Mourinho: Hodgson and Del Bosque got it wrong at World Cup

The England and Spain managers were too cautious when they needed a new approach in the World Cup, the Chelsea boss says in Alistair Campbell's new book

Jose Mourinho has criticised Roy Hodgson and Vicente del Bosque for their “traditional” coaching during crucial moments of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

England and Spain were in desperate need of a strategic change in important matches, said Mourinho, but Hodgson and Del Bosque failed to deliver it – and both teams were eliminated in the group stage.

 

Mourinho’s World Cup critique, in which he also praises Argentina’s Alejandro Sabella, is aired in a new book by Alistair Campbell, the former “spin doctor’ in Tony Blair’s Labour government in Britain.

Mourinho believes the difference between tactics and strategy highlights the importance of making changes during a match, and explains why England should have tried something different when they lost 2-1 to Uruguay last summer.

"They are losing and, if they lose, they are out of the tournament, so they have to score,” Mourinho told Campbell. “They made two changes at 1-0 down. But when Roy Hodgson made these changes — Sterling out, Barkley in, then Lallana in for Welbeck — I couldn’t see a strategic change. Same tactical model, same system."

Uruguay had Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani in attack, England had four at the back. “You are losing 1-0, you need to get a draw at least, so I say take one defender off and play three at the back, put an extra man to midfield/attack.

"So maybe take off Baines and play Cahill sweeper, Johnson and Jagielka marking one each, an extra man to midfield or attack. Then Uruguay have to adapt.”

Campbell’s was Blair's Director of Communications and Strategy from 1997-2003. His first three words in Chapter 1 of Winners and How They Succeed (Hutchinson) are “Strategy is God.”

He talks to many "winners" across the world, and his interview subjects cover a wide spectrum. From sport they feature Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson – who talks about authority and control – and boxer Floyd Mayweather. There are also comments from Barack Obama and Bill Clinton in politics, and the late Steve Jobs on business.

In his conversations with Mourinho there was also criticism for Del Bosque who, like Hodgson, was “more traditional, with less intervention,” than other coaches.

“They [Spain] are losing — so Diego Costa out, Fernando Torres in. Why? Play them together. You need to change. They will say, ‘Ah, but Spain has its own system, its own philosophy’ — hell, if it is not working, you change.”

As for the difference between strategy and tactics – a key theme of the book – Mourinho explained that, for him, tactics were “the principles of the game, the model, the DNA of the team” that forms the daily focus in training.

Strategy, he said, was a particular plan for a particular game, depending on analysis of the opponents.

Mourinho also stressed the importance of innovation, because in modern football “everybody knows everything about everybody”. Players and coaches move around and take ideas with them – there are no secrets.

“My assistant becomes a manager somewhere else," he added. "He takes with him everything we have done, all the knowledge. New ideas spread quickly. So keep having more new ones.”