Sports News - May 23, 2010

Genius in action


If you hadn't heard, Jose Mourinho beat Bayern Munich yesterday to win some relatively large soccer tournament. Jose's legend exploded into the realm of the ridiculous in the immediate aftermath, with his qualities as a coach, brilliance as a tactician, and magnetism of personality all fodder for the type of hero worship the likes of which we haven't seen since Douglas MacArthur departed Japan.


If it weren't for 250 million oblivious Americans and cricket-obsessed India, Mourinho would be a shoe-in for President of the World. Mourinho's triumph launched a thousand glowing columns and blog posts the way Helen's face launched a thousand ships, each looking for new ways to describe the brilliance of a man who single-handedly destroyed the Spanish empire of Barca on his way to another Champions League title. The fact that he looked so dapper doing it; well, he's not The Special One for nothing.


Mourinho's dominance of the headlines, garnering so much attention as a coach and not a player, is a testament to the force of his personality as much as his tactical brilliance. Sure, Mourinho beat the greatest attacking team the world has ever seen (oops, that was a month ago) with his defensive-minded game plan before repeating the feat against the Germans. But that alone can't be responsible the flood of words spent bathing the man in syrupy accolades, can it?


Even if it is, Mourinho's status as the preeminent figure in Inter's wonderful season despite the presence of world class players in the team is a rare departure from the usual distribution of attention. There is no direct comparison, since such an example would need to be a man who was recognized as both genius in the ways of the game and a hypnotically charming yet pompous narcissist of the highest order.


Is Mourinho one of a kind? Yes, undoubtedly. There is only one Mona Lisa, after all.


Our traditional American sports are littered with legendary coaches recognized for their genius. Lombardi was ground-breaking innovator and unparalleled leader of men. Stengel managed his collection of egos and bit players masterfully in New York. In more recent times, Joe Torre, Phil Jackson, and Bill Belechick have each been given the crown of "greatest coach in the history of everything". Yet none of them approach Mourinho's combination of ego, charisma, and ability. Torre is a good manager but ultimately a bore. Jackson brings little to the table beyond new age philosophies and the ability to win when he has basketball's best player. Belechick is a strategic genius who intentionally avoids saying anything interesting, ever.


Who then? Two men come to mind. While neither could hold a candle, relatively speaking, to Mourinho's tactical genius, both coached championship teams and had personalities bigger than the game itself.


The two candidates:


Red Auerbach



Auerbach's success was built on choosing the right players more than strategy; always ahead of his time in the former regard, the legendary Boston Celtics coach racked up title after title because he had a special ability to find talent. His larger-than-life personality is legendary, and even when he was no longer coaching the Celtics himself he was still seen as the man responsible for the club's success.

Auerbach may never have reached Jose's stratospheric level of combined magnetism and coaching reputation, but they definitely share a certain quality.


Mike Ditka

SB XX Ditka Bears


Iron Mike was never known as a strategic guy; Mike's greatness lied in his motivational abilities. It may even be wrong to call Ditka "great", since he was really just the lucky recipient of a dominate Bears defense with the genius of Buddy Ryan backing him up. But Ditka did have an impressive ego and a polarizing persona that more often drew people to him than pushed them away. Perhaps most in favor of Ditka being Mourinho's closest American parallel is the "Superfans" of Saturday Night Live, who regularly hypothesized that Dit-ka would defeat entire teams by himself. Even if Ditka couldn't actually defeat teams this way as Mourinho can, the simple fact that the possibility was discussed puts Ditka closer to Jose than anyone else.


These American coaches, who plied their trade in sports that pale in comparison to the beautiful game, are nothing when juxtaposed to the supernova Jose Mourinho. His star burns so bright now that it only makes sense for him to move to the club of the Galaticos; even there, surrounded by gaseous giants Ronaldo and Kaka, he will dominate the sky, causing their stars to fade next to his blinding brilliance.
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