When the "villain" is the one who's loved.

Beginning his journey in Rome with a Europa Conference League title, the Portuguese coach is showing that he can be conservative but never outdated.

Jose Mourinho burst into tears after AS Roma won the Europa Conference League. (Source: VOV).

When people get tired of "the good guy"

“Why is Will Smith always overlooked in the world of Hip Hop? It’s because he’s too gentle, too innocent. Meanwhile, the hip-hop scene at that time was increasingly drawn to villains or rappers with a bit of a ‘dark side’.” These are the words of Murs, a famous rapper and host for the Hip Hop DX channel.

Football, both over a decade ago and even now, is much like the hip-hop scene – it's divided into two factions: the "dark" faction and the "light" faction. The "dark" faction always prioritizes "winning over style of play," while the "light" faction focuses more on a more aesthetically pleasing, ball-control style of play. Each faction has a representative figure: Jose Mourinho for the "dark" faction and Pep Guardiola for the "light" faction.

The debates about "which football philosophy has stood the test of time" never end between the two opposing sides. However, it's clear that the "dark side" always outnumbers the rest of the football world. Many believe this stems not only from the large number of Manchester United fans, a team that has lost to Pep Guardiola's Barcelona not once, but twice in the Champions League final, but also from the appeal of what is known as "Jose Mourinho's personality."

No one can deny that Jose Mourinho is a coach with a somewhat negative, defensive style of play, a coach whose philosophy is to "prioritize winning above all else." However, there is something that makes people fascinated by him: his statements, his highly "damaging" words directed at opponents, which have made him the most prominent figure in European newspapers the next day. If not for his statements, Jose Mourinho would immediately make people remember him for his "explosive" celebrations on the field, such as his sliding celebration during the Real Madrid vs. Manchester City match in the 2012-2013 Champions League season, or the way he smashed water bottles during the Manchester United vs. Juventus match in the 2018-2019 Champions League season.

Despite his negative playing style, Jose Mourinho is very enthusiastic in his celebrations. (Source: Daily Mail).

Another thing that makes Jose Mourinho so appealing to fans whenever he takes to the field is his ability to "please" them. For example, during his time at Real Madrid, Mourinho always supported and defended the Ultras Sur, the extremist Real Madrid supporters, even saying that "the Santiago Bernabeu looks empty without them." In return for this support, this group of extremist fans always defended him, even attacking an icon who had been at the Santiago Bernabeu longer than Mourinho, Iker Casillas, simply because Mourinho had stated in the press that Casillas was against him.

Another example is when, while managing Manchester United, Jose Mourinho would linger on the pitch to applaud the fans who came to the game that day. He even picked up a scarf that had fallen on the pitch and held it up as a way of honoring the values ​​that Manchester United fans brought, even though United had lost 3-0 to Tottenham that day.

It could be said that it is precisely this "people-oriented" personality that makes Jose Mourinho so beloved wherever he goes. Even the manager himself acknowledges that wherever he goes, he can feel an emotional connection with the fans of the team he manages, except for one place: Tottenham, a team often considered a major mistake in the Portuguese coach's career.

In an era where everyone idolizes Pep Guardiola and his winning style of football, or what is jokingly called the "enlightenment" of European football, there will be those, as rapper Murs pointed out when talking about the American hip-hop scene, who feel disgusted by "good guys" like Pep Guardiola, a man who doesn't really make an impression other than his tactical maneuvers and innovative playing style. In other words, Pep Guardiola is not as "human" as Jose Mourinho.

European football journalists, despite being constantly criticized by Jose Mourinho for their exaggerated headlines, are undoubtedly his biggest admirers. Because every time Jose Mourinho or his team suffers a defeat, or every time he enters a press conference, this "villain" immediately creates numerous memorable headlines and images from the press conference, things that can make their newspapers sell like hotcakes the next day.

When the world is full of "good guys" like Pep Guardiola, people will inevitably seek out "villains" like Jose Mourinho. (Source: The Sun).

It may be conservative, but it's never outdated.

When Jose Mourinho arrived at the Olimpico, people began talking about the decline of the Portuguese coach. Many believed he couldn't have chosen any other team besides Roma, while others argued that for a coach past his prime like Jose Mourinho, choosing AS Roma, a team that had only changed ownership a few years prior and was still developing its playing style, was a perfectly logical decision.

Despite all the talk and criticism, Jose Mourinho did only one thing: lead AS Roma forward, helping the "Wolves" win their first European title in the 2021-2022 season. But above all, he did what Italian fans and the press had long awaited: he fiercely responded to the comments and remarks of his opponents and Italian journalists, who are just as skilled at "pressing in press conferences" as their counterparts in England.

Not only did Jose Mourinho "attack" domestic journalists, but he also "attacked" foreign journalists. A prime example of this is when a Dutch journalist complained about his home team, Feyenoord, losing to Jose Mourinho's AS Roma in the UEFA Europa Conference League final last season. The Portuguese coach immediately handed the journalist a keychain shaped like the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy and said, "Here, this is your Conference League title."

Now that Jose Mourinho has successfully led AS Roma to their second European Cup final, there's less talk about why AS Roma chose him, but that doesn't stop one question from remaining: "Why is Jose Mourinho, whose playing style is considered outdated, always the go-to choice for teams in difficult times?"

Perhaps the most accurate answer to this question is journalist Jonathan Wilson. Specifically, in his article, he outlined three reasons why Jose Mourinho is always the preferred choice for teams. First, during a period when Pep Guardiola's style of play was dominant, having someone capable of successfully countering teams with similar styles was invaluable. Next, Jonathan Wilson pointed out that in the current era of "money-driven" football, Jose Mourinho is a reminder of the football of the period from 2008 to 2015, a time when every match was a real battle, not just a somewhat boring tactical battle like today. And in such battles, Jose Mourinho was always the center of attention.

When we look at Jose Mourinho, we see in him a bygone era of football. (Source: The Sportman).

There's one other thing Jonathan Wilson probably forgot to mention in his article: this season, "The Special One" always knows how to make the most of what he has at his disposal. For example, in the first leg against Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League semi-final this season, even without his best lineup, and even having to use a 21-year-old Edoardo Bove, he still successfully defeated his former pupil with a goal scored by the very player he had chosen. And in the second leg, as we know, it was a match where the Special One applied his so-called "dark art of defense" to defeat Bayer Leverkusen.

European media will undoubtedly spend a lot of ink discussing Jose Mourinho's "negative" semi-final performance. For now, however, we will wait and see how the "Special One" manages to overcome Sevilla, considered a "powerhouse" in the UEFA Europa League, a team that defeated both Manchester United and Inter Milan in the 2019-2020 season, and a team that has won the prestigious European competition six times – a truly unprecedented achievement in this tournament.

KDNX

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/the-thao/jose-mourinho-khi-ke-phan-dien-moi-la-nguoi-duoc-yeu-men/187198.htm