Say what you like about Jose Mourinho, but while he may be a fading figure in the coaching world, he is still a force of nature in front of the camera who you just cannot take your eyes off.
Press conferences can be the most tedious of experiences, the more mundane part of the job. Getting one standout line can often be difficult, with coaches and players so media-trained in the modern era because clubs are afraid they might say something remotely interesting.
Yet 20 minutes in Mourinho’s company gave us enough content for the whole season, with bits left over for an end-of-year biography. In a cramped room at Fenerbahce’s training base ahead of a clash with one of his former employers Manchester United, reporters were hanging on his every word.
Few relish such formalities, such is the sheer volume of media responsibilities coaches are put through, but Mourinho continues to buck the trend. He lives for his moments in the spotlight, even after so many years dominating the headlines.
Entering the room, Mourinho threw t-shirts to two of his former favourite journalists – from Sky Sports and the Manchester Evening News – like Morrissey entering stage-left.
Then, he immediately got stuck into local media for questioning his team selection – he has come under criticism for recent Fenerbahce results – before turning his attention to what we were all here for. What has gone wrong at Manchester United and was it his fault?
Little did we know, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City’s 115 charges would be thrown in for good measure, with a tongue-in-cheek jibe in Erik ten Hag’s direction the cherry on the bitter-tasting cake.
“Honestly, I didn’t lose one minute thinking about it [United’s plight in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era],” he proclaimed, just warming up.
“I wish the best to Man Utd since the moment I left. I left with a good feeling to the club, with a good feeling to the fans, so if things are not going amazingly well for them it’s not something that makes me happy, but at the same time it doesn’t make sense for me to be thinking about what happened, what didn’t happen.
“What happened for sure, because it’s very objective, is they keep faith in the coach, they support the coach, the coach is staying season after season and that means stability, it means trust and they give him conditions to keep developing his job. That was a difference in relation to me.
“As you know, we won the Europa League, we finished second in the Premier League [in 2018], I think we still have a chance to win that league because if they punish Man City with points maybe we win that league and then they have to pay me the bonus and give me the medal.”
He was answering the questions he wanted to answer, in his own time. He stopped mid-answer on another to explain the t-shirts, offering more signed ones to anyone who wanted it, before re-focusing his ire on Turkish pundits.
United’s situation required more explanation. However, despite leaving on bad terms in 2018, in his eyes having not been given the time to complete his project, he refused to criticise the structure of a club that is still trying to rekindle its former grandeur.
Leaving the door open to a Premier League return one day ensured he crammed as much blockbuster content in as possible.
“I will always repeat the same thing: I want them to be successful,” he added, to a chorus of groans.
“They’re not playing against me in the Premier League. Tomorrow, I wish the best to everyone there: the coaches, the players, everybody. Only three or four players are there from my time. Maybe you think I’m bluffing or mind games, I’m not playing anything.
“Sooner or later they will succeed. Hopefully sooner, hopefully before one day I go back to the Premier League and they become my opponent. At this moment they are just my opponents for one match.”
Fully aware Fenerbahce are huge underdogs on Thursday in Istanbul, his opening line was: “I don’t see any reason for Manchester United to be afraid of Fenerbahce”.
But there is no doubt Jose will have a few tricks up his sleeve, never losing his ability to produce the goods in one-off matches.
Having achieved so much, so young, he has faded fast. Two league titles in 12 years – and none since 2015 – suggests he remains very much yesterday’s man, unwilling to adapt.
Arguably losing his spot in the pantheon of the truly immortal coaches due to his stark decline, the recent calibre of the clubs he has coached has mirrored his own fall from grace.
But his star appeal remains unstoppable. He didn’t want to leave the room, offering up his expensive hotel facilities in retaliation to a newspaper article highlighting his lavish Istanbul lifestyle. As he was forced out of the door, he denied he was ever contacted for the England job as one final killer line, away from the microphones.
When we will get this chance to speak to him again remains to be seen. But I already cannot wait.
