Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho made quite the sacrifice to join Real Madrid earlier this summer. According to a report from Jose Felix Diaz, Mourinho had the opportunity to become Portugal's manager, which he ultimately turned down to return to Real Madrid.
Mourinho had spoken to the directors of the Portuguese national team's federation, but since Real Madrid contacted him around that time, he chose to join the club where he spent three years, from 2010 to 2013.
Obviously, since Mourinho is Portuguese, he would have always wanted to coach the Portuguese national team. He has been offered the job in the past, and it just seems like a move never really materialised for the manager.
Joining Portugal at a time when they've got such a brilliant squad would actually be quite good for Mourinho, but to me, he just does not seem like a national team manager.
Jose Mourinho just seems like a club manager through and through
In his Netflix documentary that came out recently, he talked about how he always wants to work. He mentioned that he does not get tired of his job and he does not like taking sabbaticals and taking breaks after or in between jobs.
The truth is, if he did take up a national team job, it would be less work than what he would have to do at a club, which is definitely more day-to-day. Mourinho would still have work to do if he ever took a national team job, but he just wouldn't be busy on a day-to-day basis all the time like he is at clubs.
That is probably why he has never coached an international team yet, but with Portugal, it obviously would have been a little bit different. The man is from Portugal, and wanting to be the national team coach for your own country is something that many coaches wish for in their managerial careers.
It would also be a dream for fans to see legendary coaches like Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, and others be able to coach their respective national teams and lead them to international glory.
However, it does make sense that Mourinho took the Madrid job over that, solely because he loves to work and he just wanted a chance to win the trophies that he wasn't able to in his first stint at the club, and also to alleviate the team in the process. Mourinho has to fix a lot of things at Real Madrid, but at the moment, he seems like the only person who can.
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