TOMISLAV IVIC

Jose Mourinho has won the league in four different countries; as has Carlo Ancelotti. Also on the list is Tomislav Ivic, the man Mourinho himself once described as “the greatest coach of them all”. Here’s why...

HAJDUK SPLIT ( 1974, ’ 75, ’ 79)

Ivic briefly stepped up from youth- team boss to manage Hajduk Split’s first team in 1972, defeating rivals Dinamo Zagreb in the final of the Yugoslav Cup. When he assumed control for the 1973- 74 campaign, he was taking over a side that had just come 9th in the Yugoslav League. That season, though, Ivic led them to a league and cup double, securing only their second league title since 1955. Repeating the feat 12 months on, he quit to join Ajax, but later claimed another league title in 1978- 79 after returning to Croatia for a second spell.

AJAX ( 1977)

Ivic had been hand- picked for the Ajax job by predecessor Rinus Michels, gaining admirers after Hajduk had given PSV an almighty scare in the quarter- finals of the 1975- 76 European Cup. As it turned out, he required such kudos. Upon arriving at a club that had bagged three straight European Cups at the start of the ’ 70s – but hadn’t topped the league for three years since Johan Cruyff’s departure – he was met with a player rebellion that had to be resolved by chairman Jaap van Praag. The Ajax chief was very glad he did: Ivic put the Amsterdam side’s winless streak right at the first attempt.

ANDERLECHT ( 1981)

By the early 1980s, Ivic had moved to Belgium and was tasked with getting another big club back on track – Anderlecht hadn’t celebrated a title for seven seasons. Again, he ended that drought in his maiden campaign, then steered them to the semi- finals of the European Cup in 1981- 82. Anderlecht beat Juventus, before succumbing to eventual winners Aston Villa.

PORTO ( 1988)

When Ivic landed in Portugal, Porto were the reigning European champions but had fallen short to Benfica in the Primeira Liga. Not only did he immediately correct that – losing just one league game in 1987- 88 – he also lifted three more trophies: the UEFA Super Cup after victory against Ivic’s former club Ajax, then the Intercontinental and Portuguese cups. His feats impressed a young Mourinho, who had often studied his training sessions in the flesh.

Ivic later won the Copa del Rey with Atletico Madrid, but it would prove to be his last major trophy as a manager. He is often credited with a league crown in a fifth country: the Croatian coached Marseille during 1991- 92, but stepped down midway through the season when war in his homeland intensified, to concentrate on moving his family to France.

Following his retirement, Ivic visited Stamford Bridge and met Mourinho, who presented him with a copy of his biography. “To the greatest coach of them all,” Mourinho had inked inside. “I hope one day to win as much as you.”