JOSE MOURINHO has always been a Marmite character – just ask his former PE students.
The Special One continues to divide opinion, nearly 20 years on from leading Porto to Champions League glory.
But his my-way-or-the-highway methods and demand for respect were not reserved for just elite-level footballers.
Armenio Anjos, 50, can testify to that.
Anjos attended the school Escola Secundaria Zeca Afonso in Alhos-Vedros just outside Lisbon when Mourinho spent a year teaching PE in his early 20s between the end of his brief playing career and the beginning of his managerial career.
Mourinho, 60, was not even the school’s football team manager but he still made quite the impression on his pupil – producing one of his very first tactical masterstrokes.
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Anjos told SunSport: “Jose Mourinho was my PE teacher for one year before he went to Sporting.
“He was 23 or 24, I was 14 or 15. I didn’t expect Mourinho to be what he is now.
“He was the same. It’s one thing I love about him: Mourinho has never changed. He is always in your face. Whatever he thinks about you, he will tell you.
“I love him. I have never stopped loving him, even at school. I was not the only one. There was a lot of people like me who loved him but a lot of people hated him. It’s like now.
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“Even at that time, a lot of my schoolmates said, ‘This guy is too rude for me.’
“In Portugal, if you don’t pass, you repeat the year so some of the girls were older.
“Mourinho was always good looking and he was driving a Renault 18 which was a very nice, popular car.”
Anjos continued: “He wasn’t the manager but he told me to go in goal.
“I went in goal and I was good and then I was the goalkeeper for the school team.
“He taught me everything. Basketball, volleyball.
“We always think PE is a subject we don’t need to work hard in. It’s just running about and kicking the ball. Not with him.
“He said, ‘I went to uni like your English teacher, Portuguese teacher, maths teacher. You have to respect me the same way.
“You need to learn from me, I’m not here wasting my time.’ Everyone was in shock.
“In the breaks between lessons, usually the teachers went to the staff room but he was outside with us, seeing what we were doing, talking to us. He was really motivating.”
I will do more for Mourinho than I would for my kids
Armenio Anjos
As he has done with many in the nearly four decades since, Mourinho left a lasting impression on Anjos.
The former student has always tracked his old teacher’s career – from getting his big break as Sir Bobby Robson’s translator at Sporting in 1992 then to Porto and Barcelona, where his pragmatic football ideology dovetailed with Robson’s attacking style.
Mourinho stayed on at the Nou Camp under Louis van Gaal, who gave him the chance to develop his management skills.
Then in September 2000, Mourinho was appointed Benfica’s first-team boss, resigning just three months later before shining at Uniao de Leiria which saw him land the Porto job in January 2002.
He promised to make the club league champions in his first full season and delivered – alongside the Taca de Portugal and Uefa Cup – and backed it up with the Premeira Liga and Champions League double in 2003-04.
From there it was Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and now Roma – collecting 20 trophies along the way including three Premier League crowns at Stamford Bridge.
Anjos reunited with Mourinho just once since he became famous when he flew from England to Lisbon for a book-signing session.
But he has been cheering him on every step of the way – even while on family holidays.
Anjos – who dreams of watching Mourinho’s Roma in the Stadio Olimpico this season – said: “Just to show you how much I love him, Real Madrid’s first game in the 2012-13 season was home to Valencia.
“I was on holiday in the Algarve. On the Saturday afternoon, I told my wife we were going to watch Real Madrid tomorrow.
“She said, ‘What? It’s 40C and you want to drive from here to Madrid just to watch Mourinho?’
“I said, ‘Wherever he goes, I am going.’ I bought tickets for seven people, we had a seven-seater car. It took eight hours. We got there ten minutes after kick-off because I was looking for parking.
“We went in, watched the game, it was a draw. Then we drove back for another eight hours.
“Then after Real Madrid lost in the 2013 Champions League semi-finals against Borussia Dortmund, Mourinho was on his knees.
“I felt so sorry for him and felt I had to support him so the Sunday after I flew to Madrid, went to Santiago Bernabeu, paid £300 for a ticket to see Real Madrid beat Sevilla then took the plane back.
“I was there to watch Mourinho, I don’t care about Madrid. For that man, I will do more than I would for my kids.”
ANJ BALL
Anjos was inspired by Mourinho to quit basketball after six years and get into football, initially as a player and now as a coach.
After moving to England 17 years ago, he now manages Barking FC’s Under-18s and invited compatriot Fabio Paim to speak to his players about the importance of work ethic to make it as a footballer.
Paim revealed to SunSport he earned £6,500 per week aged 13 and was better than Sporting pal Cristiano Ronaldo but his career fizzled out into obscurity due to the pitfalls of money and fame before he ended up watching his old friend from prison.
And Anjos, nicknamed Dos, likes to channel his inner Jose with his players – including replicating the iconic kneeslide celebration.
Wearing his ‘Special 1’ Roma top under his Barking training kit, he added: “Mourinho is the greatest manager ever. He is amazing. I love him, I just love him so much.
“The way he talked so passionately made me have a go at football.
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“I show the boys a lot of videos and most of them are Mourinho. I do speeches like him.
“I did a kneeslide once. We went to play in Kent last season and we were down 1-0 then in the last second, one of our guys scored from outside the box – that was my moment.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
