Has José Mourinho become the 'Humble One?' | by Pippo Russo
For those counting at home, that was the second time in his career that Abramovich sent him packing. On the one hand, being shown the exit at the Bridge, after he'd had had a couple of up-and-down seasons in Madrid, makes me wonder if his best days are gone already. On the other hand, I know it is still too early to make such a prediction, and I’m sure he’s going to have some more chances to get back on track in the future.
For the moment, however, The Special One looks much less special. From this perspective, his last public appearance was quite impressive.
Interviewed by the Mail on Sunday, he talked about his new life as a an unemployed man, revealing some parts of his character and projecting an image of himself that is quite different from the one we were used to.
In particular, he urged the world to know he’s an humble person, who’s always ready to learn from others. In a few words, the complete opposite of the man who used arrogance as a tool, a man whose antics we'd gotten used to over the past 15 years.
A bit like Jessica Rabbit, the problem is not him, but the way he is perceived by everyone else.
But has he really gone from being the Special One to being... the Humble One? That seems difficult to believe, but who knows?
Sure enough, failures on the pitch eroded his self-confidence or, at least, that’s what it looks like to an outsider observing his mannerisms. But such a radical change is not thinkable, nor it can be justified with the loss of his aura of invincibility.
Did Aldo Agroppi stop being conceited after he flopped as Fiorentina coach? No. One can’t change one's nature and character as easily as pressing a button. If he really were to evolve, he has to justify it to everyone who made Mourinho (and his grouchy character) a brand.
What about the marvelous Sambuca Molinari commercials? Can statements like “I don’t have to look better than what I am, but I need to be better than the one who will hire me” fit with a Humble One profile?
Similarly, try to explain this radical change to his agent Jorge Mendes, who bobbed and weaved a few weeks ago trying to deny that Mourinho had penned a six-page job application letter to Manchester United. Is the Special One really applying to a job, as if he were just a guy off the street?
Mourinho is really doing his best to show himself in a different light. That said, he's the same Jose Mourinho who voiced his anger against the ‘intellectual prostitution’ or who trolled his colleagues for having won ‘zero tituli’ (no titles).
Unless he’s cheating us all with one of his diabolical master plans, we have to give him time because there’s no shadow of a doubt that his arrogance will be back.
In the end, we all want the old Mourinho back. Whatever would we do with the Humble One?
Pippi Russo (@pippoevai), translated by Lorenzo Bettoni (@lorebetto) and Edo Dalmonte (@edodalmonte)
