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Successful again, happy again: José Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur
Photo:
Clive Rose / POOL / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
During the week, José Mourinho had his mouth full again, albeit a little differently than usual. A photo on his Instagram channel showed him laughing next to Sergio Reguilon with a piece of Spanish ham between his teeth.
He lost a bet against the left-back and therefore gave him the 500 pound knuckle of pork, it said in the text.
The nice cabin snack picture goes well with the current high mood at Tottenham Hotspur.
The team, coaches and fans are having a lot of fun with each other at the moment, as it is when you unexpectedly run in the middle of the championship race after four victories in a row and with a win at Mourinho ex-club Chelsea on Sunday you can become the leader of the table.
"The pressure is on other coaches, let's just work in peace," said the Portuguese cheerfully when asked about Tottenham's chances in the league.
Since joining União de Leiria in Portugal (2001-2002), the 57-year-old has been working for a club that does not have to become champions, but would be overjoyed with a place in the top four and one or two trophies .
As a result, he can play his favorite role as a challenger to the establishment in North London more credibly than before at Manchester United or Real Madrid.
Mourinho gets through to the players
Whether the Spurs are so successful at the moment because Mourinho has found joy in himself and thus also in football after the time at Old Trafford, which was marked by discontent and constant provocation, or the case is rather the other way round, cannot be determined without a doubt.
However, both absolutely belong together.
In dealing with his players and the press these days, he shows that lascivious charm that made up a not insignificant part of the fascination in his prime at Chelsea and Inter (2004-2010).
Among other things, he has managed to stabilize the midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, who was initially heavily criticized by him, in the starting line-up, and even the national player Dele Alli, who has hardly been used so far, takes his downgrade in a strikingly sporty manner.
According to club officials, his newly formed, greatly rejuvenated assistant coaching team around 31-year-old tactics expert João Sacramento is also responsible for maintaining good contact with the team.
Mourinho also consciously brought up the troupe, which was decried as too soft under its predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, to be more tough and cunning.
In the Amazon documentary last season, you saw how he asked his team to provoke red cards for the opposing full-backs during the half-time break of the 2-0 win over Manchester City in February.
"You must be a team of assholes like City," he told the players.
In fact, Oleksandr Zinchenko was thrown off the field as a result.
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Snatched away: Tanguy Ndombélé, rehabilitated in Tottenham midfield, wins the ball against Manchester City's Ruben Dias
Photo: KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH / AFP
The current foul statistics are interesting in this context.
With 118 punished offenses, Tottenham is third in the culprit table in the Premier League, but is also listed as the third fairest team in the league with ten yellow cards and not a single expulsion.
So Mourinho's Spurs foul frequently, but skillfully enough not to be punished more clearly by the referees.
That's probably how the gang leader wants to see it.
However, this alone does not explain the upturn.
Other factors play a role here:
For example, a 193 million corona loan from the English central bank that freed up funds to invest a net 95 million in new staff such as the nimble Reguilon, returnees Gareth Bale (on loan) and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.
The former Bayern midfielder embodies the changed attitude of the team like no other with his mixture of commitment, discipline and a certain snot-spoon-like character.
National striker Harry Kane is in top form as a hanging tip behind Son Heung-min.
Both have already hit each other nine times and scored a total of sixteen times in the league.
The effectiveness of the duo, especially on counterattacks, shows, not least, why Mourinho's more defensive, error-avoiding strategy works extremely well under the special conditions of the 2020/21 season.
In contrast to the top clubs Liverpool and Man City, which, like Hansi Flicks in Munich, have difficulties in pulling up their risky pressing due to the high levels of stress, Tottenham's attack tactics save energy.
"In a world of attrition, the one who digs the best trenches wins," said the Guardian, describing the comeback of this retro style.
You can't really win the English league anymore, but everyone thought so before Leicester City left all favorites behind with a similar approach in 2016.
Should Mourinho's ripped off gang continue the run against Chelsea, one will gradually have to deal with the possibility of another sensation.
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