Tottenham Hotspur said on Monday that they had sacked José Mourinho, the manager he hired, as the closest thing European football is to a trophy guarantee, six days before it would contest its first major final with the club.
Spurs appointed Mourinho in November 2019 in the hope that he would turn the team into series distributors for honors. He was, like the chairman of the club, Daniel Levy, ‘one of the most capable managers in world football’, and achieved success at every previous stop in his illustrious career, and he won championship at FC Porto, Chelsea (twice) , Inter won Milan and Real Madrid.
However, his 17 months in North London were anticlimactic. The club finished sixth last season and sit one point lower in the current standings after a run of just one win in its last five Premier League games. At that time, Mourinho also suffered what he described as one of the most humiliating nights of his career: a retirement from the Europa League by Dinamo Zagreb.
Tottenham’s players have become increasingly restless under his rule, particularly making an exception for his efforts to regularly blame them for Spurs’ struggles, rather than accept at least part of the responsibility for himself. Asked why his team did not have the defensive strength of some of its championship games last week, he replied: “The same coach, different players.
Levy decided on Friday night – after a 2-2 draw with Everton – to join Mourinho and appoint two of his coaching staff, Ryan Mason and Chris Powell, to take over the club for the rest of the season.
Their first week ends with Sunday’s League Cup final, the first local trophy to be decided in England, against Manchester City – exactly the kind of opportunity Mourinho has been appointed to pick up and win. He will not be given the chance now.