Jose Mourinho feels his way of working changed football and there is a clear distinction between before and after his emergence.
The iconic boss first came to the world’s attention when he won the Champions League with Porto in 2004, earning a move to the Premier League with Chelsea.
In his first of two spells with the Blues he won the Premier League twice, before leaving for Inter Milan where he won two Serie A titles and the Champions League in 2010.
A move to Real Madrid followed where he won La Liga in 2012 while competing against one of the great Barcelona sides.
Since then he returned to Chelsea, moved to Manchester United, Tottenham, Roma and now Fenerbahce.
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His reputation may have dimmed in recent years, but at the peak of his powers in the noughties he was a pioneering manager, considered one of the best in the world.
The 62-year-old feels he was so pioneering that football management is different now to before he arrived at the top of the sport.
‘It is complicated. Methodologically, I think there is a distinction between before me and after me,’ Mourinho said, via Turkish site Fanatik.
‘Methodologically, in terms of how you train, how you think about the game, in the early 2000s, until 2000 and 2004 when I won my first Champions League, there was a big explosion of interest in the way I worked and then there is clearly an after.
‘I remember, for example, when I came to Italy to Inter, when I first went to Italy, even the players didn’t really believe in that way of working. There was a radical change on a methodological level.’
Mourinho’s first season at Fenerbahce did not produce any silverware, but he rages against the idea that he is past his best.
‘Many people say something that makes me laugh, “Jose Mourinho is not what he used to be, he has lost his identity”,’ he said.
‘It is better to lose identity and win. I think those who say that win less. So, those who win, who win more often, are the ones who are more impressive. Then there’s something that makes me feel even better, and that’s the way I win, where I win.
Jose Mourinho’s major honours
Porto
Primeira Liga: 2002/03, 2003/04
Taca de Portugal: 2002–03
Champions League: 2003–04
UEFA Cup: 2002–03
Chelsea
Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2014–1
FA Cup: 2006–07
Inter
Serie A: 2008–09, 2009–10
Coppa Italia: 2009–10
Champions League: 2009–10
Real Madrid
La Liga: 2011–12
Copa del Rey: 2010–11
Man Utd
Europa League: 2016–17
‘Because winning the Champions League with Porto is not the same as winning the Champions League with Barcelona. Winning the Champions League with Inter is not the same as winning the Champions League with Real Madrid.
‘You can say: “OK, but you were at Real Madrid and you didn’t win the Champions League.” I didn’t win the Champions League, but I won the league title and the cup, I beat Barcelona, the best team in the world, and I broke a big cycle of Barcelona’s dominance against Real Madrid.
‘The last UEFA title I won with Roma, Roma’s first and only European title, so the things I did, not only the number of titles I won, but the way I did them… I’m one of the best.’
Mourinho will try and return to the Champions League with his Fenerbahce side when they take on Benfica in the play-offs, starting in Turkey on Wednesday night.