* Portuguese coach signs contract until end of 2022-23
season, replacing Mauricio Pochettino.
English football club Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Jose
Mourinho as their new manager, hours after firing Mauricio
Pochettino.
“In Jose we have one of the most successful managers in
football,” Daniel Levy, the chairman of the north London-based
team, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“He has a wealth of experience, can inspire teams and is a great
tactician. He has won honours at every club he has coached. We
believe he will bring energy and belief to the dressing room,” Levy
added.
Mourinho – who has managed top teams in England, Spain, Italy
and Portugal – signed a contract that runs until the end of the
2022-23 season.
“I am excited to be joining a club with such a great heritage
and such passionate supporters,” the Portugese coach said in a
statement following his appointment.
“The quality in both the squad and the academy excites me.
Working with these players is what has attracted me,” he added.
Tottenham is the third English Premier League side to be coached
by Mourinho.
The 56 year old been out of work since being fired by Manchester
United in December 2018.
He has also coached Italian side Inter Milan, who he led to a
league, cup and Champions League treble, and Spanish giants Real
Madrid, with whom he won a league title. His illustrious resume
also includes a Champions League triumph with Portuguese side Porto
and three English Premier League titles with London-based club
Chelsea, among others.
Trophyless run
Pochettino departs without having won a trophy as Tottenham
manager, a stain on an otherwise impressive tenure in which he has
had to battle against the biggest teams in Europe while working
under strict financial constraints as Spurs prepared to move into a
new stadium.
The Argentine coach was widely lauded as something of a miracle
worker by elevating Tottenham into English football’s established
elite and inspiring its improbable run to a Champions League final
last year.
But in his sixth season at the north London club, things
changed.
With the team currently in 14th place in the 20-team league and
showing no sign of an improvement, Levy made his move and fired
Pochettino on Tuesday night, a move that was sudden yet perhaps
inevitable with the team’s declining fortunes on the field
mirroring the ostensible disaffection of its manager.
“Regrettably domestic results at the end of last season and
beginning of this season have been extremely disappointing,” Levy
said.
“It falls to the board to make the difficult decisions – this
one made more so given the many memorable moments we have had with
Mauricio and his coaching staff – but we do so in the club’s best
interests.” Levy said.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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