Nothing Special

Having first made his reputation in football as an interpreter, it is hardly surprising that the standard of Jose Mourinho’s spoken English is good – though there are one or two weaknesses which he would do well to address. To begin with, there are marked pronunciation problems in some areas – he is inclined, for instance, to begin many sentences with “I sink” (which in present circumstances is not without its irony). There are also, inevitably, some words which he does not appear properly to comprehend – ‘entertainment’ is an obvious example; ‘gracious’ is another. But these pale into insignificance beside what seems to be a total inability to utter the following words: “I’m sorry, I made a mistake”.

Whether this is entirely a linguistic difficulty is debatable, since there is ample evidence to suggest that there may be a personality element involved. Chelsea’s defeat to Liverpool in the F.A. Cup semi-final is an excellent example. By common consent the Special One clearly got his tactics wrong on this occasion and the sight of a Chelsea team sheet without Robben and Duff but with Ferreira as part of a sort of rough midfield diamond must have done more than any team talk to boost Liverpool’s morale before a ball had been kicked.

By the time Mourinho had sorted it out it was too late and even Chelsea’s solitary goal owed more to Riise’s clumsy header than anything the Blues created. And afterwards, there was no handshake for Benitez and, significantly, no admission of blame. Predictability, he could not say those words. He is never wrong. Drogba and cole were wrong because they missed chances. Graham Poll was wrong, for awarding an unjust free kick and disallowing a Chelsea ‘goal’. At which point, exit Mourinho, muttering darkly that Liverpool will never win the Premiership. Gracious to the last.

Well, this season the Premiership is all that Mourinho will win. Retaining the title is a considerable achievement, but in view of the multi-million investment of Roman Abramovic can it really be regarded as progress? Chelsea have been eliminated from the Champions League, the Carling Cup and now even the F.A. Cup and there are many who feel that it is the manager, rather than everyone else, who should take responsibility rather than bitterly trotting out excuses. He blew it and he must somehow acquire the humility and dignity that will help him to say those important words: “I’m sorry, I made a mistake.”

Then he will be respected.