Tottenham dismisses Mourinho

The 'spurs', leaders of the English championship in mid-December, have suffered a significant drop in their performance and now occupy seventh place, five points behind the positions that give access to the Champions League

Tottenham announced on Monday that their coach, Portuguese José Mourinho, and his entire coaching staff have been "relieved of their duties", seventeen months after having arrived at the 'spurs' to replace Argentine Mauricio Pochettino. "The club can announce today that José Mourinho and his coaching staff, Joao Sacramento, Nuno Santos, Carlos Lalín and Giovanni Cerra, have been relieved of their duties," the statement read.

Tottenham, leaders of the Premier League in mid-December, have suffered a significant drop in performance and are now in seventh place, five points behind the places that give access to the next Champions League. The Portuguese coach was also being criticized for the game of his team and there were rumors about tensions in the locker room.

«José and his coaching staff have been by our side in one of the most difficult periods for the club. José is a great professional who has shown enormous resistance during the pandemic, "said Tottenham president Daniel Levy, quoted in the statement.

The timing of the announcement is surprising, as the North London team played a crucial match in their fight for European places on Wednesday against Southampton, in a match that had been postponed on matchday 29, and on Sunday one final, that of the League Cup against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in London. The Portuguese will be replaced for the time being by Ryan Mason, former Tottenham player and coach of the U-19 team.

With empty hands

After accumulating trophies in all the teams he has been through - Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United - Mourinho leaves this time empty-handed.

Prototype of a dominant and confident coach, who does not hesitate to attack referees, rivals and even his own players at a press conference, 'Mou' has built his career on this image of toughness. Even the very quiet Paul Pogba opened up about it recently. «There was a time when he had a very good relationship with Mourinho. It was an obvious thing and then, overnight, everything changed. (...) This is the strange thing about Mourinho and I could not explain why, since I myself have not understood it, "the Frenchman told Sky Sports a few days ago

In November 2019, the 'spurs' surrendered to 'Mou' when they were fourteenth in the Premier League, with a squad that Pochettino could no longer get the best of. A surprising choice, since Mourinho had been unemployed for eleven months, after an experience that ended badly at Manchester United, despite winning a Europa League. But with this 'title-winning machine', Tottenham finally hoped to fill their showcases and even compete with Liverpool and both Manchester for the title.

The Portuguese assured his arrival that from the second season he could aspire to the first position. But after guiding Tottenham from 14th to 6th place, entering the Europa League, and reaching the top of the leaderboard in late autumn, it seemed like a miracle could happen.

Led by the unstoppable pair Harry Kane-Son Heung Min, things soon took a turn for the worse. Exhausted physically, but perhaps also psychologically, Tottenham withered. Eleven of his thirteen defeats, counting all competitions - a single season record for a team coached by Mourinho - took place after mid-December.

The turning point was the shipwreck in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 against Dinamo Zagreb (3-0), wasting 2-0 in the first leg. And in the Premier League, Tottenham's overly defensive attitude caused them to lose 20 points after leading on the scoreboard, including the last two against Everton on Friday (2-2 final after opening the light).

For Tottenham (a club with a reputation for managing well) to fire him when there is still a lot at stake at this end of the season and the compensation - he had a contract until 2023 - promise to be high, the divorce between club and coach should be deep.