Sergio Reguilon, currently on loan at Brentford, has offered high praise for former Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho, labeling him a ‘tactical monster’ compared to the current Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou.
Mourinho’s tenure at Tottenham, despite guiding the team to a League Cup final, is not remembered fondly by the supporters. His pragmatic style of football failed to excite, and he was dismissed just days before the final in April 2021, a decision he later deemed ‘ridiculous.’ Whether Mourinho could have led Tottenham to victory in the final remains a matter of debate.
Despite the mixed results, some players did thrive under Mourinho’s guidance, and Sergio Reguilon is among them. Mourinho signed the Spaniard for £32 million in the summer of 2020, and Reguilon expressed his admiration for his former boss, referring to Mourinho as a ‘world-class’ manager and a ‘tactical monster.’
In an interview with The Times, Reguilon shared insights into his relationship with Mourinho and the positive experience of working under him at Spurs.
He recalled a particular instance when Mourinho challenged him to contain Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City, promising to buy him a Spanish ham if successful. Reguilon expressed gratitude for Mourinho making him feel welcome and described him as a coach who convinces you that you are the best.
“Mourinho? I love him,” he said, while also labelling his former boss a “tactical monster.”
“He told me one day, ‘If we beat [Manchester] City and you put [Riyad] Mahrez in your pocket I will buy you a nice Spanish ham’. The next day it’s there,” Reguilon added.
“He made me feel welcome and as a coach I can only say good things. He’s world-class. He convinces you that you are the best.”
While Mourinho’s legacy in English football, particularly during his prime with Chelsea, is undoubtedly illustrious, his time at Spurs did not mirror those successes. Reguilon’s positive assessment of Mourinho may not align with the sentiments of many Tottenham supporters, who witnessed a pragmatic approach that didn’t yield the same impact as it did earlier in Mourinho’s career.
As Mourinho remains one of the best managers in the Premier League era, his stint at Tottenham will be remembered as a period of mixed results and tactical approaches that divided opinion among the fanbase.