Have we fallen out of love with Jose Mourinho?
It depends what you mean by love. The handsome bone structure, the all-natural tan, the salt and pepper hair – in other words the features that made the Chelsea coach the world’s first fanciable football manager (Sven-Goran Eriksson doesn’t count, whatever the evidence to the contrary) – are still in place. The real question is whether any of the other facets that inspired a nationwide amour de Mourinho are less attractive than they used to be. To pick a quality entirely at random, take his self-confidence. When the 43-year-old Portuguese first arrived at Chelsea in 2004, his belief in his own abilities instantly charmed the media. Declaring himself, at his inaugural press conference, to be “the special one” (actually, he said “I think I am a special one”, but that wouldn’t have made such a good nickname), he immediately stood out from the average boss, who will take each game as it comes even when playing Swingball. That Mourinho was able to preen himself, not only in good English, bu
