Mourinho–how he became a football manager

Difficulty Level: (1)→2→(3)
Think about this question when you watch the video for the first time:
What factors helped Jose Mourinho become a top football manager?
[afterwards read the text to check your understanding. By watching the video only first – not reading the text – you will practice your listening skills and not just your reading]

Background: This is an extract from a documentary about Jose Mourinho which was made in 2010. Mourinho and his former boss Boby Robson talk about his early career…

… to be born with some natural talent, and after that there are many ways of become [of becoming] a top manager. I don’t like to say [I don’t like it when people say] that to become a great manager you had to [have to] be a great player. Because at this moment [at the moment] you have many of us in the top [at the top], and we weren’t a great players [great players]. So, there are many ways to become a great manager.

Mourinho got his break at Sporting Lisbon, thanks to an English man…

Jose introduced himself to me, because the President couldn’t, said who he was, what he was, and that he was to be my interpreter. He spoke very good English… good looking guy.. I told him not to stand next to me too many times! And we got stuck into the job, it was as simple as that.

He gave me a great chance of work [to work] at the top level when I was so young. And that for me was very important.

I needed him, on the pitch everyday. He stood behind me, listened…learnt…looked… wrote… remembered.

When Robson moved from Sporting Lisbon to Porto Mourinho went with him. He was no longer an addition to his managerial team, he was a vital part of it.

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