Former Spurs defender Gheorghe Popescu issues statement on Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has the personality needed to bring a change at Tottenham Hotspur. This is according to former Spurs defender Gheorghe Popescu (h/t The Athletic).
Mourinho was brought in at Tottenham as a replacement for the sacked Mauricio Pochettino in November last year. Spurs enjoyed the new-manager bounce initially under the Portuguese, but results dwindled over the past month.
Tottenham crashed out of the Champions League and the FA Cup, while dropping down to the eighth place in the Premier League table. Injuries haven’t helped Mourinho’s cause, but the former Real Madrid boss finds himself under pressure to turn things around when the campaign resumes.
And Gheorghe Popescu, who spent a year at Tottenham between 1994 and 1995, feels that Mourinho is the right man to turn things around at the club. (h/t The Athletic)
Popescu worked with Mourinho when he was Sir Bobby Robson’s assistant at Barcelona. And drawing from his experience of working with the Portuguese, he said (h/t The Athletic):
“Mourinho is a very clever guy though and even back then you could smell it. He was clever, not in terms of tactics but with people. He is a winner. If Mourinho can’t change Tottenham then nobody can.”
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There is no denying that Mourinho is a top manager. But, the Portuguese hasn’t tasted much success in recent years. Hopefully, Popescu’s prediction comes true and the former Real Madrid and Chelsea manager is able to spark a turnaround when Premier League returns.
The English top flight is currently suspended at least until April 30th due to the coronavirus pandemic. It remains unclear as to when footballing action will resume.
