Former Chelsea FC manager Jose Mourinho has been linked with the manager position at Paris Saint Germain, a move which would suit PSG and Mourinho.
According to Sky Sports, Paris Saint Germain have approached Jose Mourinho to take over as manager of the club. PSG obviously has a manager in place right now in Frenchman Laurent Blanc but the club’s failures in Europe has supposedly turned the heads of the club’s brass towards a potential replacement.
PSG have experienced some great success under Blanc in recent years but it could be argued that it is their considerable financial power that has done most of the work, not the manager. They wrapped up the Ligue 1 title with months left to go in the season and have lifted four major trophies since 2013-14.
The goal that PSG’s owners set out to achieve when they bought the club however was not to win Ligue 1, but rather to one day become a European powerhouse. They have reached considerable heights by getting to the quarterfinals this season and becoming a regular in the round of 16.
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When looking at the amount of money spent on the squad and the talent on display, it is easy to see why not winning the Champions League or coming close to it could be seen as a failure. There are a number of reasons why they may falter in the latter stages of European competition but one of the most glaring has to be a lack of focus.
With the league title wrapped up so early, the PSG players no longer play meaningful matches in the league and their sole focus is the Champions League. Unfortunately for them, focus and drive is not a switch that you can turn on and off depending on the situation.
It has to be a constant direction for the team and despite his faults, that is something Jose Mourinho excels at above all else. He may not be able to hold a job for a very long time but he can come in, galvanize the squad in the pursuit of sporting glory, and then move on.
Mourinho is a perfect fit for PSG because they have the unique positions of being giants at home but underdogs in Europe and that is where he excels. Manchester United and Real Madrid are two of the biggest clubs in the world and Mourinho’s “us against the world” approach does not quite work when the club he manages are universally beloved.
That is a big reason why he was so successful at Porto, Inter Milan, and Chelsea FC the first time around because they were underdog clubs that he was able to help punch above their weight. When he returned to Chelsea, the club was an established powerhouse that had reached European glory and was no longer the scrappy upstart it was in the early 2000’s.
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If PSG are content with winning Ligue 1 by 20 points and losing in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, then they should keep Laurent Blanc. If they want to win Ligue 1 by 20 points and life the Champions League, then they should hire Jose Mourinho this summer.