At 62, Mourinho is currently the head coach of Istanbul giants Fenerbahce, having previously managed top clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Chelsea. ..Continue Reading
During his tenure at these clubs, ‘The Special One’ worked with numerous world-class footballers, from Frank Lampard, John Terry, and Didier Drogba at Chelsea to Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Mesut Ozil at Real Madrid. However, when asked to name his ten favorite players to coach, Mourinho included five Manchester United players.
He shared his thoughts when former Red Devils defender Rio Ferdinand inquired about who he enjoyed coaching the most.
“The players I most enjoyed are the players that gave me everything,” he said when speaking on VIBE with FIVE.
“There are dozens and dozens and dozens. And they are maybe not the most talented ones but they gave everything… the ones that I felt could not give anything more than what they gave. These are my players.
“I don’t want to be unfair with people but, when you play a kid, the kid becomes your kid for life. That’s always my feeling. I look to Raphael Varane, now, at the end of his career. He is my kid.
“When I look to Scott McTominay… [Paul] Pogba was on the bench and I played him in Seville. He is my boy. When I go from club to club, I find my boys. And they will always be my boys.”
“Then there are the big stars,” he added. “My captains. [John] Terry, [Javier] Zanetti and Jorge Costa. These are the guys that play through anything. They are phenomenal.
“Then there are the stars that make the difference, even when people think you are the genius. You are not the genius. They are.
“They win matches for you. Cristiano [Ronaldo], [Karim] Benzema, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and Didier [Drogba]. They make you feel like a genius.”
In the same interview, the Portuguese coach revealed how he made Ronaldo, 39, into a prolific goal scorer in his time working with him at Madrid.
“I think you don’t coach,” Mourinho explained. “I don’t have to teach much, it is about being happy, it is about creating an environment by the tactical point of view, by the idea of football where the player can show his best.
“I think Madrid, for him, was a little bit of a transition because, for you, he was a winger.
“Right winger, left winger, out wide, dribbling, attacking people, beating people.
“In Madrid, he became more the goal scorer he was for the rest of his career.
“In fact, probably the first time he played as a striker in a big match was Real Madrid vs Barcelona in the cup final where he scored an amazing goal, an amazing header in extra-time.
“Probably that was the beginning of people having a feeling that animal could be a goal scorer and not just a pure winger.
“Madrid was a little bit of that, a little bit hybrid because he was playing from the left, but he was not wide, and he was not chasing full-backs.
“We were protecting him with the balance that we were giving behind with Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira.”
