'I miss England and my next job will be England' said current Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese tactician has done little to hide his love for the English game after admitting he has unfinished business in the Premiership and will be returning sooner rather than later.
Despite not completing a full season with Real Madrid, speculation remains rife that Mourinho may leave the Spanish capital at the end of the current La Liga campaign. Publicised falling outs with high ranking board member Jorge Valdano, who has continually undermined Mourinho, will do nothing to quell the rumours of discontent at Real Madrid. That being said, a return to England has always been mooted and his latest comments will come as no shock to those who have followed Mourinho since his appointment at Chelsea in 2004.
The Champions League winning coach breeds success and a winning mentality, similar to that of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and his managerial career has been glittered with success. Last season he joined the elite list of managers to win the Champions League with two different teams (with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010) and is aiming on becoming the only manager to win Europe's premium competition with three different clubs.
For me, this drive for success at Real Madrid will be the reason he doesn't leave the Bernabeu until he has usurped Barcelona at the summit of La Liga and won the Champions League with Los Blancos for the first time since 2002. However, his love for England will see him back in the Premiership ready for the 2012/2013 season. As of yet, it remains to be seen which club he will be back with so I will now run down a list of possible teams that Mourinho may join on his return to England.
Manchester United
The stand out choice, Mourinho has regularly declared his love for Manchester United and would love nothing more than to manage England's best team. Reportedly the number one preference of the board for Sir Alex Ferguson's replacement when the Scot retires, Mourinho may be biding his time to return to England with the Red Devils. With a similar mentality to Ferguson, the board would be foolish to turn the former Inter Milan manager down should the opportunity arise. However, his appointment would be based on the retirement of Ferguson and, should that happen at the end of the current season and Mourinho opts to remain in Madrid, he may miss his chance to manage at Old Trafford.
Manchester City
United's rivals need a world class manager to manage their star studded line-up and who better than Mourinho to guide the Blues to success. Roberto Mancini has succeeded in taking Manchester City to a higher level but not the highest and, for me; the Italian isn't quite good enough to win the title for City. With funds seemingly endless at the City of Manchester stadium, Mourinho will have the chance to mould a team of his own coupled with little interference from the club’s board. The same funds will also allow Mourinho to command a high wage with the Citizens, a price that City would be willing to pay in order to bring them success.
Chelsea
The team that boosted Mourinho's profile ten-fold are also the ones that sacked the Portuguese tactician in 2007. Chelsea will always have a place in Mourinho's heart after he recently admitted he was delighted to be missing out on a draw against the Blues. He also went on to state that he was gutted when his treble winning Inter Milan knocked them out of the Champions League last season. Confessing that his squad at Chelsea are like that of a family, it would be impossible to rule Mourinho out of the running for their manager especially with the rumours that current boss Carlo Ancelotti is set to leave at the end of the season and take over at Italian outfit AS Roma. If he were to return to Stamford Bridge, it would essential that his relationship with Roman Abramovich were mended in order to keep Mourinho with the Blues for the long-term.
Tottenham Hotspur
Somewhat of an outside choice, Mourinho has regularly sung the praise of Tottenham. With very little team selection interference from the board and funds regularly available for transfers, Mourinho may relish the project of managing Spurs. Impressed with the progress the North Londoners have made since his time from Chelsea and the work done by Harry Redknapp, he may find the chance to manage at White Hart Lane a very tempting affair. With Redkanpp set to take charge of England after Euro 2012, the chance to appoint Mourinho will be there for Daniel Levy should he opt to remain with Madrid until then. However, a major stumbling block may be that he doesn't want to manage a London rival of Chelsea especially one that could be considered on closing the gap with the Blues.
Liverpool
Another outside choice but Mourinho has been linked with the Liverpool managerial position before. New owners with funds a plenty may be willing to part with a substantial chunk if it secured success for the club but with fan favourite Kenny Dalglish proving a hit with the Liverpool fans, players and Fenway Sports Group, chances are slims that they would oust Dalglish for Mourinho in the foreseeable future.
I would have included Arsenal into the list but I feel the board at the Emirates won't be looking to remove Arsene Wenger from his position any time soon.
I feel the favourites to land Mourinho when he returns to England are both Manchester clubs and I fully expect to see him in the dugout at either Old Trafford and the City of Manchester stadium sooner rather than later.
Anyway, I have got to go.
Laters,
Macca
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