Why Only England Can Tolerate Jose Mourinho

He branded himself 'A Special One' in his very first PC after being appointed coach of English Football Club, Chelsea mid-2004 and we instinctively warmed up to the man whose celebratory sprint down the touchline at Old Trafford in 2004 had initially introduced him to the British public—an act that had brought a sly smile to every non-United fan's face.

The contrast between Jose Mourinho's popularity in England and Italy has been as stark as it gets.

The English tabloids 'dim-wittedly' fell for him, while the more sophisticated Italians have been left scratching their heads wondering what is so special about this Portuguese who seems more of a 'Lusitanian bluff', a term generously coined by Italian Football buffs.

So why are most of the British public and EPL fans so enthralled by this living, breathing and walking fulfilment of arrogance from Portugal?

What exactly do they see in him which evidently no other League has managed to?

Throughout his successful three year stint with the Premier League Club, Mourinho's behavior had been more than slightly unhinged.
 
Whether it be shushing on Anfield's face, claiming that Arsene Wenger was a ‘voyeur’, the '"I am invisible" talk to cops (for the uninitiated—he prevented animal welfare officials from putting his beloved Yorkshire Terrier dog into quarantine), hiding in the dressing Room and escaping via a laundry bin during a match he had been banned from.

He used an 'eggs in the waitrose' metaphor to explain his footballing style, snubbed compatriot and Manchester United winger, Christiano Ronaldo by labelling him 'a liar' (undeniably, there is a bit of credibility here), this and more added to the ' whistle and whistle, cheat and cheat' blast at the Red Devils post their high profile Carling Cup SF(2005) clash — the man had come off as an extremely eccentric bloke who seemed to possess an endearing sense of mischief. 

When he was around, the pot was not just boiling—it was ready to spill.

Indeed there always was a vocal group, though by a long way only a minority, that disliked his pragmatic style not to mention that maddening haughtiness of the steely-eyed football fizz.

But ask yourself—didn't most of you enjoy it all, if only silently?

He would make it a requisite to catch his post-match conferences, which would delight the usually dull week separating the League clashes.

The supremely confident man was Colourful and Charismatic, Controversial and Candid, Committed and ultimately—borderline Crazy.

And the biggest mouth in Football apparently has so much savvy sex-appeal that in 2006, Mourinho was voted the sixth sexiest man in the world by readers of Brit New Woman magazine. 

Right, this George Clooney look-alike is one item of a Footballing manager.

And in England, packages like this are begging to become the 'Show of the country.'

The English public couldn't wait to start wooing the pepper-salt haired Portuguese—he had been a blast of fresh air into the League which had always been wanting of bravado.

Fellow managers loved him—*cough* but of course they did! Who would talk about and scrutinise them when Mr Bombastic was around, who seemingly revelled being soaked with limelight.

Because bad Publicity is still publicity.

As has been widely acknowledged, English football has certainly seemed duller since Chelsea made the mistake by letting him leave by “mutual consent” in 2007.

So charisma, confidence and lunacy - all in all, a winning combination in English land.

Ah, the irony of it all..don't we love nutters?

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