Jose Mourinho has been named Tottenham head coach until the end of the 2023 season. The former Manchester United and Chelsea boss replaces Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked on Tuesday.
Negotiations between Spurs and Mourinho – who had been out of work since he was sacked by United in December – intensified over the last few days and concluded in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Mourinho said: “I am excited to be joining a club with such a great heritage and such passionate supporters. The quality in both the squad and the academy excites me. Working with these players is what has attracted me.”
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His first game will be at the London Stadium on Saturday as Tottenham travel to take on West Ham in the Premier League.
Chairman Daniel Levy said he was “reluctant” to sack Pochettino, whose Spurs side lost to Liverpool in last season’s Champions League final, but explained the decision had to be made in the “club’s best interests”.
Mourinho won three Premier League titles with Chelsea and is one of only three managers to have won the UEFA Champions League twice with two clubs, FC Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010.
“In Jose, we have one of the most successful managers in football,” Levy said on Wednesday.
“He has a wealth of experience, can inspire teams and is a great tactician. He has won honours at every club he has coached. We believe he will bring energy and belief to the dressing room.”
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Mourinho, who lives in London, inherits Tottenham with the club 14th in the Premier League and have won just five matches all season.
He turned down job offers in China, Spain, and Portugal since leaving United.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher says Mourinho brings the one thing Spurs have lacked under Pochettino: silverware.
“If Jose wants to get into top-level management, you’ve only got to look at his CV,” he told Sky Sports News. “People question the Manchester United job, but his career as a whole has been hugely successful, and that’s one thing Tottenham have lacked at the moment.
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“As well as Pochettino has done, they haven’t quite got over the line to get a trophy, and that’s what Jose Mourinho does when he goes to a club.”