Jose Mourinho as a Metaphor of Purpose

Purpose, according to Encarta Dictionary, means “reason for existence; the reason for which something exists or for which it has been done or made.” To everything there is a purpose. Nothing exists without a reason. When God created man, He had His reason for doing so.  He created man to have dominion, to subdue and to multiply. To have dominion, subdue or multiply therefore man must understand his make-up; he must know what makes him tick and what comes to him naturally. Yes, naturally! No one or nothing can thrive well outside his/its natural habitat. If you take fish out of water, for instance, it is an invitation to doom. So, to be able to fulfil purpose in life one must operate within one’s natural habitat.

Jose MourinhoIn the round leather game, one name that has been a recurring decimal, especially in the last one decade is Mourinho. José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix, or simply José Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager, currently the head coach of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as “The Special One”. Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches, and critics as one of the best football coaches of all time. Mourinho started out as a player and eventually switched to management. After working as a physical education teacher and spells working as a youth team coach, a scout, and an assistant manager in the early 1990s, he became an interpreter for Sir Bobby Robson. He worked with Robson at Sporting Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, and Barcelona in Spain. He remained at the Catalonian club after Robson’s departure and worked with his successor Louis van Gaal.

He began focusing on coaching and impressed with brief but successful managerial periods at Benfica and União de Leiria, taking the latter to their highest ever league finish. He returned to Porto in early 2002 as head coach, winning the Primeira LigaTaça de Portugal, and UEFA Cup in 2003. In the next season, Mourinho guided the team to victory in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, to the top of the league for a second time, and won the highest honour in European club football, the UEFA Champions League. Mourinho moved to Chelsea the following year and won the Premier League title, the club’s first league title in 50 years, and the League Cup in his first season. In his second year Chelsea retained the Premier League and in 2006–07 he took the club to an FA Cup and League Cup double, though they finished as league runners-up. He often courted controversy for his outspokenness, but his victories at Chelsea and Porto established him as one of the world’s top football managers. Mourinho left Chelsea in September 2007, amidst reports of a rift with club owner Roman Abramovich.

In 2008, Mourinho signed a three-year contract with Serie A club Internazionale. Within three months he had won his first Italian honour, the Supercoppa Italiana, and completed the season by winning the Serie A title. In 2009–10 Inter became the first Italian club to win the treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League, the first time Inter had won the latter competition since 1965. In doing so, Mourinho became the third manager in football history to win the UEFA Champions League with two different teams, after Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld. He won the first ever FIFA Ballon d’Or Best Coach Award in 2010. He then signed with Real Madrid in 2010, winning the Copa del Rey in his first season. The following year he won the La Liga and became the fourth coach, after Tomislav IvićErnst Happel, and Giovanni Trapattoni, to have won league titles in at least four different countries: Portugal, England, Italy, and Spain, also becoming the first manager to win the traditional top three European league championships.

From the story of Mourinho above, one thing stands out: This man is a remarkable success. In fact, he is a phenomenon! This is a man who has never played the round leather game professionally and here he is; a resounding success as a coach of a game he never played. Wit for wit, tactics for tactics; this man is indeed a special one. He discovered purpose and maximised it. If he had been a lawyer, a doctor or an engineer, he might not have been a huge success. Hate him or like him, his name has come to define the game in the modern days! Hardly can anyone discuss football or soccer as the Americans will call it without a mention of the name “Jose Mourinho”. Such is what discovery of purpose can do for anyone!

The moral of sharing Mourinho’s story with you is not to hero worship him, but to make a clarion call to all that living a purpose-driven life makes one stand out amidst crowds. If purpose means “reason for existence”, it then means without fulfilling one’s reason for existence one has only come to waste one’s life. Discover what you are wired for and begin to live your life on purpose. No one will celebrate you for what you did not do; you will only be celebrated for what you did. And to do, you must know what to do and why you need to do. In doing, there will be obstacles, there will be challenges and there will be trials. What will keep you going is the will to succeed and the fact that you love what you are doing. It is little drops of water that make a mighty ocean. Once you discover your purpose in life, begin to work at it little by little. And before you know it, your name will soon define a field of endeavour. See you at the top!

Note: The source of Jose Mourinho’s story shared in this piece is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mourinho)

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By Isaac Oluyi

Isaac Oluyi, change agent, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship educator and motivational speaker, is the Chief Executive Officer of Sourcerite Farms, an integrated farm that is environment-friendly. He is an advocate of entrepreneurial leadership, a leadership that proffers solutions to societal problems without waiting for government. He can be reached on 08060702979 or via isaacoluyi@gmail.com

1 comment

  1. The ‘Special One”! I must say that Jose Mourinho is not one of my favorite coaches, but one thing that is undeniable is the fact that the guy is washed with success. So I give a thumbs up to your article. Great one

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