Andre Schurrle looks back on his time at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho as a difficult but necessary learning experience. His comments highlight the stark differences in man-management between Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
Imagine being a fly on the wall as Andre Schurrle and Bastian Schweinsteiger get together to talk about Jose Mourinho. The German language has a word for everything, but they may have had to invent a few new ones to describe life under the Portuguese manager.
Andre Schurrle was on the receiving end of some classic Mourinho moments during their time together at Chelsea. Now at Borussia Dortmund, Schurrle spoke about the harsh footballing lessons he learned from Mourinho.
"Chelsea was a dream for me. But after I was through an infection a few weeks out, the coach unfortunately did not often put me on… He showed me the tough professional life. For the first time I had to handle it, what it’s like when you’re suddenly out after only one bad game. – Bild"
Schurrle made 43 appearances in his first season at Chelsea. Mourinho axed that figure in half the following year, as Schurrle only came on 22 times. A League Cup tie against Shrewsbury Town brought the full passive-aggressive wrath of Mourinho down on Schurrle and Mohamed Salah.
As Antonio Conte is being lauded for bringing Victor Moses and Nathaniel Chalobah into the lineup, Schurrle nailed the contrast between the two managers. Whereas Conte aims to develop players and build a cohesive team, Mourinho is harshly utilitarian.
"[Jose Mourinho] is a coach for whom it’s all about winning. The team is his tool to win."
That may as well be Jose Mourinho’s epitaph. Mourinho shifted his modus operandi into high gear at his latest post. He was barely off the plane at Manchester United before he slashed his roster and purchased “his players,” Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He continued salting the earth as the season began. Mourinho even went so far as accusing Chris Smalling of gold-bricking on an injury, which turned out to be a broken toe.
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Antonio Conte, on the other hand, treated Chelsea to a clean slate. Whether you spent the last few years in Blue, on loan or at the Academy was less important than how you trained and performed for Il Sarto. As a result, Victor Moses is a starter, Nathaniel Chalobah is a regular and people are asking how Mourinho missed both.
All coaches at Mourinho’s and Conte’s level are all about winning. But what distinguishes them is how they pursue that goal. Antonio Conte is no slouch, nor is Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp. They see their players as players, as human beings, not as pieces on a chessboard or widgets on Football Manager. And yet they still have the trophy case to prove their methods.
Next: Chelsea have too much quality, must prepare for Tottenham hacking
Andre Schurrle highlighted how Jose Mourinho’s man-management is as out-dated as his tactics. The Premier League table tells a similar tale. Hopefully Schurrle’s World Cup winners’ medal and Bundesliga success will be enough that he won’t give Mourinho any more thought.