José Mourinho

José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix ( zhoo-ZAY moh-REEN-yoo; European Portuguese: [ʒuˈzɛ moˈɾiɲu] ; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Primeira Liga club Benfica. Nicknamed "the Special One", he is one of the most decorated managers of all time. Mourinho has won league championships in four countries, is one of only seven managers to have won the European Cup with two clubs, and is the only manager to have won all three current UEFA club competitions. After an uneventful career as a midfielder in the Portuguese leagues, Mourinho retired from playing aged 24 and moved into coaching. He was first an interpreter for Bobby Robson at Sporting CP and Porto, before gaining success as an assistant at Barcelona under Robson and his successor, Louis van Gaal. After brief managerial stints at Benfica and União de Leiria, Mourinho returned to Porto in 2002, winning two Primeira Liga titles, the Taça de Portugal, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. That success earned him a move to Chelsea in 2004, where he remarked, "I think I'm [the] special one" at his first press conference, leading to British media dubbing him "the Special One". With Chelsea, Mourinho won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and two League Cups in three seasons, before departing in 2007 amid reports of disagreements with owner Roman Abramovich. In 2008, Mourinho joined Italian club Inter Milan. He led them to the Serie A title in his first season, before winning a continental treble—Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League—in 2010, a first in history for an Italian club. This made him one of five coaches to have won the European Cup with two clubs, and later that year, he was crowned the inaugural FIFA World Coach of the Year. Mourinho then moved to Real Madrid in Spain, where he won the La Liga title in 2011–12, breaking several domestic records for points, goals scored, and wins in a season. He also became the fifth coach to win league titles in four countries. Mourinho left Real Madrid in 2013 and rejoined Chelsea, where he won another league title and League Cup, but was dismissed in 2015 after a poor run of results. Mourinho was appointed manager of Manchester United in 2016 and of Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, but both tenures ended acrimoniously. At Manchester United, he won the Community Shield, League Cup and UEFA Europa League in his first season. At Tottenham, he led the team to a League Cup final. He managed Roma from 2021 to 2024, winning the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League in his first season. This was Roma's first European title and their first trophy since 2008. The achievement made Mourinho the first manager to win a major European competition with four different clubs and the third to win all UEFA club competitions. He joined Turkish Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe in July 2024, but was sacked in August 2025 after failing to qualify for the Champions League. Mourinho was named Portuguese Coach of the Century by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) in 2015. Due to his tactical knowledge, charismatic and controversial personality, and a reputation for prioritising results over attractive football, he has drawn comparisons—from both admirers and critics—with Argentine manager Helenio Herrera.