Five Possible Destinations for Jose Mourinho
By Ryan Wrenn
2. Paris Saint-Germain
Why would arguably one of the best teams in Europe — a team who is currently undefeated and leading their domestic league by over 20 points — even think about wanting to bring in a new manager?
While Paris Saint Germain coach Laurent Blanc has helped create a team that has absolutely no difficulty plowing over their relatively meager competition in Ligue 1, he’s yet to succeed at the highest level of European football: the Champions League.
For three successive seasons, PSG have been knocked out in the quarterfinals of the competition, twice by Barcelona and once by a Mourinho-led Chelsea. For a club with as much domestic success — and with as much money — the Champions League trophy represents the final frontier.
If Blanc cannot find a way to to advance farther than the quarterfinals with this current team, then there’s a healthy chance that the powers-that-be move on to someone who they know can win in Europe. Someone like Jose Mourinho.
There’s no doubting Mourinho’s Champions League pedigree, even if he’s failed to get past the semifinals over the last five seasons. He won it all with Inter and Porto, however, and helped build Chelsea and Real Madrid teams that would go on to appear in the final and/or win it with other managers. He’s the only readily available manager out there who can make such claims, and therefore would be an attractive option for PSG.
Next: Man United