No one will sack Jose Mourinho for winning without style, class or dignity before, during and after matches. Chelsea fans might appreciate him more if more goals would have been scored, but not by much. Not winning matches, not bringing titles to the club – that is what gets you fired and lose your job eventually.
Mourinho didn’t invent the Catenaccio. He’s just proud to be using it 50 years later. It makes him seem like a hypocrite considering what he says about teams that park the bus against him? He’s fine with it. Getting the result he set out to achieve was a lot more important to him, and he probably gets a kick out of seeing so many frustrated with the “bad” football the two teams gave them in one of the biggest matches we’ll have all season.
And Mourinho plays open football when it suits him. Chelsea often start with blitzes at Stamford Bridge in order to get an early result. His early Chelsea team played some wonderful football at times when Mourinho felt like using the players at his disposal in that way. He is often criticized for his defensive performance against Barcelona in the second leg of that semifinal, but not congratulated for his tactics in the 3-1 win in the first leg.
Real Madrid is a different story. His attempts at playing “ugly” football at the Santiago Bernabeu didn’t really work out, and when he won the championship it was thanks to taking a different approach to the whole Barcelona conundrum. It’s the only place that Mourinho left with almost everyone under him hating him and wishing for him to leave already, but that was the one place he couldn’t make himself bigger than the club. Some names are even greater than his.
The internet came alive with remarks about ruining football and the most boring match “ever”. It was boring, and it’s not fun to watch, but these tactics are part of the game – always have been and always will be. As for the remark that you don’t need a £300 million squad to play this kind of football: I’ts besides the point. Yes, Mourinho is hypocritical because of what he has said in the past, but he doesn’t care. Making millionaires play exactly like he wants them to is his job, not pleasing neutral fans. So far he’s doing rather well.