London: Tottenham Hotspur has fired Jose Mourinho after only 17 months in charge. The decision to fire Jose Mourinho was taken just as he was preparing to coach the club in the League Cup final.
Mourinho was hired in November 2019 to replace Mauricio Pochettino. The latter unexpectedly led the London club to the Champions League final. However, the team collapsed the following season.
Mourinho failed to get Tottenham back into the Champions League and has overseen another collapse this season. The team were in first place in December but a run of poor results has seen them fall to seventh place.
“Jose and his coaching staff have been with us through some of our most challenging times as a club,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said.
“Jose is a true professional who showed enormous resilience during the pandemic. On a personal level I have enjoyed working with him. I regret that things have not worked out as we both had envisaged. He will always be welcome here and we should like to thank him and his coaching staff for their contribution,” Levy added.
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Mourinho’s exit comes two days before a Premier League game against Southampton. Then there is the League Cup final Sunday against Manchester City. Tottenham, who haven’t won a trophy since the 2008 League Cup, said youth coach Ryan Mason had been put in charge of training.
It is Mourinho’s shortest spell at a club since breaking into the big time with Porto in 2004.
Disgruntlement over his tactics and methods has resurfaced in recent months. The club missed out on a Champions League place and was eliminated from the Europa League in the round of 16 after a surprising 0-3 loss at Dinamo Zagreb.
Tottenham now head into the League Cup final against City at Wembley Stadium without a manager and probably without its best player, with Harry Kane having hobbled off late in the 2-2 draw at Everton in the Premier League Friday. That was Mourinho’s last game in charge.
