Jose Mourinho is one of just five people to have managed both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
The Special One made a great name for himself in England at Stamford Bridge during his first spell at the club. He won back-to-back Premier League titles.
Then, he returned to Chelsea for another spell in 2013 and won the league again, cementing himself as a Blues icon.
However, the Portuguese tactician accepted Tottenham’s offer to join them in 2019, and he spent close to 18 months at the helm in North London.
That didn’t work out for him or Tottenham, and he may have now done something that could irk Spurs fans.
Jose Mourinho starts laughing after John Obi Mikel’s dig at Tottenham
Mourinho is currently at the helm at Fenerbahce in Turkey.
The 62-year-old is busy fighting for the league title there against Galatasaray, but he made some time to meet John Obi Mikel, a player he helped develop many years ago.
The Nigerian, who is a podcaster now, asked his old boss a bunch of questions.
One of them was about what Mourinho prefers to make his side do every time they step onto the pitch -attack or defend?
He replied: “If you only defend, you need to be very lucky to win. If you only attack, you need to be very lucky to win or very dominant – your team is much better than the others.
“It’s difficult for me to answer because you have to find a balance. But, if you ask me if I prefer to see the ball close to my goal or close to the opponent’s goal – when the ball is in the opponent’s half.
“But, you still have to think about transition.”
Mikel replied: “Exactly, and that’s what Spurs don’t do right now!”
Mourinho can be seen laughing at Mikel’s subtle dig at Tottenham.
Jose Mourinho’s stats at Tottenham compared to Ange Postecoglou
Ange Postecoglou has come under a lot of criticism for having just one style of play, and Mikel’s dig above suggests that again.
Mourinho is far more pragmatic and has always been more than happy to just sit back and defend if that’s what the game demanded.
But, how do Postecoglou and Mourinho compare against each other? Here are their stats at Tottenham.
Despite being branded as a defensive manager, Mourinho’s Tottenham scored more than Postecoglou’s, and they conceded fewer goals as well.
The Special One’s numbers are slightly better than that of the current Spurs boss, but he was still sacked back in April 2021.
However, Mourinho never had as many injury issues as Postecoglou has had this season, so the Australian does deserve some slack.