RB Leipzig coach, Julian Nagelsmann has said Jose Mourinho played a key role in shaping his management style as he readies himself to face the Tottenham coach in the UCL.
Nagelsmann has revealed that the trophies Jose won with Porto in 2004 had a huge impact on him.
According to him, his records in the Portuguese league were very impressive and his international success in other clubs stamped his name into his list of legendary managers.
Nagelsmann added that he does not see himself as a top coach, but just a good manager, because being a top coach goes beyond teaching football.
His words, “During his time at Porto, he really shaped me,”
“He let Deco and Co. play exceptionally good football.
“How he won the UEFA Cup and the Champions League a year later against Monaco with a team that is big in Portugal but not the biggest club in Europe, was very impressive.
“At that time he was also a very young coach who was not a big player himself before and had a similar career like myself. It was exciting for me to see and I also copied a few things.
“After that he was internationally successful in all of his clubs. You noticed in all the games that he just knows how to win these knockout games. The winning goal was scored in the 93rd minute and you had the feeling that it was somehow planned.
“For me, Mourinho is an extreme coach with focus on results who is not very concerned with glamour on the pitch. He puts the result above everything and if you get so many titles doing that, it is certainly not a wrong way.”
“Who shaped me the most was Thomas Tuchel,”
“For the simple reason that he was my own trainer and the exchange was so much more intense. I can rate how he really thinks. But there are certainly great parallels to Pep Guardiola’s football idea.
“Dominance in all phases of the game – that would be the big headline for it. To put it more simply, it is about awareness that football is not just about conquering the ball, not just about possession. It is about a holistic approach and about developing solutions in all phases. I personally experienced which exercises Tuchel did in training – that shaped me. I also have a similar approach.
“For me there are also various complicated exercises and I do not follow the classic training theory and its linear structure. Warm up, passing game, shots on goal, a game. Tuchel did it completely differently. I also want to map a game in training. And in the game it just doesn’t work that you can easily get into it first. It may be that you are totally challenged in the first minute.”
“I would call myself a good manager,”
“For me, being a top coach means more than just teaching football. That includes empathy, it means that you can speak to a group, that you can deal with the media – you have to be able to do all of that. I would not describe myself as blind in this regard, but a top coach also includes titles.
“And I don’t have that to show yet – except for the U19 championship title with Hoffenheim! I don’t see myself on a par with Klopp, Guardiola or Mourinho. But I’m also a young coach. My goal is to become a very good coach and win titles.
“And as for Pep: Of course that’s honourable of him [that he said he only wins because of his team]. The question would be whether he would have become a master with Hoffenheim? It would be interesting to see in any case.”
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