A strange thing for a Mancunian to be writing, I know, after The Special One's Real Madrid knocked United out of the Champions League last night. And that dodgy sending-off. But Jose is irresistible. To be fair, there's more grey in the hair and more pork in the chops than there was when he did that famous sprint down the touchline after his Porto team did the same thing to United all those years ago. But he still broods with that air of utter self-possession that those of us who resemble a gibbering peanut would kill for.
Mourinho's record as a manager speaks for itself, but, curiously, I'm not sure how much he actually knows about football. His real skill - and this is also true of Sir Alex Ferguson - might be in man-management. Manipulation in other words. It doesn't matter whether he is a good coach or tactician, because he is a genius at making players want to please him and do their best for him. Interviewed after the match last night he said, "The best team lost". Would he have said Madrid deserved to lose if United had won? I doubt it. Slagging off your team when they've won reminds me of another big-mouth genius - Brian Clough. Madrid will be trying even harder in the next round.
And what about Mourinho's way with words? This is what he had to say about Christiano Ronaldo, returning to Old Trafford for the first time since his departure. "Mentally it was not easy for Ronaldo. I played at Stamford Bridge after I left. Not easy. I played Porto. Not easy. One day I will go back to the San Siro. Not easy. One day I will go back to the Bernabeu. Not easy. So Cristiano, not easy. It is not easy".
Upstairs, I hope Harold Pinter's taking notes.
PS About the sending off - the referee can only have been invoking the "serious foul play" law. That's defined as when someone "tackles an opponent with excessive force or brutality when the ball is in play". But Nani was not tackling Arbeloa. Nani was trying to control the ball, and didn't realise Arbeloa was coming until the last moment.
FIFA have muddied the waters by saying "any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play". Again, Nani didn't lunge at Arbeloa and didn't use excessive force. The force came from Arbeloa who was running. When Nani began his movement the Madrid player was nowhere near him. Arbeloa in fact runs on to Nani's foot from the side. Arbeloa then made the most of it.
The referee wrecked a great occasion with a bad decision. We was robbed.
