Japleen Khera
José Mourinho, the first winner of FIFA World Coach of the Year 2010, is one of the world’s most decorated sports mentors and managers. He has taken extraordinary football players like Cristiano Ronaldo under his wing and put them on the map. Mourinho’s greatness lies in the fact that instead of being presumptuous, he credits his leadership capability to the lessons he learned from those standing on the opposite lines, for instance, Lionel Messi.
The Portuguese manager works with the strategy of training teams, not just players, and he elaborately talks about this in the Netflix sports documentary ‘The Playbook.’ In more ways than one, Mourinho has been living the dream life, and this is evident in the fact that he is married to his childhood sweetheart and has built a happy home with her. Let us spill the beans of his personal life exclusively for you!
José Mourinho’s Early Life
Born in a large middle-class family in a suburban area of the Lisbon metropolitan city, José Mourinho had always wanted to follow his father’s footsteps, who was a professional football player. Early on, he realized that his strength lay in coaching for the sport instead of playing it. He dropped out of a business school on the first day itself to dedicatedly follow his passion without any distraction.
After pursuing sports science at the Technical University of Lisbon, Mourinho began his career from a modest job as a football coach at a school. After years of sheer determination and strategic planning, he became a part of the world’s top-tier management in 2000. Since the kick-start of his career to him winning 22 prestigious trophies, Mourinho’s family has supported him through all the thick and thin.
José Mourinho’s Wife and Children
In addition to building for himself an illustrious managerial career, José Mourinho has always taken immense pride in the fact that he has remained a devoted family man throughout. He believes the secret to both is love. He fell madly in love with his now-wife, Matilde “Tami” Faria, when he was still a teenager living in Setúbal, Portugal. Fortunately, she reciprocated his feelings, and the two got married in 1989 while both were still very young. In 1996, they welcomed their first child, an adorable baby girl whom they named Matilde, and had their son, José Mário Jr., four years later.
As a devout Roman Catholic, he gives the utmost importance to his family. In 2013, Mourinho got the first names of his wife, a humanitarian worker, and their children tattooed on his arm. The Tottenham Hotspur head coach has often emphasized his primary focus is to be a “good father.” Despite being celebrity kids, both his children choose to stay wrapped away from the prying eyes of the media, so not much is known about them. The doting daughter, Matilde (nicknamed Tita), has spent much of her childhood in Belgravia and currently resides in London with her family.
In 2017, Mourinho’s son suffered a severe ankle injury, after which he terminated his contract with Fulham and has worked as a free agent. The former Manchester United tactician was rumored to be developing a close friendship with a 14 years younger blonde woman. Mourinho sparked the rumors by appearing on Sky Sports without his wedding band, around the same time. However, he stubbed any such allegation by stating that he had simply forgotten to wear the ring that particular day. Thus clarifying any speculation of separation from his wife, and as of today, the couple cherishes each other’s companionship every day.
