Mourinho at yesterday's game

Danners9 · Dec 22, 2003

2+2 = 7?

Porto coach Jose Mourinho was an interested spectator at White Hart Lane, as he was there to run the rule over Manchester United prior to their UEFA Champions League clash.
Mourinho was able to see the Premiership leaders beat Tottenham 2-1 and whilst he agreed that United are a top class team, he felt that they are certainly not unbeatable.

"This was a good chance to start observing our next opponents in the Champions League," Mourinho said to Portuguese daily O Jogo.

"I probably won't get the chance to watch Manchester United again as the dates of their games coincide with ours."

When asked what he admired about United, Mourinho singled out their ability to work as a unit.

"Their biggest strength is that they play as a team," he continued.

"I always tell my players that all great teams play as a unit.

"The fact that they have half a dozen top class players gives the team extra value, but Manchester United have a structure that has been in place for a number of years and works regardless of who comes and goes from the club.

"When I was at Barcelona in 1998, we had to play them in the Champions League and I did all the scouting, so I can safely say that nothing about Manchester United will surprise me," he concluded.
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But he was being linked as a possible Spurs boss...

Maybe this is simply a scouting mission, and a chance to catch up with old friends. Or maybe not..

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=178344&cpid=99

sendorange · Dec 22, 2003

Could well have been both. He certainly would have wanted to scout ManYoo at some point with the Champions League matchup with Porto, but this game? At this time?

texgator · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by sendorange
Could well have been both. He certainly would have wanted to scout ManYoo at some point with the Champions League matchup with Porto, but this game? At this time?
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Well, the article does state that all future fixtures coincide with Porto's, so this would be the best time to scout in person. However, how important is that really? He could, and most likely will, do extensive video scouting between now and then. It's interesting, but I don't think it means anything at all.