Does Mourinho’s appointment to Tottenham strike questions in your mind? I mean, what happened between Tottenham and Pochettino? How long had Spurs been talking to Mourinho?
News is all over that Mourinho is the new Tottenham’s head coach. Well, congratulations to him for having secured a job after Manchester United sacked him in December 2018.
But then, how did his deal come to fruition? Why did the club decide to move away from the popular Pochettino?
Pochettino held the role in the club since May 2014 before his dismissal news broke on Tuesday. The rumor mill over his replacement soon kicked into gear with Mourinho quickly installed as the early favorite.
How Jose ended up at Tottenham
Israel’s super-agent Pini Zahavi brokered the deal. This is the man who took Neymar to Paris St-Germain in a world record £190m deal.
Pini was the driving force that convinced Daniel Levy that Jose Mourinho would turn Tottenham’s fortunes around.
The initial negotiations began between Levy and Zahavi when Tottenham had a 1-1 draw at home to Watford over three weeks ago.
These negotiations continued for more than a fortnight. Only in the last week that they had face-to-face talks between Levy and Mourinho in London.
Discussions centered around the present squad, the style of play Mourinho would adopt and potential transfer budgets.
While Mourinho believes the squad is strong, it is under-achieving and has the potential to be successful.
Why Mourinho?
Zahavi became convinced that while Mourinho had come close to re-joining Real Madrid in recent months, a deal for him to take over the reins as the new Tottenham’s boss as possible.
The 76-year-old Zahavi spends his time between a home in Marble Arch and Tel Aviv. He convinced Roman Abramovich back in 2004 to bring the then 41-year old Porto manager to Stamford Bridge.
Now, 15 years after Zahavi ushered “the Special One” through the doors of Stamford Bridge, he has brought about Mourinho’s return, tasked with creating another dynasty at one of the Premier League’s top clubs.
During several rounds of negotiations, Zahavi convinced Tottenham chairman his club was missing a winning mentality and that Mourinho would bring that to their stunning new £1bn North London home.
Zahavi explained how Jose was perfectly placed to arrest Tottenham’s decline and to instill a new belief in the squad. He added that Mourinho was desperate to get back onto the training ground to work with players after 11 months of being out of the game.