Jose Mourinho did not have the smoothest of lockdown periods after he was pictured training outdoors with Tanguy Ndombele back in April, flaunting the UK government’s lockdown guidelines.
The Spurs boss was at the receiving end of plenty of criticism for his actions (Good Morning Britain via Express) and later admitted that his behaviour was not in line with government protocol (Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick).
The 57-year-old has now warned that he is once again about to break the social distancing protocol when Everton visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for an all-important clash this evening.
Only this time, it will be to embrace his counterpart, Carlo Ancellotti, who Mourinho admitted that he is very close to.
Speaking ahead of Tottenham’s clash against Everton, the Spurs boss told The Sun: “I think he’s (Ancelotti) a fantastic guy. I think I’m going to break the rules.
“Now is one-metre distance. I’m going to break the rules and I’m going to hug him because I like Carlo very much.
“As a person I had the privilege to know him for a few years, to stay and be with him a few times in Uefa meetings in some different occasions and I just love Carlo.”
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Mourinho also spoke very highly of Ancelotti’s achievements as a manager over the last couple of decades and suggested that the Everton boss’ has proven that he is one of the best in the world.
He added: “I think everyone in football admires Carlo as a coach and as a person. If you don’t know him as a person, at least you know him as a coach.
“It’s not because I like him so much as a person that I’m going to say the obvious, which is: he’s one of the top managers in the world of the last two decades and of course now.
“I think it’s a privilege for the Premier League to have Carlo back, it’s a privilege for Everton to have Carlo as manager, or head coach, whatever way you want to call him.
“As a manager, we all know him, and we don’t need to speak of him, because his office in his house, I don’t know if it’s the house in Milan or London or Liverpool but some office in one of his houses is full of cups so he doesn’t need anyone to speak about Carlo.”
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Ancelotti is in many ways the opposite of Jose. He is never one to play mind games and is always respectful about his opponents. He also maintains a level head and does not get carried away either during victories or defeats.
Some would suggest that the pair’s footballing philosophy is also quite different, with the Spurs boss being a pragmatist while the Everton head coach is a bit more of an idealist. So it is certainly fascinating to learn that the two get on so well off the pitch.
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