Mourinho: I am not a hypocrite

Jose Mourinho was in defiant mood after his Real Madrid side's 7-0 win over Malaga closed the gap on Barcelona to seven points.

A hatr-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo and goals from Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria secured the rout with Malaga finishing the game with nine men. Manolo Gaspar was red carded in the 67th minute and they lost Sergio Cala to injury 10 minutes later, with the visitors having used their full quota of replacements.

The defeat means Malaga remain stuck in the bottom two of La Liga, three points adrift of safety, and marked a miserable return to the Bernabeu for coach Manuel Pellegrini.

Pellegrini was replaced by Mourinho last summer after one year in charge of the Spanish giants, during which time he failed to win any silverware but did lead Madrid to a second-placed finish in La Liga with a record-breaking 96-point haul.

In the build-up to Thursday's match, Mourinho caused a new stir by saying that if he was sacked by Madrid he would go to a big club in England or Italy and not to Malaga - comments that angered the Andalusians.

Mourinho was quizzed on the subject following his side's win, and the Portuguese said: "I have nothing against the city of Malaga, nor against the club, nor their professionals, I was simply responding without hypocrisy as I always do.

"If I have to apologise, it's not a problem for me, but the truth is that I answered once again without hypocrisy. In a hypocritical world, not being hypocritical is a big defect, it's a defect that I have and that I'm always going to have."

Mourinho, who is in the first year of a four-year contract with the club, also said he will not outstay his welcome in Madrid if the supporters are not happy with him.

He said: "From the start I said the day the people aren't happy with me, I will go. Not now, because we are in the middle of the season, but with me everything is easy, simple. If at the end of the season they are not happy with me, I will go and we will remain friends."

Meanwhile, Ronaldo came out of Real Madrid's 7-0 win over Malaga as a significant injury worry. His perfect league appearance record for Real Madrid this season is now at risk after he suffered a leg injury late on in Thursday's game.

Ronaldo asked to leave the pitch immediately after completing his hat-trick with Madrid's final goal in the 77th minute, leaving Mourinho's side to play out the remainder of the match with 10 man as all three substitutes had been used up.

A medical statement on the Madrid website after the game said Ronaldo had been affected by a problem with his left hamstring, and that his progress would be monitored.

It remains to be seen if Ronaldo will be available to face Racing Santander on Sunday, but the Portugal international had his doubts immediately after tonight's match.

The 26-year-old, who has started every league game this season, was quoted as saying in the Spanish media: "I did it in scoring the goal. I'm sure it's nothing special, but it's better not to take any risks. In principle I don't think I will play on Sunday."

Losing the £80million man would be a big blow to Madrid as he took his tally to 27 league goals for the season with his treble against Malaga and is now level with Barcelona's Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring charts.

Madrid's second-top scorer in La Liga is the injured Gonzalo Higuain with seven goals, while Di Maria is in third place with six.

Mourinho unruffled by knife attack

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has played down reports of an attempted knife attack against him in La Coruna last week.

According to reports by Spanish radio station Cadena Ser on Friday, a Madrid bodyguard protecting Mourinho was injured at the airport in La Coruna prior to last week's game against Deportivo.

When asked about the incident at a press conference on Saturdayy, Mourinho said: "I don't know anything. I've not seen anything, I didn't feel anything.

"I arrived, went to the hotel, played the game, returned to Madrid."

Madrid have not made any official announcement about the incident.

According to the reports, the bodyguard suffered a four-centimetre cut as the team made their way through the airport.

Mourinho added: "They told me a few days ago that a bodyguard had something on his back done with something sharp. I don't know anything more.

"The matter is closed, for me there is no story.

"I arrived in La Coruna where there were a lot of people in the airport as always. We had the same protection as always with the team. Absolutely nothing has happened to me."

Mourinho's security guard stabbed

One of the members of Jose Mourinho's security team was stabbed at an airport in Spain.

Mourinho was signing autographs at La Coruna in northern Spain on Friday when the incident occurred, revealed the victim to Spanish news channel Cadena Ser.

The guard received a 4cm wound which he realised only after boarding the team bus .

In light of this incident, the news channel is reporting that Real Madrid are considering tightening up security measures and reviewing the club's travel policy, starting with the game against Racing Santander on Sunday.

One of the measures being considered to prevent such incidents from happening in the future is to allow the players and coach to board planes directly from the runway rather than going through the airport.

While Mourinho himself was not injured, there have been previous incidents involving armed individuals wounding high-profile sports personalities.

The most notorious stabbing occurred in 1993 being when tennis player Monica Seles was knifed in the back by Gunter Parche, a crazed Steffi Graf fan, during a tournament in Hamburg.

Mourinho's security guard stabbed

One of the members of Jose Mourinho's security team was stabbed at an airport in Spain.

Mourinho was signing autographs at La Coruna in northern Spain on Friday when the incident occurred, revealed the victim to Spanish news channel Cadena Ser.

The guard received a 4cm wound which he realised only after boarding the team bus .

In light of this incident, the news channel is reporting that Real Madrid are considering tightening up security measures and reviewing the club's travel policy, starting with the game against Racing Santander on Sunday.

One of the measures being considered to prevent such incidents from happening in the future is to allow the players and coach to board planes directly from the runway rather than going through the airport.

While Mourinho himself was not injured, there have been previous incidents involving armed individuals wounding high-profile sports personalities.

The most notorious stabbing occurred in 1993 being when tennis player Monica Seles was knifed in the back by Gunter Parche, a crazed Steffi Graf fan, during a tournament in Hamburg.

ccording to Cadena SER, last Friday a member of Madrid’s security staff was injured at A Coruña’s airport, while he was protecting José Mourinho. The team had arrived at Alvedro around 20h on Feb. 25, and the team, including its coach, was signing autographs for the fans. While Mou was attending to the fans, one of the security guards tasked with protecting him felt a pinch on his chest. He didn’t think anything of it then, but when he got on the bus later, he realized that he had a four centimeter long wound near his armpit, which could have been caused by a steel knife. The club’s doctor treated him and they decided not to tell anyone of this incident, not even José Mourinho, who had apparently been the target. Mou was only told about this on Thursday.

However, Cadena COPE’s version of the event is slightly different. According to COPE, the security guard had discovered a scratch on his back upon arriving at the team hotel, which could have been caused “by a notebook, a pen or any other object.” In addition, no one had reported the incident, not the national police, not the Guardia Civil or the local police.

Mou said today at his press conference that “two days ago they told me that one of the security guards had something on his back, and I don’t know anything more than that. I didn’t see anything happen.” He added that he doesn’t fear anything.

Goalkeepers: Iker, Adán, Dudek.

Defenders: Marcelo, Albiol, Pepe, Carvalho, Ramos, Casado.

Midfielders: Canales, Granero, Xabi Alonso, Özil, Di María, Pedro León, Álex.

Forwards: Benzema, Adebayor, Morata.

Racing Santander vs Real Madrid Preview

Real Madrid will have to do without leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo as they make the trip to Racing Santander.

Ronaldo is set to be sidelined for around two weeks after suffering a hamstring injury during Thursday's 7-0 thrashing of Malaga.

Ronaldo asked to come off immediately after netting his third and Madrid's seventh of the night, and he is now likely to miss the league matches against Racing and Hercules, and faces a race to be fit for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Lyon.

Losing Ronaldo is a big blow for Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, with the Portugal international, who has also played every league match for Madrid this season, having enjoyed a stunning campaign.

The £80million man took his tally to 27 league goals with his treble against Malaga, leaving him level with Barcelona's Lionel Messi at the top of the La Liga scoring charts, while in all competitions he has netted 37 times this term.

To put that into context, Madrid's second leading scorer in La Liga is the injured Gonzalo Higuain with seven goals, while Angel Di Maria is third on six strikes.

With Ronaldo missing and Higuain still some way from a return, Madrid will look to strike duo Karim Benzema and Emmanuel Adebayor to help pick up the slack.

Benzema has had his critics this season but he took his tally to four goals in four games with a brace against Malaga, and the Frenchman believes he is a player on the up.

"I'm getting better all the time and I think everybody can see that on the pitch," he said in AS.

"I'm now reaping the fruits of all the effort I've made."

Madrid, who are also without Kaka, Sami Khedira, Alvaro Arbeloa and Fernando Gago for Sunday's match, kept within seven points of Primera Division pacesetters Barcelona with their victory over Malaga - their biggest league win this season.

Mourinho's men have dropped points in three of their last four away matches in La Liga, though, and it promises to be another testing road trip for the capital club this weekend.

Racing are unbeaten in six games since new owner Ahsan Ali Syed took over, while new coach Marcelino Garcia Toral has picked up eight points in his four games in charge.

That form has lifted Racing up to 12th place in the standings, five points above the relegation zone.

Speaking about the absence of Ronaldo, Marcelino said: "Real Madrid are above any one player, although the statistics show that he is a key player.

"For us, of course, it's an advantage that he isn't playing."

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Mourinho happy with Real's calmness

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has praised Karim Benzema and Emmanuel Adebayor after his side's 3-1 win over Racing Santander.

Following Barcelona's win on Saturday night, which stretched their lead at the top of the La Liga table to ten points, Real were keen to cut the deficit down again, but had to do it without leading goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo, who suffered an injury in their midweek 7-0 victory against Malaga.

Instead, it was Benzema and Adebayor who came to the fore, scoring the goals that earned Real an important victory.

Mourinho has since praised both players, revealing that despite not regularly employing the usage of a front pair, Benzema and Adebayor adapted well and combined to guide the team to victory.

"Having two forwards allows us to have alternatives. We have players who are adapted to play both ways, and tonight we responded very well," Mourinho was quoted as saying on the club's official website.

"Karim and Adebayor provided good solutions."

The Portuguese coach also attributed the win down to his side's ability to keep calm under pressure.

"We came out strong tonight and we had some early chances. The opponent felt like it had very few possibilities because we played a fantastic match."

"I liked the fact that we stayed calm."

Mourinho also revealed that while he did not expect Barcelona to slip up in the title race, he was focused on winning as many games as possible, including their rival's visit to the Santiago Bernabeu on April 17.

"I play my games and I try to earn as many points as I can. We win if we play well and are better than our opponents."

"I don't expect them [barcelona] to slip up, but I do hope we win [against them] at home."

Mourinho further singled out midfielder Esteban Granero for praise, whilst also justifying his decision not to bring on winger Pedro Leon, who has only made five appearances in the league all season, instead choosing to give youngster Alex Fernandez his debut.

"Granero is a player that has to be taken into account. He is intelligent, he learns and is very useful to the team."

"Pedro Leon stayed on the bench. I think playing for four minutes was of great value for Alex."

"But for Pedro it wouldn't have been significant. I wanted to make Alex happy. He had a marvelous night."

Real next host Hercules in the league on March 12, before an important week where they encounter French Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in their decisive UEFA Champions League knockout match on March 16, following up with the Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid that weekend.

Real Madrid eye bid for Otamendi

Real Madrid could look to bolster their defence by signing Porto star Nicolas Otamendi.

According to reports from A Bola, manager Jose Mourinho is looking for a new defender, given the uncertain future of Pepe, and rates the Argentine to be a good replacement.

The 23-year old has caught attention in recent years, moving from Velez Sarsfield to Porto in 2010.

Furthermore, Otamendi was highly rated by ex-Argentina manager Diego Maradona, who selected him over Javier Zanetti in the squad that played in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Although he has yet to earn a starting place for the Portuguese side, the club does rate him highly, and will not let him go for cheap should the La Liga giants decide to make a move for their player.

Currently, his contract with Porto will only expire in 2015, which could force Mourinho to splash the cash in order to get his man.

"Mourinho united Real Madrid squad"

Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol has given Jose Mourinho the thumbs up for uniting their squad.

Albiol is confident that his side can achieve more under Mourinho this season.

Speaking to the club's official website, he said: "I am grateful to the coach for having given me the chance to play."

"I have been able to get back into a rhythm and prove that I am prepared for anything.

"We are all very happy with Mourinho. I think what really matters is that he got us all to row in the same direction. He has what players think is crucial, and that is to tell you how it is to your face and to push you.

"He always has us on the brink so that we are always focused and plugged into the team. You have to be prepared at all times."

"I can't wait for the Copa final because it is being played close to my home," added the Spain international.

"I used to be ball boy at Mestalla and I remember seeing great Champions League matches there with teams like Arsenal and Leeds United. It is a very special stadium."

Real Madrid will play arch-rivals Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey in April at the Mestalla, which was where Albiol began his football career.

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Alonso lauds motivational Mourinho

Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has praised Jose Mourinho's ability to motivate and connect with his players.

Alonso, who moved to Real in 2009, has in the past shared excellent relationships with his managers, having been one of Rafa Benitez's favourites at Liverpool, as well as playing almost every game under Manuel Pellegrini last season.

However, Alonso believes that despite current coach Mourinho's tactical prowess, what makes him stand out from the others is his ability to interact with his players on a personal level.

Speaking to Realmadrid TV, the midfield maestro revealed: "He prepares for a game really well and he makes good decisions during matches."

"But what's really different from him is that from an emotional point of view, he is really strong. He makes each player the best they can be."

"For key moments, such as in knockout games or finals, you have to be well prepared and have the psychological edge over the opposition. He knows how to connect with us and that motivates us greatly for any challenge."

While the Portuguese coach has often courted controversy thanks to his outspoken nature, Alonso's declaration is just the latest in a line of comments by players who have spoken of their positive relationship with Mourinho.

Alonso had further praise for team-mates Esteban Granero and Mesut Ozil, both of whom starred in Real's last game, a 3-1 win against Racing Santander.

"Esteban is a phenomenom. He will definitely be a major player for us in the future."

"Mesut is one of those unique players you see every once in awhile. He has the gift of a perfect touch in tight spaces that makes him special."

Real continue their pursuit of leaders Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday when they host Hercules at the Santiago Bernabeu, a day before their rivals make a tricky trip to Sevilla.

DISQUS...

Mourinho lauds Granero's work rate

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has praised Esteban Granero as the most hardworking player at the club.

Granero, started his career on the youth ranks of Real but having failed to break into the first team, left the club to join fellow La Liga outfit Getafe in 2007.

As with most of the young players that are allowed to leave the club, Real included a buy-back clause in the transfer deal, and after Granero impressed in his two seasons at Getafe, the Spanish giants exercised that option and brought the midfielder back to the Santiago Bernabeu.

While Granero managed to play a signficant amount of matches last season, his time on the field has been limited under Mourinho this year, as he struggles to get a game with many big name players at Real all competing for spots.

His coach, however, has praised Granero for this work ethic, and expressed his pain at not being able to reward his player's training ground performances.

Speaking in an interview on Real's television channel, Mourinho revealed: "It pained me to leave Granero in the stands against Real Sociedad because nobody works as much as he does."

"He is physically fit, intelligent and has a great heart. He always wants to help the team."

While Real this season have regularly played with two wide attackers supporting a central striker, Granero is more suited playing in an attacking central role.

Mourinho has since suggested that it is this tactical setup that does not allow Granero more game time.

"Granero's natural postion is in a 4-4-2 system within a diamond schematic. There is no one better at Real Madrid to play in that position."

The Spaniard did however manage to start Real's most recent La Liga encounter against Racing Santander and put in an encouraging performance in a 3-1 win.

With the fixture list starting to pile up as the season reaches it climax, and Real still competing for silverware on three fronts, Granero will be hoping his manager will be able to reward his endeavour with more appearances on the pitch.

Mourinho: I'm coming home to England

Jose Mourinho is poised to make a sensational return to England at the end of the season, according to reports in the UK.

The Real Madrid tactician has been linked with a move back to the land where he won two Premier League titles with Chelsea during his three-year spell at Stamford Bridge.

Further fueling the speculation is the tension that has built behind the scenes at the Santiago Bernabeu this season due to the appararent lack of financial backing and Real's faltering title hopes - Madrid now trail Barclona by seven points in the the La Liga standings.

As a result, English tabloid newspaper The Sun, has reported that the Special One is growing increasingly tired of life in Spain and misses the passion and excitement of the Barclays Premier League.

His preferred destination remains a mystery but top clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and not forgetting Chelsea, are all expected to be keen to acquire Mourinho's services.

However, Blues striker Fernando Torres has dropped the first hint as to Mourinho's ultimate desitnation, claiming the Portuguese maestro remains very much a wanted man at Stamford Bridge.

"Mourinho is a big coach and is very much wanted at Chelsea," the Spaniard was quoted as saying.

"I'll work with him anytime but I know it's difficult."

Makelele: Mourinho is cruel

Former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele has made some cutting remarks about former coach Jose Mourinho.

Makelele was part of the Stamford Bridge outfit from 2003 to 2008 and played under Mourinho when the Portuguese held the club reins from 2004 to 2007.

Speaking to El Confidencial, Makelele admitted Mourinho was a great coach but also had a penchant for being ruthless and hogging the spotlight.

"He is a born winner, he knows how to use you and get the best from you, from this point of view he is a great coach," said the Frenchman who now plays for Paris St Germain in France's Ligue 1.

"The problem is when he leaves you out. He is calculated, cruel and ambitious. He used to keep players away from the spotlight so he could take all the fame.

"We used to get drunk together and joke about, but then he forgot about everyone and just focused on the new players.

"He forgot about the players and he just took all the credit for himself. No-one was allowed to be more famous than him."

Mourinho has never been one to pull verbal punches and it will be interesting to see what he has to say about these astonishing accusations.

What's So Special About Jose Mourinho?

He hasn't lost a league game at home in nine years and is eyeing an unprecedented third Champions League title with a third team. Real Madrid's maestro may be the best coach in any sport, anywhere

by Grant Wahl

José Mourinho has a problem. When fans approach the world's most famous coach—and they do so in great numbers, from Madrid to London to Los Angeles—they are seldom satisfied with a typical autograph. They want something unique. Distinct. Dare it be said: special. "I'll sign JOSÉ MOURINHO," says the Real Madrid manager after a practice in the Spanish capital. "But most of the people say, 'No, no, no. You will sign THE SPECIAL ONE!' " Mourinho sighs, the edges of his trademark smirk curling into a faint smile. "Everybody wants me to be The Special One. But I don't worry. There could be a worse nickname."

Besides, it's his own creation. In 2004, during Mourinho's first press conference as Chelsea manager, he grew exasperated by the skepticism over his arrival from his native Portugal. "The English press was speaking to me like I was coming from the moon," he says. "Who are you? Do you have the quality to work in England? For God's sake, give me a chance. I won the Champions League with Porto. I'm a special one. Don't kill me on my first day!

"But they got it as if I was saying"—here he adopts the voice of the Almighty—"I am The Special One."

And so it went. Such is the force of Mourinho's personality that more than three years after he left England, his puppet alter ego still stars in the popular BBC satire Special 1 TV. These days even Mourinho's critics—and there are many—would have to admit the accuracy of his audacious nickname. In January, FIFA named him the 2010 World Coach of the Year, the result of a remarkable trophy haul at Inter Milan that included winning the Italian league, the Italian Cup and the crown jewel of global club soccer, the UEFA Champions League. In seven full seasons as a manager with Porto, Chelsea and Inter, Mourinho, 48, has won 14 major trophies, including two Champions League titles and six domestic league championships.

Where does Mourinho rank among the world's soccer coaches? "He's at the top, there's no doubt about that," says the legendary Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson, Mourinho's friend and rival. "You have certain criteria in terms of top management, and that is longevity of success—which is very difficult today—and what you win. You have to regard his achievements as really first-class."

Now, nine months after taking over Real Madrid, Mourinho faces his most pressure-packed test yet: to return the most decorated club of all time to its past glory, not just in Spain (where archrival Barcelona has won four of the last six La Liga titles) but also in Europe (where Real Madrid has not advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals since 2004). "Real Madrid wants to be again the best—of the present and of the future," says Mourinho. "That's my challenge." If he can burnish his own résumé in the process, so much the better—no coach has won European crowns with three different teams. Real meets Lyon at Madrid's Bernabéu Stadium on March 16 in the second leg of their home-and-home round of 16 series; the teams tied 1--1 at Lyon on Feb. 22.

As Mourinho has risen to the summit, he has expanded his horizons, analyzing the management styles at Microsoft and Apple, reading Colin Powell's autobiography and Phil Jackson's books, studying John Wooden's Pyramid of Success. He wants to come to the U.S., both to observe NFL coaching staffs and, eventually, to manage the U.S. national team or an MLS club. "A football coach who only understands football is not a great coach," says Mourinho. "We have to be good in other things. I never forget: My players are men. Men with different personalities, different cultures. To deal with this is very important in building a team. I think I have, maybe, a gift."

Mourinho can't help himself. He is by turns smart, vain, funny, needy, tough and as thin-skinned as a pinot grape. But who's to argue with him? He has a gift. No coach today compares. Phil Jackson may have won 11 NBA titles, but he always had the best players. Mourinho conquered the Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan, teams with nowhere near the talent and payrolls of their top rivals. Joe Torre and Mike Krzyzewski may have reached the pinnacle four times, but they did not have to connect with their players in five languages. Mourinho speaks Portuguese, English, French, Italian and Spanish, fluently. Bill Belichick owns three Super Bowl rings as a head coach, but even he can't match Mourinho's most remarkable record: He has gone nine years without losing a league game at home, 148 matches with four different teams.

Nor do any American coaches face the crushing weekly pressure of European soccer, the only game that matters on the Continent. In the political tinderbox of Real Madrid, where a single defeat can spark a crisis, Mourinho might not even survive the season. But there is a reason his $12 million annual salary is the highest of any coach on the planet. He's the best in the world.

Milan, May 2010. The news is out. Mourinho is leaving Inter Milan for Real Madrid. Outside the Bernebéu after the Champions League final, an Italian TV camera captures Mourinho ducking into a luxury sedan. The car advances, then abruptly stops. Mourinho emerges from behind the smoked-glass windows and walks 20 yards to Inter defender Marco Materazzi, the hardman best known for absorbing Zinédine Zidane's head butt in the 2006 World Cup final. Mourinho and Materazzi embrace for five, 10, 20 seconds. Both men's shoulders are heaving. Two of the toughest men in soccer are sobbing like Dick Vermeil.

Ask people what makes Mourinho unique, and one common response is this: His players almost universally adore him. Didier Drogba, the prolific Chelsea striker, says he felt "like an orphan" after Mourinho departed West London in 2007. "He's a great man," Drogba says. "You can see how close players are with him. He has a way of getting into players' minds as a manager—and as a man, the kind of man who's ready to give you all his confidence and trust because he expects that you'll give it back." Drogba, too, shed tears when Mourinho left, one of the few times, he says, that he has cried in his adult life.

Materazzi's native language is Italian. Drogba's is French. Mourinho has a rule: When he addresses his teams, he does so in the language of the team's country, the better to integrate the players into the club and the culture. (At Inter he spoke Italian even though only four of his 24 first-team players were Italian.) But in private meetings with individual players Mourinho communicates whenever possible in their native tongues. "By speaking five languages I can have a special relation with them," he says. "A player feels more comfortable explaining emotions in the language where he has no doubts. So he has no problem to open his heart, to criticize, to be criticized."

In other words, Mourinho's ability to connect is equal parts psychology and linguistics. To sit across from Mourinho and interview him is to be subject to a form of high-level seduction, though not in a sexual way. He'll lean close, elbows on knees, hands folded together, as though he's sharing a secret that nobody else knows. Is it a kind of performance art? Of course. But isn't most of sports? The details are in the delivery, and invariably Mourinho's players, to say nothing of the global media, buy what he is selling. If Ferguson is known for the scorching-hot diatribes of a drill sergeant, Mourinho is the sports world's version of a pickup artist.

Manchester, England, March 2004. Who is this man? How dare he violate the sacred turf of Old Trafford? It's the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, and tiny Porto has just stunned the soccer world, scoring in the 90th minute to eliminate mighty Manchester United. Now Mourinho is bursting from the coach's box, racing down the touchline—fists pumping like pistons, coattails flapping in his jet wash—all the way to his celebrating players at the corner flag. Who is this man? He's an attention magnet, that's what he is.

Unlike most managers, Mourinho broke into elite coaching not as a former star player—his brief career as a defender ended at age 24—but as an interpreter. He translated for English manager Sir Bobby Robson for five seasons, first in Portugal and then in Spain, at Barcelona. When Robson left Barça in 1997, Mourinho stayed on as an assistant coach under Louis van Gaal, earning the Dutchman's trust for his tactical acumen, player relationships and famously detailed scouting reports. (Mourinho had started analyzing teams as a teenager for his father, Félix, a former player and coach in Portugal.) "He works like a crazy man," says Drogba. "At Chelsea he was doing the same [scouting reports] for fourth division teams in the FA Cup as he was for Manchester United. It shows you how serious he is."

By the time Mourinho took over at Porto in the Portuguese first division in 2002, he'd formed a guiding soccer philosophy. The decisive moments in most games, he argues, are transitions, the instants when teams spring from defense to attack (and vice versa) after a change of possession, when opponents can be off-balance. "These are periods of three or four seconds," he says. "If the players are of high quality, the game sometimes is nonstop. You must have a great balance. That's why I believe in having players with the tactical culture to analyze the game. All of them have to think the same thing at the same time. It's not basketball, because in basketball there are five players. Here there are 11."

If the game is about transitions, then so too is Mourinho's career, which saw him move from Porto to Chelsea to Inter Milan, never staying more than three full seasons at one club, all the while dominating the headlines more than any of his players.

"I had the luck of making history in those three clubs," he says. "At Porto it was winning the [2003--04] Champions League without money. We played Manchester United and Real Madrid, where the salary of one player was enough to pay the Porto team. Chelsea was also very special, because it was the first time Chelsea was champion [of England] in 50 years. In the ['09--10] Champions League with Inter we were far from being the most powerful team. We had to play four times in the competition against the best team in the world last season, which was Barcelona."

Inter's stunning upset of Barça in the Champions League semifinals—a 3--2 aggregate win in which Inter held off Barcelona in the second leg despite going down to 10 men inside a half hour—convinced everyone that Mourinho, more than any other coach alive, had the chops to win with inferior players. It also further polarized the world's soccer watchers into two camps: one that hailed Mourinho as a practical genius and another that derided him as a defensive-minded killjoy. And it drew the attention of Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez. In his previous term, from 2000 to 2006, Pérez had signed the so-called Galácticos, a Dream Team that included Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham and Luís Figo. Pérez started his second term in '09 by buying two more former World Players of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká, but Real Madrid saw Barcelona sweep to victory in the Spanish league.

This season's new Galáctico was Mourinho himself, the miracle man who had vanquished Barça, Real Madrid's most bitter enemy. He didn't come cheaply. Real Madrid paid Inter a reported $10 million transfer fee and signed Mourinho to a four-year deal worth an estimated $48 million. Beyond the money, his hiring heralded a cultural transformation for the club. "What Mourinho brings is a newfound respect for the coach, a position that has always been criminally undervalued at Real Madrid," says Sid Lowe, the Madrid-based correspondent for The Guardian. "Now the coach is the most important guy at the club. Whether that will last, of course, is another issue."

Indeed, Real Madrid's fans and directors are accustomed to winning with panache, a word that has rarely described Mourinho's teams. Jorge Valdano, Real's director of soccer, once called the style of Mourinho's Chelsea "s--- on a stick," and the two men have jousted in the Spanish media this season. For his part The Special One points out that he now has more entertaining and possession-oriented players. "With Inter we had no qualities to control the game by having ball possession all the time," Mourinho says. "At Real Madrid, I am adapting to the qualities of the players. We have people that can control the game not by defending but by having possession of the ball."

None is more electrifying than Ronaldo, 26, a whooshing force of speed, skill and hair gel who's engaged in an epic battle with Barcelona's 23-year-old Lionel Messi. Through Sunday, Ronaldo had scored 34 goals in 39 games in all competitions; Messi, 39 in 35. Under Mourinho, his Portuguese countryman, Ronaldo has returned to the devastating form he showed two years ago with Manchester United. "I've always had great players, but I've never had a Cristiano Ronaldo," Mourinho says. "Last year Real relied too much on Cristiano to decide things. The best thing is not to make him feel responsible for the success or nonsuccess of the team. He's one more—with different qualities, of course. He can make the difference when things are very equalized, but behind him he has a structure. I think he's much more comfortable."

In many ways the season's first six months have been a prologue to the Spanish Armageddon that could erupt over the next three. Real Madrid and Barça may well be the world's two best teams, and so Mourinho will be judged on how his side performs in the big games: the Champions League and head-to-head against Barcelona. The Catalans won round one on their home turf in November, a 5--0 humiliation that was the worst loss of Mourinho's career. Yet it remains one of only two Real Madrid defeats in 32 league and Champions League games, and the two rivals could meet as many as four more times this season: in La Liga (April 17), the Spanish cup final (April 20) and perhaps in a two-leg Champions League showdown.

The rivalry represents more than just two cities, tracing as it does to the days when Real Madrid was a symbol of the Franco regime, Barcelona of Catalan resistance. For now Barça has the advantage: a seven-point lead in La Liga. And yet it would be folly to dismiss Mourinho, who knows as well as anyone that the one time he beat Barcelona in four tries last season was in the game that mattered most.

London, April 2007. Talk about odd pairings. WWE Raw has come to England, and now Shane McMahon is interrupting his ring monologue: "Wait a minute, I know you! That's José Mourinho! The head coach, if you will, of the Chelsea football team!" A chorus of boos (and a few cheers) rains down on Mourinho, who's sitting between his two children in the front row. Mourinho smiles, wags a finger at McMahon. The coach is in on this. So maybe Shane-O-Mac butchered his name, pronouncing it HOE-zay instead of the correct joe-ZAY. Who cares? It's The Special One and pro wrestling! It's ... a perfect match.

When Mourinho returns home from Real Madrid's Valdebebas training center, he's no longer the boss. That role falls to his wife of 21 years, Tami, and their kids: daughter Matilde, 14, and son José Jr., 10. "I have to do what they want," Mourinho says. "I have to watch the programs they want to see, the movies they want to go to. I have to go to the wrestling because they enjoy the wrestling."

Mourinho's children have attended the American Schools in London, Milan and Madrid. He expects they will go to college in the U.S. And therein lies an opportunity for soccer in America. "We want to be close to our kids the maximum we can," he says. "So in a few years when they go in that direction, me and my wife are going to go in the same direction. I see myself coaching a [club] team, coaching the national team or helping develop soccer in the U.S. When I'm tired of winning things in Europe, it's something I want to do. I want to coach the Portuguese national team, and I want to work in the United States."

Do the math. Matilde will be college age in four years, José Jr. in eight. The timing would set up well for Mourinho to take over the U.S. soon after, say, World Cup 2018. He already brings his teams to Los Angeles for preseason training every year. "I love it," Mourinho says of America. "The people have a very open mentality. Everybody is the same. Status doesn't count a lot. I like it very much in this way."

If Mourinho eventually crosses the Atlantic, it would be the perfect coda to his international high-wire act. In the ultimate global sport, he has become the ultimate global coach, crossing borders, switching languages and winning championships wherever he goes. For The Special One, remember, the game is all about the transitions.