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Mourinho could take Spurs one vital step further than Pochettino – opinion

Jose Mourinho is back in the Champions League knockout rounds, and the Portuguese manager will be relishing his sides tie against RB Leipzig. He will be hoping to defeat his German opposition and go one better than he achieved in the competition while with Manchester United. Though even more, Mourinho will be plotting how he can outdo his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino and take Spurs to the European title.

Everyone knows Mourinho’s illustrious history in the Champions League, having previously won with both Porto and Inter Milan, and it is with the underdog when the manager’s siege mentality is at its most dangerous. Tottenham are certainly that, while they might fancy themselves to get to the quarter-finals stage, there they will almost certainly come toe to toe with an authentic European heavyweight. That is where Mourinho’s style of football comes perfectly into play.

Against Wolves on Saturday Tottenham won in the most dramatic way possible, a late header from Jan Vertonghen sealing victory. Those resolute displays are the sort that have characterised the manager throughout his career, the dogged Inter Milan semi-final victory over Barcelona in 2010 is virtually a microcosm of Mourinho’s entire career.

Though some would argue that his last great success was in Milan, therefore Real Madrid and everything after has not lived up to the astronomical expectations. It has been a decade since that triumph, and he is yet to return to another Champions League final. Still, his pragmatic style of football has always suited knockout football, as he proved with the Red Devils by winning both the Europa League and League Cup.

If he were to make it to the Champions League final with Tottenham Hotspur and repeat Pochettino’s feat, the odds are that he would not slip up. He once said: “Finals are not for playing, they are for winning” and his record speaks for itself having been crowned champions in 11 of the 13 finals his side have participated in.

Spurs are still a work in progress under Mourinho, but any side they are drawn against would be foolish to take them lightly. Complacency is a characteristic Mourinho preys upon and the ‘Special One’ will be plotting how to go one better than Pochettino and reunite himself with the Champions League trophy after a decade long absence.

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