Manchester Evening News

JOSE’S BIG MISS

- By CIARAN KELLY ciaran.kelly@trinitymir­ror.com @MENCKelly

WITH a leather rucksack on his back, Jose Mourinho was scrolling through his phone as he made his way out of the Amex on Sunday. Messages of support from family will have no doubt dropped as the final whistle went.

You can bet his irmão (brother), Rui Faria, was in touch on Whatsapp.

Faria is the closest thing Mourinho ever had to a male sibling, someone who has been with him every step of the way in his remarkable journey to the top. The pair go way back, 18 years in fact, to a coaching seminar at the Nou Camp in 2000.

These two physical education graduates with no playing careers of note quickly hit it off. They shared a methodolog­y centered on training with the ball, preparing detailed scouting reports and, most importantl­y of all, winning football matches.

It was a friendship that took them to six clubs in three different countries and was at the heart of their success as they won 25 trophies together.

Whether it was lifting the Champions League with Porto in 2004 or witnessing Mourinho poking the late Tito Vilanova in the eye seven years later, Faria had a front row seat. For the good and the bad.

That is what made his departure such a huge blow for Mourinho. Forget football for a second; this a friendship for life and Mourinho has realised that since rocking up in Manchester two years ago.

Living away from his family for the first time, the United boss chose to reside in the city centre rather than in an isolated house in Cheshire so he could be close to his assistants.

Is it any wonder he is feeling a little lonely?

“I miss my friend Rui [Faria] but not my assistant because friends you cannot replace, friends are friends forever,” he said earlier this summer.

M.E.N. Sport understand­s Faria is spending time with family and has turned down a host of media requests after taking a rare sabbatical. The Portuguese is biding his time before starting a career in management. Following Faria’s decision to leave in May, Mourinho decided not to directly replace him and appoint a No.2, instead adding three new coaches, Michael Carrick, Kieran McKenna and Stefano Rapetti, to his backroom team. It was a positive decision – for the first time in years Mourinho has brought fresh voices into his inner circle – but the United boss has looked a little isolated on the touchline ever since. Faria was a sounding board he would push and yell at, but who always remained by his side. The 43-yearold regularly popped over to Mourinho on the touchline to speak with him and give him his views at crucial points during a match. For the players, too, it has been an adjustment. We have this pre-conceived image of Faria as Mourinho’s attack dog, never afraid to stick his oar in when he feels the referee has wronged his team, but he was far

It was a friendship that took them to six clubs and was at the heart of their success as they won 25 trophies Ciaran Kelly

from that with the players and was someone they could turn to.

Perhaps no one is better placed to give an insight to Mourinho and Faria’s friendship than former assistant Baltemar Brito, who worked alongside the pair for eight years at Leiria, Porto and Chelsea.

“Of course Jose will feel the loss a lot although no one is irreplacea­ble,” the Brazilian previously told M.E.N. Sport.

“They worked together every day for 17 years, even going on holidays sometimes, and Rui is a fantastic human being.

“They weren’t just friends; they were brothers, family. When you have all of this, along with confidence in each other, it is obviously a lot to lose.

“Rui did not make Jose better or worse – he simply made things different – but life goes on. Jose will still be the coach that he has always been and Rui will be a great coach and will be very successful in his own right.”

 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Michael Carrick has joined Mourinho in the dug-out
Michael Carrick has joined Mourinho in the dug-out
 ??  ?? Rui Faria is the closest thing Jose Mourinho has to a brother United coach Kieran McKenna
Rui Faria is the closest thing Jose Mourinho has to a brother United coach Kieran McKenna

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom