Roma coach Jose Mourinho was recently invited to give a talk as part of the High Performance Football Coaching Course. The Special One touched on several themes related to his football career. Parts of this lecture have been transcribed and published by a Portuguese media Grandstand Expresso.

“Semi-finals or finals are not a special time in terms of preparation, the coach cannot claim to be the best on the pitch in a final,” Mourinho told his students. “You can’t put extra pressure on your players and force them to do things they’re not used to, you have to let them do what they feel like doing.”

Then, the Portuguese boss talked about the importance of adapting to the environment and the players at his disposal.

“When you’re at a club that has no budget limit and you can buy whoever you want, you can keep the same formation because you have the best players and the best bench, which allows you to always play with the same quality and the same principles. If you are not in such a club, in my opinion, it is simply impossible to make these kinds of arguments.

“You have to adapt every day. In our case, when one day four or five key players change, everything changes. You don’t work with footballers, but with men who play football. Empathy is therefore essential in your daily work.

“We are in a period of football where everyone is trying to find the ‘perfect recipe’, some think the secret is tactical innovation or doing something new in training,” Mourinho continued.

“One of the best strikers in the world, Eto’o, played as a full-back against Barcelona: that only happens when there is empathy between the coach and the players.”

“Without empathy there is no happiness, especially when you don’t have incredible players. The human relationship is, and always will be, fundamental. If you are at a normal club, don’t be obsessed with tactics and methodology, rather work on empathy.