Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho happy for managers to be the be all and end all

Mourinho is a prisoner of his personality and success

Jose Mourinho with Diego Costa (GETTY IMAGES)

“Victory is claimed by all, failure attributed to one alone.” As many a football manager knows to his cost, the old maxim about battles, first observed 2,000 years ago by Roman historian Tacitus, is also applied to football matches and the fall guy, the “one alone”, is the manager.

Thus Garry Monk, after steering Swansea City to the highest Premier League finish in their history, is fired six months later after his first bad run – or rather, his team’s first bad run. The misfiring strikers, error-prone defenders and out-of-form midfielders remain in place, picking up their hefty pay packets, waiting to see who Monk’s successor will be.

From an owner’s point of view there is financial sense in this. It is easier and cheaper to pay off one man and a couple of his staff than a squad of players. But, as Tacitus also observed, it is “unfair”.

So maybe Jose Mourinho was not just shifting the buck when, prior to this vital match, he pointed out the players were as much at fault for the champions’ miserable season as he was. “This is not a one-man responsibility,” he said.

Mourinho, however, is a prisoner of his personality and success. The victories, he so often appears to give the impression, are down to him. From the moment he first burst into English consciousness, hurtling down the touchline at Old Trafford to celebrate Francisco Costinha’s late winner for Porto 11 years ago, through his claim to be the “Special One”, to the medal-throwing, hand-shaking, strutting, celebrations, it is so often about him.

This is not unique. The modern game raises managers on to vertiginous pedestals. Jürgen Klopp, Alex Ferguson, Harry Redknapp, even Championship managers like Steve Evans, are built up to be bigger than their teams, their every utterance launching a thousand retweets.

This is partly because they are often the club’s public face with owners publicity averse, especially Chelsea’s, and players increasingly trusted to speak only in protective environments. Some find this spotlight a burden, others thrive in it and turn it to their advantage. Mourinho is very much in the latter camp.

His pre-match press conference had a message for the owner, the fans, the media and his players. He all but borrowed the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s catchphrase (with rather more justification) and said, “we are all in this together”.

Against the club he took to a Champions League triumph in 2004 Mourinho’s current team began positively, but nervily, with goals looking imminent at both ends. Given Chelsea’s fragile belief the first one would be crucial and, like George Osborne, suddenly finding cash to rescue his Autumn Statement, Mourinho got lucky. For the second successive home Champions League match Chelsea were gifted an own goal, their fifth of the season. Fortuitous as it was, the goal gave them confidence. They began pinging the ball around, playing one-twos, taking defenders on.

On the touchline Mourinho was a picture of calm alongside Porto’s hyperactive Julen Lopetgui, who spent most of the game with his arms wide as if he was still keeping goal in La Liga. With his collar up and hands thrust into his coat pockets Mourinho prowled his area, often withdrawing his hands to instruct his team, occasionally to deliver admonishments or praise.

The officials he largely left alone, surprisingly so considering the physical treatment meted out to his players, especially Willian. The busy Brazilian, the one Chelsea player to shine consistently this season, was not perturbed. He got up, and got on with it, driving in the killer second goal.

Mourinho, who had responded to the opening goal with a few small fist pumps, showed his relief at the second, punching the air and turning to look up to the directors’ box his face glowing with delight. With less than 40 minutes left, and Porto needing three goals to put Chelsea out, he could begin to relax a little. There was a wave and a smile to the fans as they again roared his name. It was not the first or last time they cheered Mourinho. The players, apart from Diego Costa who retains the love of the terraces despite his hapless form, were largely unacknowledged until late in the game. Not since Dave Sexton, more than 40 years ago, has anyone managed as many Chelsea matches as the Portuguese, and with Roman Abramovich always in the shadows he is the public face of the club, for good or ill. Many people’s opinion of Chelsea is viewed through a Mourinho prism.

As such, it is inevitable that defeats will be laid at his door and victories added to his garlands. Last night the latter was the case, with supporters of both clubs united at the end in standing to acclaim his brilliance. The winning and losing of football matches may not be a “one-man responsibility”, but when Mourinho is in the dug-out, it often feels like it is.