José Mourinho

The Special One, winner of league titles in four countries and all three current UEFA club competitions.

José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. Nicknamed "The Special One", he is one of the most decorated managers of all time. Mourinho has won league championships in four countries, is one of only seven managers to have won the European Cup with two clubs, and is the only manager to have won all three current UEFA club competitions.

Quick Facts

Full name: José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix
Born: 26 January 1963
Birthplace: Setúbal, Portugal
Position: Midfielder
Current club: Real Madrid (head coach)
Total caps: 62
Total goals: 9

Lore & Background

Mourinho was born in 1963 into a large middle-class family in Setúbal, Portugal, as the son of goalkeeper José Manuel Mourinho Félix and primary school teacher Maria Júlia Carrajola dos Santos. His father played football professionally for Vitória de Setúbal and Belenenses, earning one cap for Portugal in 1972, and later worked as a football manager and club director of Vitória de Setúbal. His mother was raised by her wealthy uncle Mário Lêdo, an industrialist whose assets were nationalized after the Carnation Revolution, though he kept a mansion in Aires near Palmela, where Mourinho grew up with his parents.

Reader's Guide

Mourinho failed mathematics in his final year of secondary school, preventing him from enrolling in physical education college immediately. After finishing secondary school in September, his mother enrolled him in a private business school, but he dropped out on the first day. He then attended the Instituto Superior de Educação Física (ISEF) of the Technical University of Lisbon to study physical education, taught by his mentor Manuel Sérgio. After concluding his education at ISEF, he attended coaching courses held by the English and Scottish Football Associations. He sought to redefine the role of coach by mixing coaching theory with motivational and psychological techniques.