Why Hodgson is a better manager than Mourinho, who is not the genius his Fleet Street fan club have made him out to be

By Brian McNally

Published 13:20 19/03/10

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The managerial feat of the week belonged not to the headline-hogging coach of Internazionale but to one of his barely-remembered predecessors at the San Siro.

The unassuming, under-rated Roy Hodgson's achievement in guiding Fulham to a fabulous comeback against Juventus and a place in the Europa Cup quarter final was far more impressive than Jose Mourinho's much-hyped success over former club Chelsea.

Juve may be way off the pace set by the two Milan clubs at the top of Serie A, but with four World Cup winners in their glitttering line-up and the luxury of a 4-1 aggregate lead in the opening minutes at Craven Cottage they gave Hodgson's side an Everest to climb.

But the unflappable Hodgson refused to be fazed by the Italian side's reputation and masterminded what is without doubt one of the finest comebacks by an English side in European competition.

Fulham should retire unbeaten, jokes 'Rocky' Roy Hodgson  

It is only now at the age of 62 that Hodgson's technical ability as a coach is being fully recognised in his homeland after spending most of his time working abroad.

But his transformation of Fulham from relegation candidates in 2008 to a club that can hold it s own in both the Premier League and Europe is testament to an astute football brain and exceptional organisational abilities.

The success he has achieved in the modest club surroundings of SW6 is reminiscent of his excellent work with the Swiss national side in the mid 1990s.

Hodgson may not have the charisma, the sound-bytes or the big-club stage of Mourinho, but in my book he is no less talented a manager or tactician - even if his CV does not boast the impressive list of trophies won by his Portuguese counterpart.

Mourinho is good, very good in fact. But, crucially, maybe not quite as good as he thinks he is.

It is a fact that his most impressive achievements were in his homeland where he got Porto to punch way above their weight to win both the UEFA Cup and the Champions League.

Since then his record in Europe has been distinctly average, despite the vast resources he has had at his disposal.

Mourinho may be the most successful manager in Chelsea's history and continued Robert Mancini's domestic success with Inter, but since 2004 his Champions League record is nothing to write home about.

The fawning adulation that has been heaped on the self-styled Special One by large sections of the English media in recent weeks has been embarrassing in the extreme.

Out-witting Carlo Ancelotti over two legs hardly qualifies him for the "tactical genius" plaudits showered on him by his Fleet Street fan club, after all, Manchester City's Roberto Mancini also managed to completely unravel the Chelsea manager's predictable, one-dimensional strategy at Stamford Bridge recently.

And the media-led campaign to lure Mourinho back to England conveniently ignores the unsavoury and negative aspects of his management style. The amateur theatrics, repeated diving and blatant time-wasting have not changed a jot since his days at Porto and Chelsea.

The self-righteous indignation of the Stamford Bridge fans as Mourinho's side did a passable impression of Chelsea circa 2004-07 was rich with irony just as the 1-0 scoreline reminded us that goals are usually at a premium in a Mourinho victory.

Mourinho and Inter throughly deserved their win even if they were aided and abetted by poor refereeing, but I am not convinced that they are good enough to trouble Barcelona or Manchester United.

Maybe I am old fashioned but I enjoyed the excitement of Fulham's rousing victory far more than the stop-start, ploddingly slow chess game that was Chelsea-Inter.

As an entertainment spectacle Roy Hodgson's Fulham certainly stole the show from the Special One this week.

Fulham 4-1 Juventus: The Daily Mirror match report  

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