Why Mourinho is well-coached in the conspiracy theory

[Herbie von Smalls]

by Simon Kuper

 

This is the end-game. Jose Mourinho may be paranoid but now they

really are out to get him. Behind closed doors men are scheming to

oust Chelsea's coach.

..TX.-

Juventus's manager Didier Deschamps admits Chelsea approached him but

says he won't go. As a conspiracy theorist, Mourinho must feel

vindicated. The intrigues round him accord with the way he interprets

the world.

..TX.-

He was one of the last western Europeans to grow up under a

dictatorship: Portugal's fascist regime. As a boy, he lived on the

estate of his great-uncle, a sardine-canning magnate. Mourinho played

football with a servant and attended private schools, thus escaping

the miserable education then reserved for most Portuguese. He learned

the languages that made his career. Mourinho first rose in football

as a translator andhis linguistic gifts helped attract Chelsea.

..TX.-

In 1974, when he was 11, the Portuguese regime fell. Most of his

family's businesses were expropriated and the estate was lost.

Elsewhere the childhood realm of Mourinho's future wife, Tami, was

also being shattered. In what is now Angola, where her parents were

Portuguese settlers, guerrillas fought colonial rule. Her father

joined the Portuguese army, was shot and left disabled. When

Portugal's new rulers surrendered the colonies in 1975, the family

was airlifted to Lisbon.

..TX.-

Portugal's revolution was the last in western Europe. Most of us on

this side of the continent can no longer imagine hidden forces

overturning our lives. Mourinho can.

..TX.-

Experiences such as his - common in poor countries - often produce

conspiracy theorists. Intellectually, there are two sorts of

countries: ones where people tend not to believe in conspiracy

theories (most of western Europe) and ones where they do (most poor

countries).

..TX.-

Portuguese conspiracy theories are often located in football.

Eusebio, the greatest Portuguese footballer ever, has explained that

the English arranged Portugal's elimination from the 1966 World Cup

by moving the semi-final between the two countries from Liverpool to

London. Many Portuguese assume that their team's exits from the

European Championships of 2000 and the 2002 World Cup were also

fixed.

..TX.-

Portugal's second city of Porto nurtures footballing conspiracy

theories. Porto's setting is enchanting: the mountains, the Douro

river, the vineyards, the Atlantic. But the city's main buildings are

mostly concrete monstrosities. Under fascism, the state spent on

Lisbon instead.

..TX.-

What bothered Porto almost as much were the perceived plots against

its football. There are sometimes nine top division clubs playing in

a 30-mile radius of the city, perhaps the highest density in Europe,

but the biggest is FC Porto, where Mourinho made his reputation. A

story from 1940 has the fascist secret police arresting two Hungarian

players of Porto as spies; one was later executed. Many locals still

assume that Portuguese football is rigged against them.

..TX.-

In 2004 Mourinho took this mental heritage to England where he found

conspiracies everywhere. Here is a sample of his allegations:

..TX.-

*Arsenal control the Premiership's fixture list and rig it to give

Chelsea a tough schedule.

..TX.-

*BSkyB broadcast Michael Essien's knee-high tackle on Liverpool's

Didi Hamann hundreds of times because it hates Chelsea and wanted

Essien suspended.

..TX.-

*A hidden hand placed Chelsea in a strong group in this season's

Champions League, forcing them to pile up yellow cards.

..TX.-

*"Something is happening with the English press in relation to Frank

Lampard." Because Lampard is an excellent player, the press is

scheming to undermine him.

..TX.-

Mourinho talks like this partly to unite his players against the

world - a ploy that works with many gormless footballers - but he

also seems to believe it.

..TX.-

Now Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, appears to be getting sick of

him. The problem is not Mourinho's results. Match for match, he

remains probably the most successful football coach ever. All the

talk of Chelsea trailing Manchester United by six points in the

league is a mere snapshot. United have to visit Arsenal tomorrow and

Chelsea in April. Come May, Mourinho may well havehis third title in

three years.

..TX.-

Rather, the problem is his persona. His bad image in England - due to

his team's workmanlike football and to his paranoia - has stuck to

Chelsea.

..TX.-

Now there seems to be intrigue against Mourinho. The characteristic

form of business in rich countries is the corporation. It is meant to

provide transparency, reducing the scope for conspiracy theories. But

Chelsea is a different animal. The club's power structures are rarely

visible.

..TX.-

Several powerbrokers surround Abramovich: his Russian advisers; Pini

Zahavi, the Israeli agent; Chelsea's chief executive Peter Kenyon;

the youth director Frank Arnesen; and Mourinho. They never all sit

down together for formal meetings. Private chats drive events.

..TX.-

In this environment, a hidden hand can suddenly take away your realm.

Mourinho understands.

[Andy @ Allerton]

As an aside - why do articles from that site always have 'TX'

 

What's that all about then?

[Mondavi]

As an aside - why do articles from that site always have 'TX'

 

What's that all about then?

 

 

A secret code invented by Abramovich, to communicate with his many power brokers behind Jose's back. What the article really says is " I want this f****r packing sardines for a living by August "

[denver]

TX is a fnord.

 

To be fair, couldn't they say this about most managers? Wenger comes out with amazing amounts of tripe, Slur claimed UEFA "fixed" the draw so they had to play Real MAdrid... Hell, David Bloody Moyes is always going on about how the FA/Refs do down poor wee Everton.