That’s life.On this day some 22 years ago, the namesakes found themselves at the same crossroad. Jose took a left one. The other Jose went the other way.The first one took the path of eternal glory, embellished with dozens of trophies and numerous Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, La Liga, Premier League, and Serie A crowns. He is worshipped by millions worldwide and hated by probably the same numbers. He is The Special One.UEL: The bus Mou parked in front of Rui Patricio tonight takes Roma straight to Europa League finalThe other Jose is Mendilibar. The current Sevilla coach Jose Luis Mendilibar, 62, had almost the same starting point as his namesake Mourinho, 60, at the turn of the century. Still, his coaching career has been a genuine antipode of what the Portuguese tactician experienced. Mou’s spell at relatively unknown Uniao Leiria back in 2001 was a perfect kickstart for a tremendous journey involving winning silverware with Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United and, finally, Roma.Este tipo está en la final de la Europa League. Y, por tanto, a un partido de la Champions.José Luis Mendilibar, el míster del pueblo. pic.twitter.com/ylM3AIT3rS— Mario Jiménez (@MarioJimenezB_) May 18, 2023 On the other hand, Mendilibar struggled with anonymous Aurrera and Lanzarote in his home country before moving to a rather decent Eibar. There he did a good job, attracting the attention of Athletic Bilbao, but he was so awful with the club he loved that Mendilibar became the first coach in the history of the Basque Country-based club to be sacked.##NAJAVA_MECA_7271116##As you probably guess that little detail in his CV didn’t help much in the remainder of his career, taking him on a further La Liga round-trip to Valladolid, Osasuna, Levante, Alaves and Eibar again.During those few years, Mendilibar had a chance to meet Mourinho more than once on the football pitch as The Special One sat in the Real Madrid dugout. The summary of those games? Three losses, one goalless draw, zero wins. Goal difference: 3-16 for Mou.Mendilibar vs Mourinho will be a marvellous contest.Four previous meetings, heavily weighted by club:Real Madrid 7-1 Osasuna Osasuna 1-5 Real Madrid Osasuna 0-0 Real Madrid Real Madrid 4-2 Osasuna pic.twitter.com/Waoi9kzQ1e— Matthew Clark (@MattClark_08) May 18, 2023 And just when it seemed Jose Luis Mendilibar was slowly walking towards retirement without a single praiseworthy achievement on his few-decade-long coaching path, the chance emerged out of the blue.Despite bringing together a quality bunch, Sevilla were on the verge of relegation under Jorge Sampaoli, with a modest Europa League campaign in addition.Sevilla make the switch: miracle-maker replaces the deal-breakerMendilibar was brought in as an interim manager, a firefighter with an essential assignment and task – take the Andalucian ship to safety. Not only he managed to consolidate the team and take them up the La Liga table, but Jose brushed aside great Manchester United in his literally first European games. After beating the Red Devils, Mendilibar topped Juventus and took his side to the Europa League showdown.José Luis Mendilibar has coached four matches in UEFA competition in his career. He is unbeaten and has eliminated Manchester United and Juventus. Legend. pic.twitter.com/RtP0y6VpAD— Euan McTear (@emctear) May 18, 2023 There, he’ll meet his namesake, Jose. Mourinho. We guess, in the end, all the crossroads eventually take you to the same place.That’s life.
