In partnership with AIA Singapore, legendary football coach Jose Mourinho, manager of Tottenham Hotspur FC was recently invited to a live virtual event – to rally, inspire and coach Singaporeans to be mentally tough to overcome challenges relating to the current Covid-19 pandemic.

We all remember how Mourinho first burst onto the scene when he won the Uefa Champions League with the then dark horses Porto in 2004. He joined English club Chelsea the following season and since then, he has managed clubs in the La Liga, Serie A and the Premier League.

Host Joakim Gomez and Jose Mourinho.

Goes for the difficult challenges 

How does he choose a club? Said Mourinho, “it is more about the club picking you than you picking the club. But I try to go to clubs and countries where I am very motivated. I have tried the top three leagues in the world – England, Italy and Spain and I have realised that the Premier League is the one I enjoy the most, as the competition is special; a top club can lose against a bottom club and every point is a valuable point. It is very rare for a match to end because the whistle is blown. I love this competitiveness.”

He added, “Generally, I am one who refuses the easy challenges; e.g. the leagues where it is easy to win and you are in a club where everyone knows you will win. I have never picked a challenge where, with or without me, the club is a success. I like the difficult challenges and I have always been happy with the difficulty of my challenges.”

Widely considered to be one of the most successful managers of all time, Mourinho, who is indeed always someone to eagerly accept a tough challenge, is one of the mentally toughest people in the world.

How he stays calm

But how does he keep his calm whenever things aren’t going his way? Says Mourinho, “I think the experience helps. If you are a young guy arriving to this, it is much more difficult. You also need to have physiological strength in your DNA to cope with the pressure, scrutiny and the critics.”

He added, “Courage and confidence is something that you either have or don’t have at this level. There are not miracles, unless you work with players who are very young and they grow up learning under you. I get my strength from myself, as well as the people I love, and my fans who love me. Whenever I arrive at a new club, I play for the fans of my club.”

Staying motivated during Covid-19

Covid-19, which has disrupted the entire world, is definitely one of those times which nobody could have predicted and which certainly hasn’t gone anybody’s way, with the suspension of league seasons due to the virus and football clubs playing to empty stadiums sans spectators.

Said Mourinho, “With our results, I don’t think we can talk about staying motivated and stable, so if the point was relating to Covid-19 and consistency, we would not be a great example of how to keep motivated all the time.”

With recent defeats to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League and Arsenal in the Premier League just in the last couple of weeks, Mourinho is right.

Mourinho added, “This past year, everyone has been staying at home and many people are unable to travel or have lost their jobs. Being a football guy, I consider myself privileged because we can work and come to training and we have the social relationships with the team. We can also travel and go to other countries in spite of Covid. We can do what we enjoy, which is to train and play. So compared to most people, we are in a privileged position and if we cannot accept the limitations of our circumstances, we have a problem.”

Mental toughness and young footballers

Mental toughness, according to Mourinho, is also why some young footballers make it big, but others faded away. Said Mourinho, “There needs to be a maturity and emotional balance that surrounds the player. Growth is important but when they reach a certain level, the player either makes it or they disappear off the radar, and that is due to mental toughness they either possess or they don’t.”

How he switches off

With such a hectic football schedule, Mourinho was also asked what he does to switch off and he says, “Actually, I do not need to switch off. I have been asked this a few times. I do not need a hobby or anything to relax. Of course I miss my family and friends who are in Portugal, as well as the beach and my house there. I used to travel to Portugal on my days off as well as in the summer to unwind, but we can’t do that now because of Covid.” 

He continued, “That is the only thing I miss nowadays; aside from that, my life is perfect. I am doing what I like. I love my job and my close family is in London with me. The pressure of the job belongs to me and I do not feel the stress of it.”