Jose Mourinho’s tenures at leading clubs

Jose Mourinho has been appointed as the new manager of Tottenham, replacing Mauricio Pochettino after the Argentinian was dismissed on Tuesday evening.

Since taking over at Porto in 2002, Mourinho had always won the league title in his second season with a club – until Manchester United – but has tended not to stick around much longer. Only his first spell at Chelsea reached a fourth season and even that ended in September 2007 after six games of the league campaign.

Jose Mourinho’s record at each club he has managed since taking charge at Porto in 2002 (PA Graphic)

Jose Mourinho’s record at each club he has managed since taking charge at Porto in 2002 (PA Graphic)

Here, the PA news agency takes a look back at Mourinho’s tenures with leading clubs.

Porto

January 23, 2002 – June 1, 2004

Trophies: Primeira Liga 2002-03, 2003-04, Taca de Portugal 2002-03, Champions League 2003-04, UEFA Cup 2002-03
Win rate: 71.7 per cent

Mourinho ascended to the summit of Portuguese football with a treble of league, cup and UEFA Cup wins after taking over mid-season. He added a memorable league and Champions League double before being head-hunted by Chelsea to take over from Claudio Ranieri.

To put Porto’s European achievement in context, just seven different clubs have won the Champions League in the 14 years since – including all four of the clubs subsequently managed by Mourinho.

Chelsea

Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge

Jose Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004 (Andrew Parsons/PA)

June 2, 2004 – September 20, 2007

Trophies: Premier League 2004-05, 2005-06, FA Cup 2006-07, League Cup 2004-05, 2006-07
Win rate: 67 per cent

Once more Mourinho made an immediate impact with back-to-back title successes in his first two seasons.

They missed out in his third year and – though they softened the blow by winning both domestic cups – a poor start to the following season saw him sacked with the Blues languishing in fifth place. They would eventually finish second.

Inter Milan

Mourinho, far right, celebrates Champions League success with Inter

Mourinho (far right) celebrates Champions League success with Inter (Martin Rickett/PA)

June 2, 2008 – May 28, 2010

Trophies: Serie A 2008-09, 2009-10, Coppa Italia 2009-10, Champions League 2009-10
Win rate: 62 per cent

Desperate to show that the disappointing end to his first Chelsea spell was a mere blip, Mourinho bounced back with a trademark start in Inter.

The Nerazzuri were untouchable in Serie A, winning the title by 10 points in Mourinho’s first season and holding off a renewed challenge from Roma in a second season which also brought the domestic cup and Mourinho’s second Champions League triumph.

His successes persuaded Madrid to negotiate a deal to lure him to Spain.

Real Madrid

Mourinho in a Real Madrid press conference

Mourinho’s time in Spain was often frustrating (Sean Dempsey/PA)

May 31, 2010 – June 1, 2013

Trophies: LaLiga 2011-12, Copa del Rey 2010-11
Win rate: 71.9 per cent

Barcelona provided a quality of opposition beyond what Mourinho had faced previously and his rivalry with first Pep Guardiola and then Tito Vilanova in the opposing dug-out proved fiery.

Cup success in his first campaign and the traditional league title in his second proved insufficient to satisfy Real’s hunger for trophies and, after a barren third season, he returned to the warm embrace of Chelsea.

Chelsea

June 3, 2013 – December 17, 2015

Trophies: Premier League 2014-15, League Cup 2014-15
Win rate: 58.8 per cent

The Blues finished third in a tight Premier League title race in the season he returned, before he kept up his second-season record with a league and League Cup double.

After 16 games of the 2015-16 campaign, though, the club’s title defence was in tatters and they almost unbelievably sat just one place above the relegation zone when Mourinho was once more shown the door.

Manchester United

Jose Mourinho's last match in charge of Manchester United came in a 3-1 loss at Liverpool

Jose Mourinho’s last match in charge of Manchester United came in a 3-1 loss at Liverpool (Peter Byrne/PA)

May 27, 2016-December 18, 2018

Trophies: League Cup 2016-17, Europa League 2016-17
Win rate: 58.33 per cent

David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal had tried and failed to replicate the success of Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford when the club turned to perhaps the biggest name in management.

They won two trophies in his first season at the helm but Mourinho had to watch his former club Chelsea lift the Premier League trophy – followed by his old rival Guardiola at Manchester City as Mourinho’s year-two magic finally wore off. A poor start to his third season saw the pressure intensify following heavy losses to Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool, which also saw the Red Devils register the least amount of points to a Premier League season after 17 matches before he was sacked.

FourFourTwo Staff

FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.