Jose Mourinho is not only one of the greatest managers of the century, but also one of the best the sport has ever seen. The Special One found success at pretty much every club he’s worked for, coaching a number of world-renowned stars throughout his career.
Therefore, it may be hard to make a lineup of the best players who played under Mou without leaving big names aside. The Portuguese has recently dared to do so, overlooking the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Karim Benzema, and Sergio Ramos.
Mourinho recently sat down with The Obi One Podcast, and while the full episode will be released on Monday, December 18, the show already revealed what the manager’s best XI looks like:
Petr Cech; Javier Zanetti, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, William Gallas; Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Mesut Ozil; Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard.
Mourinho leans on Chelsea success
Mou’s team is dominated by former Chelsea players, with little presence of Inter Milan (Zanetti) and Real Madrid (Ozil, Ronaldo). Meanwhile, the 60-year-old didn’t name a single player from his time at Manchester United, Tottenham or his current Roma squad.
For instance, he had countless options at goalkeeper: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), David de Gea (Manchester United), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), or Vitor Bahia, who was Porto’s keeper in the 2004 Champions League success. But Cech was instrumental in Mou’s path to stardom at Stamford Bridge, so his choice makes sense.
While he surprisingly left out the likes of Ramos or Lucio in the defense, many fans were shocked not to see Ashley Cole at left back. Xabi Alonso was another notable absentee, though Mourinho’s choices in the midfield and attack were less controversial for the soccer community.