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Jose Mourinho has accepted a job he said he would never take just 4 years ago. What’s changed for the new Tottenham Hotspur boss?

New Tottenham boss, Jose Mourinho (SpursOfficial)
  • Mauricio Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur yesterday November 19, 2019 after a run of just 3 wins in 12 games.
  • He has been replaced by Jose Mourinho in less than 12 hours.
  • The newly appointed Tottenham manager had been out of a managerial job since Manchester United fired him in December 2018.

When Tottenham Hotspur announced the dismissal of their manager of five years Mauricio Pochettino yesterday November 19, 2019, only a few football punters would have made a right guess as to who the club’s choice of a replacement will be.

The club announced enigmatic Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho as their new manager within 12 hours of Pochettino’s sack and the reactions gotten so far have been anything but unexpected.

Having been out of a job since December 2018, offers for the former Real Madrid manager had been limited to the likes of Olympique Lyon amidst news he even turned down a mega offer from China.

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Mourinho wanted an elite project and took up an analyst’s role on Sky Sports before the White Hart Lane vacancy opened up.

He arrives at North London off the back of a two and a half year spell at Old Trafford in which he won the Europa League with Manchester United.

Mourinho's love story with Chelsea

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He made his sojourn into the English League and attained major success during his spell at Tottenham’s London rivals Chelsea.

Mourinho brought success to West London having won Chelsea their first league title in 50 years when he arrived in 2004, a first spell that saw the Portuguese manager dubbed “The Special One”. He also won the FA Cup, League Cup and Community Shield during his first tenure at the club and only left due to a misunderstanding with football-loving club chairman Roman Abrahamovich.

However, his affection for Chelsea seemed rock solid after his exit and although he went on to manage Inter Milan and Real Madrid to considerable success, there seemed to be a Mourinho-shaped hole at Stamford Bridge. He returned to London for a second spell at the club and it was during this spell that he reaffirmed the Blues’ faithful of his love for the club.

Mourinho’s earlier rejection of Tottenham

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Prior to his reappointment as Chelsea boss in 2014, Jose Mourinho had rejected Daniel Levy's first approach to appoint him as Tottenham manager 12 years ago, stating that he could not do it out of respect to Chelsea.

The Tottenham chairman had contacted Jose after his first spell at Chelsea and was keen to get his man. When asked if he was approached, Mourinho said: "I would not take the job because I love Chelsea supporters too much."

The Portuguese manager was however fired by Chelsea afterwards and went on to manage Manchester United before he was let go by the Red Devils in December 2018 following poor club form and rifts with key players.

The former Chelsea manager has now signed a contract with Tottenham Hotspur up until 2023 and the big question on everyone’s mind right now is what changed in four years to make the eccentric Portuguese manager accept a job he swore he would never take?

Is Mourinho the manager to take Spurs forward?

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Mourinho has a brilliant CV which speaks for itself. Since Tottenham's last honour, the Portuguese has brought home 13 trophies to clubs he had managed - Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United.

There is hope that Jose can inject some of this much-needed winning DNA into the club. The club also have to be wary of the trend of Mourinho-led clubs achieving rapid short-term success followed by an equally rapid decline into negativity and toxicity and an early managerial exit.

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