Jose Mourinho is a legendary football coach. What happened at Spurs won't change that. His perceived failures at Manchester United won't change that either. Whether he ever manages a club again or not, Mourinho will always be the coach who won the Champions League with Porto, turned Chelsea into world-beaters, and went on to prove himself time and again in Spain and Italy. Mourinho has won titles in arguably the three biggest leagues in Europe and picked up the Champions League trophy twice. Most managers won't ever get close to what he's achieved in the game.
Even with everything we’ve just said, though, Mourinho’s stock has fallen. He’s started to be seen as damaged goods. He must always have known that going to Tottenham - a team with no recent history of trophies or success - was a gamble. The gamble didn’t pay off. Every player at online casinos like Megaways Casino knows there’s a chance that they’ll never see their money again once they’ve spent it on the website’s games. Given the fact that Mourinho has been paid to advertise online casino websites in the past (something he probably now regrets), he’d be expected to understand that just as well as anyone else does. Maybe he fancies himself as more of a poker player than a casino player. Perhaps he thought he held all the cards. He was wrong.
When Mourinho went to Porto, there was no expectation set for him beyond winning the Portuguese league. He excelled himself by winning the Champions League, but he wouldn't have been judged harshly for failing to do so. There were higher expectations of him when he joined Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and Manchester United, but those are huge clubs with equally huge budgets and multiple trophies in their cabinets. Tottenham Hotspur just wasn't the same. The London-based club has an enormous stadium and a lot of money but hasn't won a trophy of any description since 2008. Their habit of getting close to the top and then blowing it has become a cliche. We call it “being Spursy.” It would probably be more accurate to call it “failing to live up to potential.”
There are two big problems for Mourinho when it comes to the way he left Spurs. The first is the perception that he took a job at a club that was below his normal level, and he failed. The second is connected to the first. Having taken a perceived step down the footballing ladder and been fired for under-performance, how can he now expect to be given a better job anywhere else? The days of Mourinho walking into any top job on the European continent are gone. He's seen as past his best, too defensive, and unable to get the best out of his players. Worse than that, he's seen as sulky, arrogant, and out-of-touch. Some of his less desirable qualities have always been there, but it's easier to look past them when trophies turn up regularly. When they don't, the negatives quickly begin to outweigh the positives.
Mourinho has no intention of retiring. He wants to get back into management as quickly as possible. Who might take him, though, and what might that job look like? We think there are a few contenders.
Portugal
If Mourinho wants to coach the national team of his home country, the job is almost certainly his. He’s already been linked with the role in the days since his reign at Tottenham came to an end. That's more than a little disrespectful to Fernando Santos, who's held the post since 2014 and doesn't want to leave it. However, there's an international tournament coming up this summer, and it's likely that Portugal won't win it. If they don't, it will be easier for the Portuguese FA to tell him "thank you and goodbye" after seven years and bring Mourinho in as a replacement. Will Jose want it, though? He's said in the past that he considers international management to be for old coaches, and he doesn't believe he's old yet.
Valencia
There are rumours that Mourinho has already been offered a return to club-level management with Valencia in Spain. The club is poised to fire its coach, former Watford manager Javi Gracia - and has drastically underperformed this season. They’re not in danger of being relegated from La Liga, but they’re in the bottom half of the table. That’s not acceptable for a club with Valencia’s history and pedigree. Their stature in Spain is similar to the stature of Spurs in England, but expectations would be lower at Valencia because of the club’s recent struggles. This is an intriguing possibility.
Celtic
Surely not. Can you really see Jose Mourinho managing in the Scottish Premiership? Going to Celtic would be an easy life for the Portuguese. He'd win championships, but he's no more likely to bring European glory to Celtic Park than any other Celtic boss since the 1960s. The quality of competition would be low, and Mourinho would be bored. People seem to enjoy talking about this possibility at the moment, but we think we can probably rule it out.
RB Leipzig
Mourinho has never managed a club in Germany. Highly-rated RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann is about to leave the club to take the reigns at Bayern Munich. Would Mourinho see Leipzig as an interesting prospect? The club has no history but has finished second in the Bundesliga in the past and made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season. There's money to spend for the next coach, and the club will want a star name. It's easy to believe Mourinho would find the challenge interesting, but it would involve learning another new language. He might decide that's too much for him at this late stage in his career - and the up and coming German club might not want to associate itself with Mourinho either.
Juventus
Without wanting to be too negative toward Andrea Pirlo, it's fair to say the legendary midfielder's move into management with Juventus hasn't worked out. They're out of the Champions League, and they've lost their grip on Serie A. Juventus has too much respect for the coach to fire him mid-season, but he'll probably be sent on his way over the summer. The last time Jose was in Italy, he brought the Champions League trophy to Inter Milan. Juventus has a fondness for big-name managers with proven track records, and the slower pace of the Italian league will suit Mourinho's defensive mindset perfectly.
We know we said that it's unlikely that a big name European club would want Mourinho after the Tottenham failure, but Juventus might be the exception. Of all the names we've listed, we think Turin is the most likely place for the once-respected coach to find a seat in the dugout for next season.