Jose Mourinho deploying old siege tactics in desperate bid to stay relevant
FRANK EXCHANGE: Roma manager Jose Mourinho exchanges words with referee Anthony Taylor during the UEFA Europa League final. Pic: PA
One wonders what thoughts were going through Jose Mourinho’s head when he saw Roma supporters surrounding and confronting referee Anthony Taylor as the Englishman attempted to walk through Budapest airport last Thursday.
Video captured Taylor’s concern and the obvious distress his wife and teenage daughter were under.
Taylor was cornered by more than a hundred supporters as he and his family tried to walk through the airport.
Security staff struggled to keep a barrier between the referee, his family, and Roma fans who swore and threw items, including a chair, in chaotic scenes.
The video was widely condemned with former rugby referee Luke Pearce taking to Twitter to condemn the actions of the Roma fans.
“I’m not sure what’s worse. The actions or the comments to the video. Regardless of your job, surely you should be allowed to travel peacefully with your family?
“What is happening in the world?”
The comments Pearce was referring to were fans accusing Taylor of being incompetent or not being held accountable.
As if making a mistake in your job warrants the kind of threatening behaviour and downright assault Taylor and his family were subjected to.
“Depressing to see him walk away unharmed”, said one user.
“He was a mess, he should be officiating Championship games. He’s a disgrace,” said another.
Now, obviously we shouldn’t be using social media, particularly football Twitter, to assess the moral standards of the age. However, these attitudes are instructive of an overall attitude.
These Roma fans are not going on solo runs, they are taking their lead from their manager.
After the Europa League final, in which Sevilla defeated Roma on penalties, there was a predictable reaction from Mourinho. Never has he been at fault for a game his team lost.
He waited for referee Taylor in the car park after the game. Looking periodically at his phone, the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss could be heard shouting, “Fucking disgrace man, it’s a fucking disgrace” in English. Switching to Italian he said: “Congratulations, you fucking disgrace.”
It was a pathetic spectacle. Mourinho, a 60-year-old man, shuffling back and forth and shouting out obscenities. Looking down at his phone before circling back, as if even his heart wasn’t really in it.
It was just a follow-on from his post-match press conference in which he accused Taylor of being ‘Spanish’.
“It was an intense, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time.
“Today in all the dubious episodes, the yellow cards, the referee blew the whistle in favour of Sevilla.
“I am surprised because he is an international referee who has a great reputation.” He also accused Taylor of making ‘bullshit’ decisions.
Is it any wonder Roma fans were so riled up? If you see the manager of your club behaving in such a way it gives legitimacy to fans who feel equally aggrieved if not more so.
The parallels with Donald Trump and the storming of the Capitol here are obvious. People in positions of power have a responsibility in the current climate to be careful of their rhetoric.
As Pearce intimated, the world has changed and things that were unacceptable in society up to a few years ago have now become almost the norm. Mourinho’s behaviour has always been borderline disgraceful.
His conduct after Barcelona’s defeat of Chelsea in 2005 contributed to Swedish referee Anders Frisk retiring aged just 42.
Roma’s run to the Europa League final has led many to say that Mourinho is back at the vanguard of European football.
An article in the last month opined that while Mourinho may have gone out of style he was still relevant.
An article on said: “He may now have spent more than two decades in management, but Mourinho and his methods remain as relevant as ever.” He was linked with a return to Chelsea after Graham Potter was sacked.
So what has he done with Roma to warrant such lofty accolades?
A title challenge in Serie A and a series of Europa League wins over some of the best sides in Europe at least surely?
Well not quite, with one round of games left in Serie A Roma sit sixth in the table. So, I hear you ask, he must have guided them from mid-table obscurity last season? No, he has guided Roma from sixth to sixth.
All this praise must be garnered from an heroic Europa League run, then. Let’s take a look at Roma’s record this season.
They finished second in their group behind Real Betis, having lost to away to Ludogorets and at home to Betis. In the knockout rounds they got past Salzburg, Real Sociedad, Feyenoord, and Bayer Leverkusen. Not exactly Sacchi’s Milan or Cruyff’s Barcelona, then.
Mourinho has deployed the old siege mentality nonsense in a desperate attempt to stay relevant.
Roma’s bench have received a remarkable 13 red cards this season, between coaches and substitutes. It is a deliberate tactic. He himself was yellow carded in the Europa League final. Mourinho has always been beloved of the banter sites, ‘Classic Jose’ etc.
After the final, Mourinho said at least he and his Roma team had retained their dignity in defeat. Kirk van Houten apparently isn’t the only one who struggles with defining dignity.
Manchester United’s season ended with last Saturday’s FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City. It was a season which could be divided into three. Started off terribly with two opening defeats to Brighton and Brentford before picking up slightly.
The World Cup break coincided with Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from the club and post-World Cup there was a noticeable improvement. Marcus Rashford’s form was stunning in that period.
That period culminated in a Carabao Cup win which was an important staging post for ten Hag’s reign. Ending a trophy drought going back to 2017 was an important step in the team’s progression. After that win, however, United’s form fell back badly.
Rashford struggled for form and fitness while Wout Weghorst played far more than his ability or impact warranted. Injuries to Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane didn’t help and David De Gea made some costly mistakes at crucial periods.
It is difficult to assess where United will finish next season. Ten Hag is clearly the most able manager the club have had since Louis van Gaal, but it is hard to envisage Chelsea, Liverpool, and Spurs being as bad again next season. Newcastle are also only going to get better, given their resources.
The ownership question needs to be sorted asap. The idea of Qatar taking over one of the most famous sporting institutions in the world is beyond bleak. Jim Ratcliffe is reported to be the preferred bidder but the longer the uncertainty goes on the more difficult it will become for ten Hag.
United need a new striker, a new goalkeeper, a midfielder, and probably a central defender. The nightmare scenario for the Dutchman is to find himself with one hand tied behind his back and scrambling around in August looking for players while all his rivals have their business done.
Mason Mount is the name being linked most strongly with a move to Old Trafford. While undoubtedly a good player, he is not worth the price being quoted around his move from Chelsea. There is a premium on English players which is often hard to fathom.
United have already been burned by this having paid way over the odds for Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho, two players they could be looking to offload this summer at huge losses on what they paid for them.
could well be the motto around Old Trafford this summer.
You may have missed Monday’s news that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the owners of Newcastle United, have taken majority stakes in four Saudi clubs, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.
The PIF is taking 75 per cent stakes in Al Nassr, Asian Champions League finalists Al Hilal, Al Ahli, and Al Ittihad, who are understood to be interested in signing Karim Benzema after his intention to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season was confirmed.
Lionel Messi has also been linked with a move to Saudi after leaving PSG as has Benzema’s erstwhile colleague Luka Modric.
We have seen players move to Asia before when China started offering players absurd amounts of money but those players such as Hulk, Gervinho, and Oscar were never at the elite level. Messi, Modric, and Benzema may be approaching the end of their careers but they are still operating in the highest level of European football.
In conjunction with their bid to host the 2030 World Cup, Saudi Arabia appear determined to use football as a means to advance their reputation.
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