Jamie Carragher explains why Liverpool snubbed Jose Mourinho in 2004
According to a report by The Mirror, former Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher has opened up as to why the club chose not to appoint Jose Mourinho as the manager back in 2004.
That was the summer that Liverpool appointed Rafael Benitez as the manager but as per The Mirror, Mourinho’s name was in the reckoning as well.
To be fair, the Portuguese boss had just won the Champions League at the time and was getting close to reaching his prime. In fact, back then, he was hot property as far as the managerial circuit is concerned.
Meanwhile, Benitez had also won his second La Liga title with Valencia but surely winning the elite continental competition should have been enough to propel Mourinho forward.
However, Carragher has explained why the hierarchy chose to go for Benitez instead. Speaking to Sky Sports Football Podcast (h/t The Mirror), he said:
“I think the feeling was that Jose Mourinho couldn’t be a Liverpool manager, possibly because of the way he conducted himself at times.”
He quickly lauded Mourinho for his work with Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premier League. But Carragher added that the current Tottenham boss’ work ethic did not align with the Liverpool way.
As a result, Rafa landed the job and enjoyed some wildly successful seasons at Anfield. In a certain sense, he sparked a much-needed revolution at the club that made the world sit up and take note of Liverpool in a different way.
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While this does make for an interesting fact, suffice to say that things have worked out very well for us – especially with Jurgen Klopp at the helm now.
