Examining Jose Mourinho’s Statistics from the Last Decade: Is He Still ‘The Special One’?

When Jose Mourinho declared himself ‘The Special One’ back in 2005, it sent shockwaves through the media landscape.

The Portuguese tactician was making his move to Chelsea after guiding Porto to a Champions League triumph, and the Blues were fortunate that his confidence was matched by tactical acumen.

Once known primarily as Bobby Robson’s translator during his early career at Sporting, Porto, and Barcelona, he positioned himself as a formidable influence among even the most prominent figures in football.

Mourinho’s Commanding Presence at Chelsea

John Terry was among the many players who openly expressed their willingness to go to great lengths for the coach from Setubal.

“He completely transformed my perspective on football. In our first training session, the lads thought: ‘Wow, this is a real session,'” reminisced the former Chelsea captain in an interview.

“It was pre-season, and his first instruction was to get the balls out. In my days, it was unheard of to use footballs during the very first pre-season workout.”

“He said you never see a pianist darting around a piano; rather, you see a pianist working diligently. However, we probably covered more ground with the ball than we would have without it! Psychologically, he had us.”

“The intensity was palpable — his presence, you could feel it. If someone was playing about during warm-up, or kicking the ball while he was speaking, he’d say: ‘When I speak, the ball stays still; you listen to me.’ He was in charge.”

His grand treble-winning season with Inter Milan paved the way to his tenure at Real Madrid, and while Mourinho remained widely regarded as one of the game’s more brilliant coaches, controversy seemed to follow him relentlessly.

Controversy Shadows Mourinho’s Greatness

The most troubling instances usually revolved around his rivalry with Barcelona, a club that opted for Pep Guardiola as their coach instead of Mourinho.

In 2005, UEFA referees’ committee chairman Volker Roth labelled Mourinho “the enemy of football” after Mourinho harshly critiqued Anders Frisk’s officiating during a Chelsea vs Barcelona match, which led to Frisk’s retirement after facing death threats from Chelsea supporters.

In 2011, cameras captured him poking then-Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova in the eye during a scuffle in the Spanish Super Cup final. It was a shameful moment broadcast worldwide, and Mourinho later apologised, attributing it to his aversion to losing.

“I was in the wrong, and I shouldn’t have done that. Of course, that negative image lingers forever. Tito was innocuous in the situation. I sincerely apologise to him,” Mourinho admitted.

“I was my own worst enemy. If I could, this is one of those incidents I’d never want to repeat. Before this, I was on a winning streak, and if I faced a setback, it felt catastrophic to me.”

After his tenure at the Santiago Bernabéu, Mourinho managed another stint at Chelsea, as well as having spells at Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma, and currently at Fenerbahçe, where controversies have surfaced once more.

In a recent clash against rivals Galatasaray, he sparked an altercation by grabbing the nose of counterpart Okan Buruk, resulting in a three-match suspension and a fine of approximately £6,000.

Despite the impressive record he boasts as a manager, recent times haven’t been particularly noteworthy. This raises the question of whether the much-acclaimed ‘Special One’ still is… well… special.

In terms of win percentage, Mourinho’s status has been declining for several years. Since his 66.7% win rate in the 2014/15 season at Chelsea, his performance has steadily dropped.

Assessing Mourinho’s Win Percentage Since 2014/15

He recorded a dismal 36% victory rate the following season, the lowest in his career, which prompted his second departure from Stamford Bridge. However, his initial two seasons at Manchester United yielded respectable win rates of 57.8% and 66.1%.

His third season at Old Trafford saw a further slip to 41.7% before a move to Tottenham, where his figures improved slightly with a 45.7% and 52.1% win rate, both marginally better than at United.

His time in Serie A also saw a decline, with a win percentage of 50.9%, 47.3%, and 46.4% across three seasons at Roma. However, he has experienced a resurgence at Fenerbahçe with a commendable 63.4% win rate.

Indeed, his tally of 26 victories from 41 matches positions him just two wins away from achieving his third-best season in the past decade.

His initial two seasons at United yielded 37 wins each, while 36 wins from 54 matches characterised his second Chelsea term (14/15).

Mourinho’s 27 wins during the 21/22 season with Roma constitutes his third-best record in the last ten years, a feat that could easily change if he wins just two of the final seven league fixtures this season.

Goals Remain Crucial, and Mourinho Desperately Needs More at Fenerbahçe

Over the same time frame, his teams have only managed to net over 100 goals in a season on three occasions: Chelsea in 14/15 (109), and notably, Manchester United in both 2016/17 and 2017/18 (105 and 101 goals, respectively).

Fenerbahçe’s 91 goals thus far (74 in the Turkish Super Lig) is the fifth-best scoring output from a Mourinho-led team in the last decade, just edging ahead of the 90 scored by Roma in 2021/22.

The 62-year-old has consistently emphasised the importance of a solid defence, with his Turkish side conceding only 43 goals this season. Nonetheless, this figure surpasses four of his last ten campaigns and is just a few shy of three others.

On a positive note, his current point-per-game ratio stands at 2.1, matching Manchester United’s 17/18 performance and trailing only behind Chelsea’s 14/15 season which boasted an impressive 2.3 average.

With just five losses this season, he is one shy of the four losses from the 14/15 season and a significant improvement from the 16 losses recorded during the 22/23 season at Roma.

While one could argue that the Turkish Super Lig doesn’t quite rival the top five leagues in Europe, Mourinho has seamlessly adapted to it.

His Fenerbahçe side trails Galatasaray by just six points (with a game in hand), and Galatasaray is also contending with cup semi-finals alongside their league pursuits.

It is evident that Mourinho’s influence over nearly every aspect of the club remains robust, and even if his brilliance doesn’t shine as brightly as it once did, there’s unmistakably still a spark of the extraordinary within him.