Robert Pires played under some of the finest managers during his career, but he never got the chance to play under the self-proclaimed “Special One”, a certain Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese boss started out as an interpreter for the late Sir Bobby Robson at Barcelona before making the move into coaching and eventually coming to global prominence at FC Porto, leading the side to Champions League glory. Following this success he made a move to Chelsea and instantly became one of the most famous managers in world football giving Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and co some real headaches during his stint at Stamford Bridge.
Such was his success in west London that he was wanted by some of the biggest clubs around the world. After a disagreement with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, Mourinho left the club and headed to Italy with Inter Milan. More Champions League glory followed by he never seemed to settle in the role of manager at the San Siro and opted for the hottest seat in football at Real Madrid.
While Jose was a success at the Bernabeu, you felt it was only a matter of time before he returned to English football. Now, as he prepares his Chelsea side for the upcoming Premier League season, it’s about time we learned a bit more about the Special One, and this graphic from The Soccer Store gives us a few of the factors that make the Special One, well, special!
