January 11 – Forget legal letters, World Trade Organisation petitions, and multi-stakeholder pressure groups, beIN Sport may have at last found the killer application to end beoutQ’s rampant piracy of their TV output – Jose Mourinho.
The self-styled Special One has parlayed his way into being a TV pundit for the Qatari-based broadcaster for games in the Premier League and AFC Asian Cup 2019.
He will make his Premier League debut on January 19 for the Arsenal vs Chelsea game and will be in the studio for the Qatar vs Saudi Arabia blockbuster that will close off the group games at the Asian Cup January 17.
Mourinho became notable for miserable demeanour and even more miserable team tactics in his last job at Manchester United, from which he was sacked just before Christmas. Not generally the ideal starting point for a TV commentator.
He single handedly turned the beautiful game played by one of the world’s most loved (and most hated) teams into an ugly spectacle of mediocrity. Gone was the happy-go-lucky bonhomie of his early years in the Premier League, replaced by the haunted look of a man unhappy with life, his players, and being in Manchester. Football became almost a sideshow at Man Utd’s Theatre of Whatever as press rooms, players and pitchside water bottles were treated equally with physical and emotional violence. His biggest fan was the hotelier who he ran up a £500,000 hotel bill.
Jonathan Whitehead of beIN SPORTS, said: “Jose is one of the greatest football managers of all time, and we hope that his expert analysis and charismatic personality will be enjoyed by our millions of viewers. It’s a clear example of the premium content and world class punditry that we provide to sports fans globally on a daily basis.”
Perhaps a tighter definition of charisma is required or perhaps they found a Happy Jose lurking in those increasingly dark personality shadows that haunted pre and post-match interviews.
Either way Jose and his agent Jorge Mendes will be laughing all the way to the bank, even if there are few laughs on screen.
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