José Mourinho’s game of chicken will pay off until the opponent does not blink


Manchester United manager’s late show mindset, relying on exploiting errors, reaped rewards against Tottenham but he risks denting fortune-teller reputation

‘Sometimes, it was as though he could see the future,” the former goalkeeper Vítor Baía said of José Mourinho, who coached him at Porto. “I remember a specific incident against Benfica, when throughout the week he prepared us for what we should do after we scored a goal … He told us that [the Benfica coach José Antonio] Camacho would make a specific substitution and change his tactics, which was what happened. So we already knew what to do when he did it; we were completely prepared for it. For the same match, we also prepared to play with 10 players because José knew the referee would not be able to take the pressure and would show a red card along the way. That also happened … so we knew what to do and got a narrow win.”

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Chelsea (Nov 2014)

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