, but ultimately gave up on signing him.

29. During the 2003-04 Champions League season, he kept a Porto badge in his pocket, believing it would bring good luck.

30. He will organize a "tactical quiz", and players who answer correctly will be rewarded with extra rest days.

31. Before the Champions League final against Monaco, he organized the players to pray together.

32. In his office in Porto, he specially displayed a letter sent by a fan.

33. When coaching Chelsea, he wore the same pair of socks and washed them himself before every game..

34. Because he received so many letters from Chelsea fans, he hired an assistant to respond.

35. He also DJed at a secret staff Christmas party in Chelsea.

36. To gain an "outside perspective", he would discuss tactics with Chelsea's bus driver.

37. He once hid on a hillside and secretly observed Arsenal's training.

38. Will cook for Chelsea staff at barbecue events.

39. Whether at Chelsea or Real Madrid, he will give each player a tactical notebook, which specifically marks the players' strengths.

40. After Chelsea won, he suddenly rushed into a nightclub, danced briefly, and then began to "teach professionalism lessons" to the players.

41. His wife Mathilde once “driven” him to the garage because he kept talking about football.

42. Hollywood once invited him to guest star in a movie, but he set a condition: he must appear with Al Pacino and play himself, otherwise he would refuse.

43. After Inter Milan won the Triple Crown in 2010, he secretly cried alone.

44. During Chelsea training, he once wore Terry's shoes to play football, which impressed the players deeply.

45. He learned Italian by watching movies in just three weeks.

46. Zeng suddenly sang Portuguese karaoke with the Inter Milan players, giving everyone a surprise.

47. To avoid being recognized, he used pseudonyms when staying in hotels, with "José Felix" (his father's name) being a common choice.

48. He would jot down tactical ideas on a napkin, and it is said that Real Madrid used these tactics in the 2011 game (even against Barcelona).

49. He still has the football his father gave him when he was 10 years old.

50. In Italy in 2010, he was suspended for three games for making a protest gesture of "wearing handcuffs".

51. While learning Italian, he once accidentally offended a reporter, but in the end both parties laughed it off.

52. When coaching Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan, he signed contracts with the same pen because he believed it would bring good luck.

53. He anonymously donated the signing bonus given by Inter Milan to a children's hospital in Milan.

54. After Inter Milan won the Triple Crown, the entire team advised him to get a tattoo, but he refused.

55. After the team plays a tough game, he will order pizza for everyone.

56. Had a snowball fight with Inter Milan players to boost team morale.

57. He invented some encrypted tactical terms, among which the term "blue sky" became widely known.

58. In 2010, he deliberately announced a fake starting lineup to confuse his opponents.

59. He ran last in a 5-kilometer charity race.

60. In order to avoid reporters, he once organized players to train secretly at 6 a.m.

61. While coaching Real Madrid, he would call players at midnight to discuss tactics.

62. In 2010, he had a secret meeting with Guardiola to exchange football ideas.

63. He once asked to inspect Real Madrid's facilities, fearing that they were bugged.

64. When Real Madrid players are late, he fines them, and the fines end up being donated to charity.

65. When Mourinho was signing autographs for fans, his bodyguard was injured by a sharp object.

66. He and Ronaldo have reached an agreement: never criticize each other in public.

67. At Real Madrid, he launched a "voluntary midnight run" program aimed at building players' mental toughness.

68. He was very generous when he tipped the laundry staff at Real Madrid.

69. He was misquoted by a reporter and he did not speak to the reporter for a full year.

70. He not only dodged the laundry basket, but also dodged the trunk of the car: after leaving Chelsea for the second time, in order to avoid reporters, he hid in the trunk of his assistant Sylvinho's car.

71. When defending a corner kick, he once let John Terry and Cahill collide deliberately - this wasted time and the players did not have to leave the field for treatment.

72. He once asked Ivanovic and Schwarzer to deliberately receive yellow cards to demonstrate the "delaying tactic", which made the Liverpool players very angry at the time.

73. In order to motivate the sluggish players, he once threatened John Terry and Cahill: "I will sign Varane to replace you."

74. He made the term "busing" popular in English football - and it was originally used to describe opponents! In 2004, he made this comment that upset Tottenham.

75. He once received a red card due to a "report" from a policeman: In 2015, a policeman thought Mourinho was provoking an opponent and told the referee about the situation.

76. He once called Brad Pitt a "dumbass" - because of Pitt's breakup with Jennifer Aniston.

77. Once, he blocked the naked Lampard in the shower and said to him: "The Champions League championship must be won. You have to remember that you are the best player in the world."

78. After Henry scored, Mourinho was so angry that he threw Vaseline - because the players did not defend Arsenal's set pieces according to his arrangements..

79. He once had a "hard fight" with Abramovich (Chelsea owner): Abramovich didn't know Drogba at the time, and was surprised by Mourinho's request to buy him. Mourinho directly said: "Mr. Abramovich, just pay, don't ask so many questions!"

80. According to him, he started to pay attention to something, often because of the promotion of his agent.

81. He once said to Pedro Leon: "Even if the whole team is involved in a plane crash, you will still have to sit on the bench."

82. When coaching Real Madrid, he divided the dressing room with two photos: one showed Ozil looking chic on a yacht, and the other showed Coentrao wrapped in a hoodie with a gloomy expression, both of them smoking. He raised the photo above his head and said: "There are two types of players in the team, one is stylish like Ozil, and the other is not stylish."

83. Before the Spanish El Clasico, he asked Real Madrid players to "touch" Messi's face more during the game.

84. Seeing the friendly exchange between Real Madrid’s bus driver and Sporting Gijon’s coach, he became angry with the driver on the spot.

85. He once compared Ozil to a ballet dancer: standing on tiptoes, arms at sides, pouting, jumping between lockers in the dressing room, imitating Ozil's movements.

86. He once refused to replace Ibrahimovic and pretended not to understand Ibrahimovic's request.

87. Since Arnautovic was often late, Mourinho gave him his watch. The Austrian player had previously been prone to indiscipline, but one day he arrived early in an attempt to improve his performance.

88. He once asked players to take the train to away games instead of the club bus. As a result, Manchester United lost to Watford for the first time in 30 years and suffered three consecutive losses. His original thought was that the train journey would give him more time to communicate with the team.

89. He gave Carrick a whistle, a bottle of painkillers and a shirt with the word "Coach" on it - and made Carrick referee in training because no one at Manchester United wanted to do that job.

90. In order to get the players "out of their comfort zone", he once gave training sessions to the Manchester United team in the hotel parking lot.

91. He only lasted 10 seconds at the post-match press conference after beating Crystal Palace.

92. He bought a hotel in England for about £680,000. Whether he was coaching Manchester United or Real Madrid, he preferred staying in hotels rather than renting apartments.

93. While secretly inspecting the Red Star Belgrade team, his tire burst. He suspected that someone knew about his itinerary and vandalized his car.

94. He once specifically asked a player to come on as a substitute in order to help him improve his economic situation. Former Porto player Candido Costa's wife had just given birth to a child, and he rushed to the game that day. He was not originally scheduled to play, but Mourinho replaced him a few minutes before the end (so that he could receive appearance bonus).

95. He once said "I want to punch Arsene Wenger in the face." The two coaches have often criticized each other in the past: Mourinho once called Wenger a "peeping tom", and Wenger threatened to sue him; later Wenger made sharp comments about Chelsea's transfer operations, and Mourinho responded: "One day, I will meet him outside the stadium and punch him in the face."

96. Arsenal once returned a Christmas card from Mourinho. He sent greeting cards to all Premier League coaches and wrote a handwritten note to Wenger, but Arsenal did not believe his sincerity.

97. He once faced a lawsuit for "negligence": he publicly criticized Eva Canelo and the medical team's work during the game, but in fact he himself failed to notice an important gesture from the referee. After being publicly criticized and demoted, Carneiro resigned and sued Chelsea and Mourinho, with the case eventually settling in undisclosed details.

98. He is mentioned in rapper Stormzy's song "Mel Made Me Do It", with the lyrics "I'd rather not say how Jose did it" - a reference to Mourinho's post-match interview when he was coaching Aston Villa. Ten years later, The Athletic said the interview “revolutionized coaching interviews.”

99. Once, a reporter joked that he was "just Robson's assistant". Mourinho was offended and replied: "Bring you a** and we will try it and see if it is right."

100. Once gave a player 500 pounds of ham as a reward for not being broken by Mahrez. Later, when Reguilon was unable to go home for Christmas, Mourinho gave him a piglet to support him.