Rui Faria has been Jose Mourinho‘s right-hand man during his time at Inter, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
The two Portuguese coaches introduced the idea of tactical periodisation, which implies that every training session should be based on a given match situation.
Mourinho did not believe in needless sprinting to attain fitness.
It could be seen in the tactical flexibility of his sides.
Faria was pivotal in Mourinho’s success. In an interview with The Times, he spoke about his time at United.
“It is a bit controversial, the question. I think it’s a club where every coach would like to be and somewhere that should be a pleasure to develop your work, and at times, it was like that.”
“But there were times you feel you need more.”
“That you need more from the club in terms of getting that stability.”
“It is not a criticism of anybody individual, but if you look back at history, the club was Sir Alex and Mr (David) Gill, a good relationship between two people of many years, giving stability. And suddenly, the club changed.”
Many believed that Faria left United due to a tiff with Mourinho, but the reality is that he wanted to spend more time with his children.
Faria has the utmost respect for Mourinho.
He also went on to say: “Jose is the greatest.”
During Faria’s time at Old Trafford, United won the League Cup and UEFA Europa League and finished in second place in the Premier League the following season.
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