Chosen one Mourinho banking on Manchester’s ‘mystique’

Jose Mourinho talks bluntly, wins big and then everything seems to go wrong.

Taking on what he called the “mystique” and “romance” of Manchester United adds to one of the most most stellar CVs in football.

But the 53-year-old Portuguese -- who has won eight league titles in four countries with Porto, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea as well as two Champions League titles with Porto and Inter Milan -- knows he is taking on a new risk.

Mourinho has been ordered out or walked out in various ways when ambition or tensions have taken over. His reputation is for brilliance and petulance.

Building a legacy is an unsolvable puzzle for the man whose remarkable record earned his “Special One” nom de guerre.

Mourinho’s second stint at Chelsea, which ended acrimoniously in December, summed up his career: a period of bedding in, one or two seasons of stunning success and then things fall apart.

“Mourinho burns out his players after a year and a half, at most two years,” said former AC Milan and England coach Fabio Capello just before Mourinho’s Chelsea exit.

Mourinho is never short of job offers though. His tactical acumen, attention to detail and ability to form water-tight bonds with players have made him one of the greatest coaches of all time.

Mourinho has no record as a player. And his brash, arrogant style may not sit easily with everyone. But after working as assistant to Louis van Gaal -whom he succeeds at United -and having unremarkable spells at Benfica and Uniao de Leiria, he emerged as a world-class leader at Porto in 2002.

Porto beat Manchester United on the way to winning the Champions League in 2004.