SUMMARY
- Since 2004, Mourinho elevated Chelsea, challenging reigning champions Manchester United, led by Sir Alex Ferguson, and Arsenal, led by Arsène Wenger.
- One of the craziest events was Wenger's 1000th game in charge for Arsenal FC where Jose was spotted leaving early after Chelsea had ruthlessly defeated Arsenal FC 6-0.
Due to his length and achievements, Jose Mourinho has faced competition from some of the best managers in the business, the most notable of whom is Arsene Wenger. After taking over in 2004, Mourinho is frequently credited with making Chelsea an English superpower. The reigning champions at the time were Manchester United, led by Sir Alex Ferguson, and Arsenal, led by Arsène Wenger.
One of the craziest events was Wenger’s 1000th game in charge for Arsenal FC where Jose was spotted leaving early after Chelsea had ruthlessly defeated Arsenal FC 6-0. As per Mourinho himself, he left the game early to ring his wife and tell her the result before anyone else.
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He said in a post-match conference, “The game is over, my wife doesn’t know the result, she’s waiting for me to call, she’s always in doubt coz she doesn’t know the result so if I can give her the result 2 mins before..better.” He further added, “With Mourinho people always find things to complain about!”
Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger’s rivalry will always go down as one of the best in the soccer community. They both always went against each other before their match-ups and it was pure entertainment for soccer fans around the world.
Jose Mourinho opens up on Arsene Wenger’s 1000th game
The most popular thing Mourinho said about Wenger was that he was a “Specialist in failure.” Interestingly, Wenger’s 1000th managerial match occurred in March 2014, against the Blues, during Mourinho’s second spell. It was one to forget for Arsene Wenger and one to talk about for Jose Mourinho for the rest of his career.
Within fifteen minutes, Chelsea led 2-0 when Kieran Gibbs was given a red card by center referee Andre Marriner, who had intended for Alex Oxlade Chamberlain. After that, the Gunners’ performance declined dramatically as they gave up four more goals in what was meant to be Wenger’s most memorable game.
🗣️ Jose Mourinho: “The only thing Arsene Wenger cannot forget is that on his match number 1000 which is a match to remember and to celebrate Chelsea 6-0 Arsenal.” [@obionepodcast] pic.twitter.com/cD10dg8pkc
— Football Talk (@FootballTalkHQ) December 17, 2023
Making an appearance on John Obi-Mikel’s podcast, Obi One, Mourinho recently brought back memories of how his opponent’s game unfolded. “The only thing that Arsène Wenger cannot forget is his match number 1000, which is a match to remember and to celebrate: Chelsea 6, Arsenal 0,” said Jose Mourinho.
The following season, Wenger shoved Mourinho, almost resulting in a confrontation between the two managers. According to the Daily Mail, the current AS Roma manager replied by flipping Wenger’s tie. Their rivalry will go down as one of the greatest in the sport and will be spoken about for decades by soccer fans and experts. It remains to be seen what happens next with Jose Mourinho’s career at AS Roma in Italy.