Chapter Thirty-Two: The Era of Supergiants
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Typed on a phone—please be lenient. Watermark advertisement test. Watermark advertisement test.
In later years, Mourinho would have three great disciples: Ibrahimovic, Eto’o, and Drogba.
All three were traditional center forwards coached by Mourinho, but of them all, Drogba was the one Mourinho liked best.
Momo did not know whether Mourinho had met Drogba yet, but one thing was certain: Mourinho was not only arrogant—he was also exceptionally fond of boasting.
In fact, when Drogba later transferred from Marseille to Chelsea, the situation was very similar to Mourinho’s attempt to persuade Momo today.
At the time, Chelsea had one thing in abundance: money. They had already bought quite a few famous players, and Drogba was, in truth, expendable. It was only Mourinho’s personal persuasion that brought the transfer about.
The situation now was remarkably similar. The same people, faced with the same circumstances, would generally make the same choices. Faced with Mourinho’s fervent invitation, Momo decided he might as well quietly listen to the man boast.
Momo seriously suspected that Drogba had been persuaded to join Mourinho precisely under the assault of his endless bragging.
“Your boasting is truly professional. You even dare to say China will win the World Cup. I surrender.”
Unfortunately, there was one thing about boastful people that was especially troublesome: they took things seriously. Mourinho really did take offense. Stiffening his neck, he shouted, “What? You don’t believe me? Let me tell you, my tactics are all about defeating the strong with the weak. If you have good players, you just crush the opposition.”
Momo believed Mourinho was capable of defeating the strong with the weak, but crushing the opposition outright? That was another matter entirely.
The thing Mourinho was most criticized for in later years was his counterattacking football. Against strong teams, he used counterattacking football; against weak teams, he still used counterattacking football. In short, it was always counterattacking football.
There was no need even to mention parking the bus. Mourinho later managed Real Madrid for three years, and in each of those three years, Real Madrid looked exactly the same.
“Let’s not talk about the Chinese national team. You should win everything Porto ought to win first.”
Mourinho was now truly worked up. He yelled, “I’m telling you, any team I manage is the best team! Don’t talk to me about arrogance or anything like that. You should know that although I’m not the best coach right now, I’m definitely a better coach!”
All right. In truth, Momo admired Mourinho. In later years, Mourinho made three famous statements. Just listen.
During his Chelsea days:
“Ronaldo is diving! He’s a cheat! Someone needs to teach him how to play football properly! Our Drogba is a true gentleman.”
During his Inter Milan days:
“Ronaldo and Drogba are diving. They’re both experts at diving. They’re both cheats.”
During his Real Madrid days:
“Ronaldo is an excellent player. He would never dive.”
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When Mourinho was facing Barcelona:
“So what if we park the bus? So what if we retreat into our shell? So what if the match is ugly? I’m a defensive expert.”
When Mourinho was facing Sporting Gijón:
“I despise these bus-parking teams more than anything in the world.”
Of course, Mourinho had said even harsher things about Tottenham. He had even claimed that the match was not worth fifty pounds of anyone’s money to watch, since ten men were defending and parking the bus.
Well, those statements certainly came back to slap him in the face.
“Do you know Zlatan? He’s Swedish. Would you consider pairing him with me?”
By then, Momo had already connected the call, and a Swede’s voice came through the phone.
“Zlatan? That tall fellow? You can have him come to Porto for a trial.”
At that moment, Momo almost imagined Ibrahimovic crawling out through the phone. He shouted, “Damn it! Damn it! Zlatan never goes on trial! Who are you—Wenger?”
Mourinho was clearly intrigued. He looked at Momo, then at the phone in Momo’s hand, and said, “Oh, who are you? You won a prize at the World Cup too? World Player of the Year? Bundesliga Golden Boot?”
“And Wenger? Good heavens! Are you trying to say Arsenal invited you to a trial?”
Was this really Mourinho? He was practically a thug!
“I’m Zlatan! Who the hell are you?”
“I’m telling you, a World Cup without Zlatan isn’t worth watching!”
“Hello. I’m Mourinho’s most famous trophy-winning coach.”
“Take note: next year’s Champions League title is mine!”
The two men were each more arrogant than the other, and each was more capable of boasting than the other. However, most of Ibrahimovic’s grand predictions about the World Cup and the Champions League ended up proving false. Mourinho, on the other hand, fulfilled most of the things he said. One was a master of self-inflicted embarrassment; the other was the arrogant Uncle José.
Whenever Momo spoke with Mourinho, he felt as though he were being led straight into a pit. Grand declarations poured effortlessly from the man’s mouth, and heroic passion seemed to radiate from him every second. If Mourinho had gone into pyramid selling, he would surely have been outstanding at it.
At last, the conversation ended. Mourinho, Ibrahimovic, and Momo would all become the finest coaches and players, and World Cup titles, league championships, and Champions League trophies would eventually come to them in abundance.
Now it was time to get down to business. Mourinho and Ibrahimovic exchanged phone numbers, after which Momo saw Mourinho out.
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Mourinho still appeared to be acting cautiously. Momo had not yet been placed on the transfer list, and the winter transfer window had not yet arrived.
Mourinho was privately contacting a player, which was highly improper. Bayern Munich did such things often as well, but they were always discreet, leaving no solid evidence behind.
After Mourinho left, Momo called Mino and explained what he intended to do.
Mino found it difficult to understand. Go to Porto? Perhaps that would have made sense before, but things were different now. Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Juventus, and Manchester United were all interested in Momo. If that was the case, why go to Porto?
In fact, the domestic media, along with online commentators and fans, were most optimistic about Inter Milan and Manchester United.
They favored Inter Milan because the fans desperately wanted to see Momo face Kaká. At the previous World Cup, Brazil had not even fielded Kaká.
Of course, Kaká had not yet joined AC Milan, but everyone knew perfectly well about the relationship between São Paulo and AC Milan, didn’t they?
As for Juventus, they were favored because Italian football was so powerful in that era, an established force among the five major European leagues.
Some professional players—including Ibrahimovic—as well as many fans even believed that Serie A was the best league in the world, and that the best players ought to play in Italy.
In fact, Serie A was about to enter its own golden age. Kaká, Totti, and a host of other stars would soon shine there.
Anyone who remembers Serie A from that period is a veteran fan. Nothing more needs to be said; Kaká alone ushered in an era of superstars.
It was an era in which one player could determine the outcome of a match by his own strength—the era of the superstar Kaká.
Momo desperately wanted to test himself against Kaká at his peak. He wanted to cross swords with the stars of Serie A in that era.
Those players with extraordinary individual ability, those awe-inspiring figures, would soon appear one after another.
Ibrahimovic, Drogba, Toni, Totti, Forlán, Eto’o, Ronaldinho, Ribéry, Robben, Klose, and a great many other exceptional players.
For now, however, Momo’s primary target was Kaká—the man who rose and fell like a meteor.
Don’t ask why he wanted to go to Porto first and compete for the Champions League. The Serie A of that era was comparable to moving the Barcelona and Real Madrid of today into Spain’s league at the same time.
If you are interested, look up how many players from Serie A clubs represented their national teams at the World Cup in those days.
Every Serie A team had its own national-team identity. The famous powerhouses included Juventus, the Milan giants, Lazio—the Blue Eagles—Udinese, and Roma. Almost all of them could be considered strong teams.
In short, Momo now needed to play well, then achieve fame and glory.
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