Bear with me, I am not doubting the self-anointed special ones talent as a football manger. That is indisputable. On whichever conquest in whatever land he has plundered silverware at will. But is he great? Is he a totemic figure like Ferguson or Lobanovskyi? Great despots who plant roots and see their shadow fall across a club for an eternity. Greatness is a treacherous thing to define in a football manager but it does not automatically come down to the trophies. It is the mark you leave on a club. The foundation built and the imprint left.
There is a wonderful story told by Volodymyr Sabaldyr about Lobanovskyi . Sabaldyr met Lobanovskyi in the aftermath of Dynamo Kyiv winning the Soviet supreme title for the first time in 1961. Sabaldyr, a scientist asked him how it felt to have achieved something that had been a dream for Kyivians for decades. Lobanovskyi replied “ A realised dream ceases to be a dream. What is your dream as a scientist? Your degree? Your doctorate? Your post-doctoral thesis?” “Maybe” Sabaldyr answered “But a real scientist dreams about making a contribution to scientific development, about leaving his mark on it” “And there you have your answer” said Lobanovskyi .
One wonders if Jose is bothered about leaving his mark on a club. Of course, at Chelsea and Inter he will be lauded as the man who ended the drought. A first title in fifty years in London and a first European cup in fifty at Milan. It is a safe bet that he will win another major title in Madrid but has he ever built? Has he ever defined a club? It could be argued that the foundation was laid first at Chelsea by Ranieri and at Inter by Roberto Mancini. Mention of the Italians brings to mind the great barb from one roman general to another. Lucullus and Pompey. Pompey, “the great” had been given command of Lucullus’s army to finish a war in the east. At a parley to relinquish control he compared Pompey to a nasty sort of carrion fowl who hung around battlefields in order to pick up what others had left.
Should Manuel Pellegrini ever read Plutarch than he may afford himself a wry smile at that jibe. Pellegrini’s side earned ninety six points last year are were denied the title by a Barca side that will go down in history as their greatest ever. Yet in typical Madrid style he was cast aside. Mourinho is walking in to pick up what Pellegrini has left. He will triumph and he will move on, one more land conquered. But he needs to plant his roots. We need to see a side mature in his image. He needs to define his values on one club. Until then he is special but not great.
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