Jose Mourinho: Great Coach or Coward?

As I watched Inter's run to the Champions League title last season, the whole soccer world was buzzing about Jose Mourinho. Sure, it was a great achievement to win three trophies with the Milan outfit, and no one can deny Mourinho's ability as a man manager and motivator, but with the amount of money at his disposal, he failed to produce any good football. 

Samuel Eto'o, one of the best strikers of the generation, was employed as a leftback at times, with Diego Milito operating alone up front. At times, such as the second leg against Barcelona in the Nou Camp, the Nerrazzuri played without any strikers at all. 

Yesterday, Mourinho was at it again. With his team trailing 2-0 at halftime, he took off playmaker Mesut Ozil and put on combative midfielder Lass Diarra.

Later, trailing 4-0, Mourinho made yet another defensive change by taking off attacking leftback Marcelo, and replacing him with the more defensively-sound Arbelo Arbeloa. 

At times it is acceptable for a coach to use defensive tactics. In a competition such as the World Cup, less skilled teams such as Switzerland or Honduras will always go out to "park the bus" against skilled teams like Spain or Argentina. 

In club football, financially-challenged clubs like Rangers will have to do the same. 

But Mourinho has managed the richest clubs in the world, and still sets his team up with two-holding midfielders no matter what, and as was the case in the second half against Barcelona, sometimes three "stoppers." 

Mourinho has been successful, but it is always easier to destroy than create, and when his teams face sides with the same financial level, Mourinho becomes a coward. 

Beating the once great Ajax, now irrelevant in international competition due to teams like Madrid, Inter and Chelsea spending lavishly, is all well and good, but Mourinho must at some point produce a team that can play good football and win, especially given the amount of money he spends.