‘I’d want to be like him’: Tammy Abraham discusses the secret to Jose Mourinho’s success

Roma (opens in new tab) star Tammy Abraham says he’d want to emulate boss Jose Mourinho if he ever went into coaching, calling the esteemed Portuguese tactician “a legend”.

The striker joined Roma from Chelsea (opens in new tab) in the summer of 2021 and has thrived in Italy under the former Blues manager, helping the Giallorossi win last season’s Europa Conference League and kickstarting his England career.

Speaking to FourFourTwo for the latest issue available to buy (opens in new tab), Abraham highlighted the qualities which he feels have made Mourinho such a success.

“Jose is a legend,” enthused Abraham. “If I wanted to be a manager after football, I’d want to be like him. It’s just his persona, his energy; I love it. He’s what we call a real boss; he’s a leader. When he speaks, you listen. He knows his man management; he’s one of the best in the world at that. He knows how to drive you, how to really get under your skin. Even if you’re doing amazing, he’ll still try to make you do more. He’s never satisfied; he always wants the best for you.”

Abraham has gone from strength to strength since making the switch to Serie A – and it’s clear Mourinho’s methods have played a big part in that.

“Before the semi-final of the Conference League against Leicester (opens in new tab), we played a league match and I thought I was having a brilliant game!” the 25-year-old recalled. “I was full of confidence. The following day, Jose called me into the meeting room. We had Leicester in about two days, no time to recover. He said, ‘Tam, I don’t think you’ve been good enough’. In my head I was like, ‘I’ve just played pretty well!’. He said, ‘I think you can do more’. No problem. 

“When he speaks, I always listen and take his advice – I’m a big guy; I’m strong. He told me he didn’t think I scored enough with my head, especially from corners. What was crazy was that two days later against Leicester, I scored a header from a corner! I remember trying to work out how he managed to get me to do this. It was so crazy. He spoke about it two days [before], and [then] I’m scoring with my head.”

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Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for The Analyst and When Saturday Comes, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open…