A History Of Petulance: Barça and Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho is not a popular man in Barcelona. He’s not a popular man in a lot of places, but Barcelona in particular. If you just looked at his career on paper, that might seem odd. It’s common knowledge that he managed Porto to the Champions League title before leaving for Chelsea in 2004. But what was the first team he managed to a trophy? That would be FC Barcelona in the 2000 Copa Catalunya, when manager Louis Van Gaal acted as his assistant for the tournament, instead of the other way around. He spent four years at the club and speaks Catalan, which normally earns foreigners nothing but love in Barcelona. But these days, he’s far more likely to be chased in his car by an angry mob than have his hand shaken on his visits to the city. That sort of action usually is just met with a sarcastic and self-assured wave from The Special One. But if you really want to get under his skin, just call him “El Traductor.”
