Jose Mourinho Biography Facts, Childhood, Net Worth, Life

Jose Mourinho Biography Facts, Childhood, Net Worth, Life
Jose Mourinho in 2019. (Photo credit: Business Insider / Pulse.ng)

José Mourinho is a professional football manager from Portugal known as one of the best coaches who deliver astounding results. The path to victory and success in football is laden by several challenges and not forgetting the unwavering support of the fans. After overcoming these challenges to secure victory, fans jubilate with ecstasy, with insane bewilderment. While the names of the players who played tremendously well to secure victory continually ring in the minds of fans, the coach, who stands on the back burner and ensures the team’s objective of securing victory is achieved may not be showered with the sort of attention the players garner. But that does not mean they aren’t celebrated. Pundits will agree that team success, no matter the calibre of player it has, weighs heavily on the tactics set by the coach. We review his path to success in this José Mourinho biography facts, childhood, net worth and personal life.

José Mourinho Biography Facts, Age, Nicknames, Family, Wife, Kids, Team, Zodiac

  • Full Name: José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix
  • Nicknames: The Only One; The Special One; Zé Mário; Mou
  • Date of Birth: 26 January 1963
  • Age: 61 years
  • Place of Birth: Setúbal, Portugal
  • Nationality: Portuguese
  • Height: 1.74 m
  • Weight: 74 kg
  • Education: Technical University of Lisbon
  • Father: Félix Mourinho
  • Mother: Maria Júlia Carrajola dos Santos
  • Siblings: Teresa Felix (sister)
  • Spouse: Matilde Faria (married 1989)
  • Children: Matilde Mourinho (daughter); Jose Mario Mourinho Jr. (son) 
  • Sports Coached: Football/Soccer (Association Football Manager)
  • Current Team: Tottenham Hotspurs (Manager)
  • Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

José Mourinho Childhood Story, Early Life and Football Career

Young Jose Mourinho Childhood Photo
Jose Mourinho’s childhood photo. (Photo credit: Unknown)

Born in Setúbal, Portugal to a middle-class family, his father, Félix Mourinho, played professional football, while his mother worked as a high school teacher. His mother came from a rich family. Following the fall of the second republic in Portugal, his mother’s family affluence was drastically affected. They lost all their properties, except property in Palmela.

Mourinho desired to play professional football like his father, he progressed to the senior team, after joining, Belenenses. Mourinho played for various clubs in Portugal before he realized he lacked the strength, antics and creatively to be an outstanding professional. He thus opted to be a coach. His mother, Maria Júlia, envisioned something else for Mourinho. She enrolled him in a business school, which he dropped out from on the same day he was enrolled. Mourinho went on to study sports science at the Technical University of Lisbon. He attended several courses hosted by the English and Scottish Football Association. 

José Mourinho Coaching Career

Mourinho worked briefly as a school coach, before becoming coach of the youth team of Vitória de Setúbal. He then went on to become an assistant manager for the Portuguese club, Estrela, and a scout for Ovarense.

Following the arrival of Bobby Robson at Sporting CP, Mourinho became his interpreter. While working at Sporting CO, he and Bobby Robson, discussed strategies to be used. When Robson moved to Porto as head coach, Mourinho went along with him and served as his assistant. At Porto, Robson and Mourinho led the team to the semifinals of the Champions League in the 1993/1994 season and won the Portuguese Supper cup in 1995 and 1996. After a two year stint at Porto, they moved to Barcelona, where once again they worked their magic, winning the Copa del Rey, the European Cup Winners Cup and Supercopa de España.

After a season at Barcelona, Robson moved to another club but without Mourinho. Barcelona was eager to keep the productive Portuguese coach. He worked with Louis Van Gaal. While serving as Van Gaal’s assistant, they won the Laliga on two occasions. Van Gaal allowed Mourinho develop his coaching, by handing the coaching duties of the Barcelona B team to Mourinho and serving occasionally as assistant coach to Mourinho for the first team in vital tournaments like the Copa Catalunya, which he won in 2000. 

José Mourinho Profile, Teams Coached and Managerial Career

Benfica (2000)

In September 2000, Mourinho was called up to become a coach for Benfica. He stated that he told Van Gaal of the offer to be an assistant coach at Benfica, which Gaal prompted him to turn down, stating he should accept only if they choose to make him head coach. He chose a former Portuguese defender as his assistant coach, Carlos Mozer. Bobby Robson was desperate in need of Mourinho and offered him an assistant manager job at Newcastle, stating he’ll step down for Mourinho after three years. Mourinho refused the offer stating Robson will never step down. After nine games with Benfica and delivering a quality result, he stepped down as the arrival of a new president showed Mourinho may well be fired soon. 

União de Leiria (2001–2002)

He joined União de Leiria in July 2001 and led the team to eight games unbeaten, which attracted top Portuguese clubs.

Porto (2002–2004)

In January 2002, Mourinho joined Porto as manager. The team was fifth in the league but finished third after Mourinho’s arrival. The next season, the 2002/03 season, Mourinho won the Premier Liga, the Taça de Portugal and the UEFA Super Cup. In the 2003/04 season, Mourinho lost the UEFA Super Cup, the Taça de Portugal, but won the Premier Liga and the UEFA Champions League.  After his success at Porto, Chelsea Abramovich offered him a huge sum of money to join Chelsea. 

Chelsea (2004–2007)

In June 2004, he joined Chelsea after signing a three-year contract. In a press conference, he said he was the Special One, which led to media calling him the Special One. He thus spent £70 million on transfer and recruited most of his technical crew from Porto. In his debut season as a coach for Chelsea, he won the Premier League for the club, the first time in 50 years and achieved the most points recorded in the premier league with 95 points. In the 2005/06 season, Mourinho won the community shield and a second consecutive Premier League title.

It was alleged that Mourinho and club owner Abramovich, were having friction over the signing and playing of Andriy Shevchenko who performed well at Milan but underperformed at Chelsea. He won the League Cup and the FA Cup but not the Premier League. In September 2007, after a series of disagreement with Abramovich, he decided to leave Chelsea unexpectedly. He left as the clubs most successful manager, having won 6 titles in 3 years. 

Inter Milan (2008–2010)

In June 2008, Mourinho signed a three-year contract with Inter Milan as manager. He brought his technical crew who have worked under him at Porto and Chelsea. During the transfer window, Mourinho spent €45.6 million on three signings. In his first season at Inter, Mourinho won the Supercoppa Italiana and the Serie A. He was involved in feuds with fellow Serie A coaches such as then AC Milan’s coach, Carlo Ancelotti and then Juventus coach, Claudio Ranieri. He also made his infamous, zeru tituli rant.

In his second season with Inter, he once again got involved in feuds with Marcello Lippi and Fabio Cannavaro. He, however, led Inter Milan to European glory by winning the Champions League and clinching a treble, the first Italian team to achieve the feat. After inter paid a world record compensation package, Mourinho was released by the club.

Real Madrid (2010–2013)

Mourinho joined Real Madrid in May 2010. Following his arrival, he bought new players such as Mesut Özil, Angel Di Maria and Sami Khedira. He didn’t win the Laliga title until the 2012/13 season. In 2012, he signed a contract extension which will see him at the club till 2016. He went on to win the Supercopa de España, which made him the first coach to win super cups in 4 European countries. After he lost the 2013 Copa del Rey final, he left Madrid

Chelsea (2013–2015)

In June 2013, Mourinho signed a four-year contract with Chelsea. He finally ended the 2013/14 season with Chelsea at 3rd place in the league and was a Champions League semifinalist. In the 2014/15 season, he won the League Cup and the Premier League, which made him receive the Premier League Player of the Season award. In August 2015, Mourinho signed a four-year contract extension with Chelsea. In December 2015, after a series of loss, he left Chelsea.

Manchester United (2016–2018)

In May 2016, he signed a three-year contract with Manchester United. He helped the club claim the community shield following his arrival. He also won the 2017 EFL Cup Final, making him the first Manchester United manager to claim a major trophy in his first season. Mourinho also added the Europa League to his title wins. In the summer of 2017, he signed Romelu Lukaku and  Nemanja Matić. But this didn’t help the club as they had a disappointing performance during the 2017/18 season. After winning 7 out of 17 Premier League games, Mourinho was sacked by United in December 2018. 

Tottenham Hotspur (2018–date)

In November 2019, Mourinho signed a four-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur to serve as manager.

José Mourinho Net Worth, Endorsements, Sponsorships and Salary

As of 2019, Mourinho has an estimated net worth of about $100 million USD, making him one of the richest football managers in the world. Mourinho reportedly earns an annual salary of £15million as Tottenham Hotspur’s Manager. He has featured in advertisements for brands such as Samsung, Adidas, American Express and Braun.

José Mourinho Personal Life and Trivia

Jose Mourinho with his wife and kids
From left to right—Mourinho’s wife, Matilde Faria, Jose Mourinho, children, Matilde Mourinho and Jose Mario Mourinho Jr.(Photo credit: alsat-m.tv)

Mourinho married Matilde “Tami” Faria in 1989 after they met as teenagers in his town of birth. They both have two kids, Matilde Mourinho, born in 1996 and Jose Mario Mourinho Jr. born in 2000.

He is a global ambassador for the World Food Programme.

He is a devout Ronan Catholic.

For his numerous accomplishments in the world of football, the Technical University of Lisbon awarded Mourinho an honourary degree.


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