Mourinho's words about his family perhaps say everything about him

A new three-part Netflix documentary offers an in-depth look at the career of football manager José Mourinho, but leaves the viewer questioning the substance behind his success. The series, while never boring, often feels like a repetitive exploration of the manager's famously demanding nature. Mourinho's requirements for himself, his players, and his clubs are described as "grotesque" and "fanatical."

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It is what it is.

The documentary highlights Mourinho's significant achievements, including league titles and Champions League victories with Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid. It details how he transformed Chelsea's domestic success and led Inter to a historic treble. Despite these accolades, the film struggles to answer the fundamental question: what makes him so special and how does he achieve his results?

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His demands on himself, on his players, on his clubs and even on his supporters are almost hysterical, fanatical – perhaps even grotesque.

Mourinho is portrayed as a tough, demanding figure who loves his players if they are on his side, but can be "hateful, cold, vile, mean, and vindictive" to those he does not favor. The article suggests he would "literally go over corpses for a title" and do "anything" to get his players to perform. While he is shown as loving, warm, and funny in the locker room, the film's focus on his relentless drive can be unsettling.

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Does he go over corpses for a title? Yes, literally I would think.

The author notes that the documentary features "extremely much talking heads" and "Mourinho's face and skull" rather than extensive football footage. The piece concludes with Mourinho's final words in the documentary, "It is what it is," a phrase that resonates with the author's own experience, suggesting a stoic acceptance of his demanding reality.

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He is loving, warm, wonderful, funny, quick in his locker room and at the training ground – if you are on his side, of course. If not, he is: Hateful, cold, vile, mean and long-suffering.