Oxymoron in Blue

Stand by for a bit of a shock. In fact, on second thoughts, you’d better sit down, because it’s more than a bit. We’re going to use the phrase ‘the modesty of Jose Mourinho’. And what’s more, we’re serious. Deadly.

Now you might think that, like thousands of others, you’ve got Mourinho absolutely type cast. Little Portuguese bloke. Interpreter turned football coach. Definitively arrogant. Does his own hype. Introduced himself to the British sporting press as a great manager and a ‘Special One’. Inclined to strut and prance about the technical area, gesticulating wildly to ensure that he’s noticed. Not noted for his kindness or respect towards fellow managers, or his tact (he called Arsene Wenger a ‘voyeur’). More than a bit melodramatic – as befits a man who ostentatiously throws his medal into the crowd. When in a good mood likes to lace press conferences with a bit of stand-up and an awful lot of “I sink”.

On the face of it, not much modesty there, of course – but hang on a minute. In the build-up to Chelsea’s European Champions League group game against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, this same Mourinho is alleged to have claimed that Eidur Gudjohnsen (the player he once described as the Blond Maradonna) has learned to dive since he moved to Spain.

Who would have thought it! Jose Mourinho giving someone else the credit.

Modest - or what?

See. We knew you’d be shocked.