To conclude our series looking into the best XIs per manager in the WhoScored database it is time to look at someone that divides opinion unlike no other. Despite a fairly underwhelming last few years, Jose Mourinho has cemented himself as one of the modern day great managers after inspiring Porto, Inter and Manchester United to European glory in some shape or form, as well as winning countless league titles around the continent. We have already revealed the best rated XIs for the Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti and now it's time for the 'Chosen One'.
Unfortunately, as WhoScored.com only started to receive Opta data from the 2009/10 season, Mourinho's first stint at Chelsea, his years at Porto and the first 12 months of his two-year reign of Inter are not included. This is very much an ultimate Mourinho XI of the last decade and players must have played at least one league season's worth of matches under Mourinho since August 2009 to be eligible for selection.
It means there will be players considered from Mourinho's time in charge of Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United. With only 11 positions available, some big name players are going to miss the cut. Notably Eden Hazard. The Chelsea winger had a superb rating of 7.67 under Mourinho but misses out on a place in the team to a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. More on that later.
Goalkeeper: Petr Cech (Chelsea) - 6.84 rating from 41 apps
David de Gea is an obvious name that springs to mind but there is no doubt who Mourinho will claim to be the most reliable goalkeeper of his managerial reign. Even though Petr Cech's best years under Mourinho were before 2009, he was still dependable until they could no longer ignore Thibaut Courtois at the start of the 2014/15 campaign. Cech made 41 league appearances during Mourinho's second spell at Stamford Bridge before joining Arsenal in 2015 and kept 20 clean sheets in that time.
Right-back: Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea) - 7.19 rating from 86 apps
Jose Mourinho caught Branislav Ivanovic towards the back end of his best years at Chelsea, and things really did start to deteriorate quickly after Mourinho's departure, but he was still a key performer in Chelsea's title-winning campaign between 2014/15. In fact, the Serbian defender played a direct hand in nine league goals that season (four goals, five assists), his best return in a single league campaign since August 2009. Ivanvoic scored or assisted 13 goals in 86 league appearances under Mourinho overall, only one fewer than Willian.
Centre-back: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) - 7.40 rating from 91 apps
Jose Mourinho pushed Pep Guardiola to the brink during his time at Madrid head coach, and even himself, during one of modern football's great rivalries. There was no better leader to channel that hate towards their opponents than Sergio Ramos. The Spanish centre-back was typically sent off three times in 91 league games under Mourinho at the start of the decade but also weighed in with 10 goals from the back. Ramos also averaged 4.9 tackles and interceptions combined per game.
Centre-back: Pepe (Real Madrid) - 7.18 rating from 83 apps
Sergio Ramos picked up three red cards in LaLiga during Mourinho's time at Madrid and his centre-back partner, Pepe, wasn't far behind with two sendings off himself. It was part of their bad cop, bad cop attitude. Both took no nonsense at the back and were the first to light the flame at the first opportunity. Even with Raphael Varane coming through, Pepe remained first-choice for years at Madrid. He averaged 4.8 successful aerial duels per game and also 4.5 tackles and interceptions combined per game during Mourinho's three seasons at Madrid.
Left-back: Marcelo (Real Madrid) - 7.51 rating from 78 apps
The Marcelo of 2020 is a sad shadow of his former self. The Brazilian was beginning to establish himself as one of the most exciting full-backs in European football at the start of the decade. He averaged 5.6 tackles and interceptions combined per game but at the other end of the pitch he played a direct hand in 15 goals, with an average of 2.0 successful dribbles per game and 1.2 key passes per game.
Central midfield: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid) - 7.44 rating from 98 apps
Liverpool's decision to sell Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid very quickly proved a huge error on their part. He arrived a year before Mourinho but the Portuguese very quickly got the very best of the central midfielder. Alonso averaged 5.5 tackles and interceptions combined per game and finished with 20 assists from just short of 100 appearances under Mourinho. As the hub of Madrid's central midfield, Alonso unsurprisingly averaged more passes per game (68.3) than any other player at Madrid.
Central midfield: Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - 7.49 rating from 71 apps
Jose Mourinho's time as Manchester United manager more of less came to and in a blaze of glory because of his relationship with Paul Pogba, which makes his inclusion in an ultimate XI highly controversial. It's fair to say Pogba never completely fulfilled his immense potential under Mourinho but there were still periods where he demonstrated his sheer class and unique skillset. Pogba played a direct hand in 31 goals in 71 league games under Mourinho (17 goals, 14 assists) and averaged 2.5 dribbles per game and 1.6 key passes per game. He won the WhoScored Man of the Match award at least three more times than any other United player during Mourinho's spell at Old Trafford (10).
Right wing: Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid) - 7.29 rating from 90 apps
Angel Di Maria was one of Jose Mourinho's first signings as Real Madrid manager and he certainly proved an astute purchase. The Argentina international played a direct hand in 50 goals in 90 league appearances under Mourinho (18 goals, 32 assists) and created 52 clear-cut goalscoring chances in that time. During those three seasons of Mourinho, only Leo Messi (103) made more accurate through balls than Di Maria (62) in LaLiga. Di Maria was no slouch out of possession for Mourinho, either, averaging more than 1 tackle per game. His hard-working nature and creativity proved the perfect foil for Mourinho with Cristiano Ronaldo on the other flank.
Attacking midfield: Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid) - 7.42 rating from 103 apps
It shouldn't be forgotten that Mesut Ozil was once a fantastic player for Arsenal no matter how his time at the club ends but the former Germany international's best form was for Real Madrid, where he struck up an-almost telepathic understanding with Cristiano Ronaldo. So much so that Ronaldo was reportedly unhappy with Madrid's decision to sell Ozil shortly after Mourinho's departure. Ozil signed the same summer Mourinho was appointed manager and registered 47 assists across his 103 LaLiga outings. He averaged 3.1 key passes per game and the next best for Madrid during that period was just 1.8. Furthermore, during his three seasons at Madrid only Leo Messi (64) created more clear-cut goalscoring chances than Ozil (61).
Left wing: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - 8.26 rating from 106 appearances
Whether Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho had a solid relationship remains to be seen but Ronaldo enjoyed two of his best ever goalscoring seasons while the Chosen One was at Real Madrid. Ronaldo scored at least 40 league goals in two of Mourinho's three years at the club. Incredibly, Ronaldo played a direct hand in 153 goals in 106 league appearances across Mourinho's three year seasons. With that in mind, it makes Eden Hazard's absence from the XI understandable.
Striker: Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid) - 7.35 rating from 80 appearances
Real Madrid were spoilt for options in attack at the turn of the decade with Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema to pick from to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. Higuain eventually lost out to Benzema, forced to leave for regular playing time, but he was arguably the better striker during Mourinho's spell. Higuain scored one more league goal (48) than Benzema (47) during Mourinho's three seasons despite featuring in 17 fewer appearances. Higuain played a direct hand in 66 goals in 80 appearances in total (48 goals, 18 assists).
Notable absentees:
Eden Hazard (7.67 rating) - 46 goals and assists in 89 league appearances with an average of 4 successful dribbles per game. 18 WhoScored Man of the Match awards in that time.
Cesc Fabregas (7.40 rating) - Inspired Chelsea's 2014/15 league-winning campaign with 18 assists in 34 games. Provided 20 assists in 50 games under Mourinho overall and averaged 5.1 accurate long balls per game.
