Is he not?
Only last night the world witnessed a most incredible thing: the irrepressible, seemingly unbeatable Barcelona were taken to the cleaners by Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid.
Could it be that Jose was just lucky?
Real Madrid's first baptism of fire under Mourinho came in the hands of the Catalan club who duly trashed the capital city side by five unreplied goals. That was at the Camp Nou when the season had barely kicked off.
Going by the performance of that night, many quickly forgot the feat of the then Jose Mourinho tutored Inter Milan side, who overcame a seemingly unconquerable Barca side enroute to picking up their first UEEA Champions League trophy in the modern era.
Mourinho was expected to be facing his toughest challenge in league football till date this season. Many feared the worst would happen when Mourinho lost a nine year record of 150+ matches without a single home defeat to lowly Sporting Gijon.
Could it get any worst?
But trust Jose to find a way, however unattractive, out of a quagmire. In came the second El Classico of the season. Many predicted another whitewash for Madrid. But Mourinho had some other game plan, developing his side into a neat unit that proved near impossible to break down but for a face saving penalty from Messi which was deservedly cancelled out by another C. Ronaldo spot kick.
The stage was thus perfectly set for the Copa de rey final in Valencia between the top two clubs in Spain. This time though there was clearly no favourites between the two, just Mourinho's tactical nous against Pep's attractive pet.
90 minutes of an engaging and totally technical game could not separate the two, until CR7 stepped up with the headed winner in the first half of extra time. What should come as a surprise to any who missed the game was that Barcelona's best player on the night was not Messi or Xavi or Iniesta but Pinto, the goal keeper who made several key saves in the game as against a rather much less idle Iker Casillas.
That pretty much summed up the match for a Barca side that were completely off-colour and successfully made to look terribly ordinary. Against earlier predictions, Madrid now hold the slightest of edges going into the double headed feature against their arch rivals for a spot in the Finals of the UEFA Champions League in Wembley.
What more! Madrid are the first trophy winners in Spain this year and no small thanks to their talismanic manager, Jose Mourinho, the Special One.
Only last night the world witnessed a most incredible thing: the irrepressible, seemingly unbeatable Barcelona were taken to the cleaners by Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid.
Could it be that Jose was just lucky?
Real Madrid's first baptism of fire under Mourinho came in the hands of the Catalan club who duly trashed the capital city side by five unreplied goals. That was at the Camp Nou when the season had barely kicked off.
Going by the performance of that night, many quickly forgot the feat of the then Jose Mourinho tutored Inter Milan side, who overcame a seemingly unconquerable Barca side enroute to picking up their first UEEA Champions League trophy in the modern era.
Mourinho was expected to be facing his toughest challenge in league football till date this season. Many feared the worst would happen when Mourinho lost a nine year record of 150+ matches without a single home defeat to lowly Sporting Gijon.
Could it get any worst?
But trust Jose to find a way, however unattractive, out of a quagmire. In came the second El Classico of the season. Many predicted another whitewash for Madrid. But Mourinho had some other game plan, developing his side into a neat unit that proved near impossible to break down but for a face saving penalty from Messi which was deservedly cancelled out by another C. Ronaldo spot kick.
The stage was thus perfectly set for the Copa de rey final in Valencia between the top two clubs in Spain. This time though there was clearly no favourites between the two, just Mourinho's tactical nous against Pep's attractive pet.
90 minutes of an engaging and totally technical game could not separate the two, until CR7 stepped up with the headed winner in the first half of extra time. What should come as a surprise to any who missed the game was that Barcelona's best player on the night was not Messi or Xavi or Iniesta but Pinto, the goal keeper who made several key saves in the game as against a rather much less idle Iker Casillas.
That pretty much summed up the match for a Barca side that were completely off-colour and successfully made to look terribly ordinary. Against earlier predictions, Madrid now hold the slightest of edges going into the double headed feature against their arch rivals for a spot in the Finals of the UEFA Champions League in Wembley.
What more! Madrid are the first trophy winners in Spain this year and no small thanks to their talismanic manager, Jose Mourinho, the Special One.
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