Spurs manager Jose Mourinho now divides more than conquers as he loses football's generation game

Portuguese has shown an increasing lack of self-awareness and inability to relate with younger players in the later years of career

Jose Mourinho has seen his Spurs side lose five times in their previous 12 games. Reuters

Jose Mourinho was the supreme man-manager who could galvanise others but an amateur psychologist who long seemed to understand what made his players tick has shown an increasing lack of self-awareness.

The late period Mourinho can feel a mass of contradictions, the antithesis of his earlier self, retaining only his innate quotability.

"Football nowadays is not easy," he said after beating Aston Villa on Sunday. If that could have been a reaction to five defeats in 12 games, the sort of run he would never normally have suffered, it was not. "Selfishness is around, the individualism is around, the connection between agents and the press is around."

Mourinho may have long looked to create sides characterised by their teamwork, where individuals sacrifice themselves for a greater cause, but few have less right to condemn others for their egotism.

The Portuguese, meanwhile, has been defined in part by a long relationship with a super-agent, Jorge Mendes, who also represents Matt Doherty, one of Spurs’ and his worst signings of recent years.

Top in December, Tottenham have got worse the longer they have since spent with Mourinho. "You need time to develop team empathy because the psychological profile of young people now is not an easy one," he nevertheless argued.
There are two elements of that to unpick. Mourinho is famously not a manager who needs time; the ultimate short-termist's longest stay remains just over three years in his first spell at Chelsea.

He used to win the title everywhere in his second season, but things tend to unravel ever quicker now and neither Tottenham nor Manchester United have reached such heights.

And, more than most, Mourinho struggles with the youth of today. His could relate to Generation X; his successes came with footballers born in the 1970s or at the start of the 1980s; yet the youngest of them, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Petr Cech, are approaching their 40th birthdays.

Player ratings: Dinamo Zagreb 3 Spurs 0

DINAMO ZAGREB RATINGS: Dominik Livakovic - 10, Made a good stop to deny Giovani Lo Celso, while he also smothered Harry Kane well twice in what was a dominant performance. Made a sensational stop to deny Kane at the end. AFP

Stefan Ristovski - 7, Struggled a little after taking a knock from Moussa Sissoko, but put in a largely solid display, though he sometimes struggled when Lucas Moura got at him. Brilliant header to deny Tanguy Ndombele at the back post. Reuters

Rasmus Lauritsen - 9, Was so persistent in his defending and did well when forced onto the back foot. Got some key blocks and clearances in at the end. Booked for a foul on Kane. AFP

Kevin Theophile-Catherine - 9, The Frenchman was simply superb throughout. Put in a good block to deny Erik Lamela and made a block on the line to deny Kane. Reuters

Bartol Franjic - 7, Playing out of his usual position, he got forward well whenever he had the opportunity and defended resolutely. EPA

Lovro Majer - 8, Had some very good moments on the ball, almost carving out a chance for Arijan Ademi. Narrowly missed the target from the first half’s best chance. Played a great pass to assist Mislav Orsic’s first of the night. AFP

Kristijan Jakic - 6, Was disciplined with most of his defending and got the occasional good ball forward. Hit a shocking effort from the edge of the box. Booked for pulling back Moura. EPA

Arijan Ademi - 8, Put in a spirited performance and was seemingly everywhere on the pitch, even in extra time. It was such a commanding display from the captain. EPA

Luka Ivanusec - 7, Was the first one to make a real foray forward and test Spurs’ defence, and pressed incredibly right until the end of extra time. Almost rounded the goalkeeper. EPA

Bruno Petkovic - 7, Was very strong when holding up the ball and caused problems for the Spurs defence throughout. Reuters

Mislav Orsic - 10, Had a fairly quiet first half but he really did kick into gear after that. It was the winger who opened the scoring with a good strike from outside the box, who scored the goal to equal the tie and then cut through Spurs and beat Hugo Lloris from outside of the box. EPA

SUB Iyayi Atiemwen (Jakic 75’) – 7, Took up some brilliant positions on the pitch and assisted Orsic’s second goal of the game, while he slid a nice ball through for Marin Leovac. Reuters

SUB Marin Leovac (Franjic 81’) – 7, While Gareth Bale caused problems, he was resolute and stuck with it, being one of those to get a key block in at the end. Got forward well but failed to hit the target from a good chance. Reuters

SUB Mario Gavranovic (Majer 82’) – 6, Almost released Ademi after winning the ball back high up the pitch and worked hard until the very end. EPA

SUB Petar Stojanovic (Ristovski 90’) – 6, Was booked for a foul on Sergio Reguilon but competed well and held his own defensively throughout his time on the pitch. Reuters

SUB Josip Misic (Petkovic 90’) – 7, Came off the bench and showed plenty of discipline, sitting in front of the defence most of the time. Made a great tackle to deny Steven Bergwijn in extra time. Reuters

SUB Dino Peric (Ademi 117’) – N/R, Was a real presence in the middle of the pitch to help see out the game. Reuters

TOTTENHAM PLAYER RATINGS: Hugo Lloris - 6, Made a few interventions but had pretty much no chance for any of the three goals. Stopped Ivanusec from rounding him near the end. Reuters

Serge Aurier - 4, Had a few moments where he lost concentration and did nowhere near enough to deal with Orsic. Missed the target with a headed chance. AFP

Davinson Sanchez - 5, Got a vital touch on the ball to deny a clear chance for Ademi and looked solid in the first half, but regressed more and more as time went on. EPA

Eric Dier - 5, Held his own in a physical battle with Petkovic but had some really shaky moments when dealing with the ball. Made a weak attempt at cutting out the ball across the box for Dinamo Zagreb’s second. AFP

Ben Davies - 6, Was fairly reliable in his defensive work and had the occasional foray forward to help out in attack. Cleared despite being off balance when Orsic got a ball into the box. Reuters

Moussa Sissoko - 4, It was a pretty tame performance by his standards, as he played at a fairly pedestrian pace and didn’t do enough to stop Orsic for the third of the game. EPA

Harry Winks - 5, Moved the ball around neatly but failed to translate that into any sort of penetrative play. Reuters

Erik Lamela - 5, Took too long when his best chance came, which allowed Theophile-Catherine to get the block in. Was booked for elbowing Ademi. AFP

Dele Alli - 5, Had some good ideas but poor execution, as was the case when he hit an air shot after getting a decent chance with a smart run. Reuters

Lucas Moura - 6, This was another busy performance from the Brazilian, who made the biggest impact when getting at Ristovski. Didn’t carve out any clear chances though. AFP

Harry Kane - 6, Played some great passes to create chances for his teammates, but nobody was able to make the most of them. Had a header blocked on the line. Reuters

SUB Gareth Bale (Lamela 60’) - 6, Got some great balls into the box and showed flashes of brilliance, while he narrowly missed the target with a strike from range. Reuters

SUB Giovani Lo Celso (Alli 68’) - 6, Got a decent shot off that was saved by Livakovic and almost released Moura with a good ball behind the Dinamo Zagreb defence. Reuters

SUB Tanguy Ndombele (Winks 68’) - 5, Initially added a bit of extra quality to the Spurs midfield and almost got a header at the back post. Faded as time went on and could have done more to prevent Orsic’s third. Reuters

SUB Carlos Vinicius (Moura 86’) – 5, Looked anonymous after coming off the bench, as the Dinamo Zagreb defence marshalled him well. Had one decent chance but saw his effort blocked. Reuters

SUB Sergio Reguilon (Davies FT’) - 6, Was a threat going forward but wasn’t as precise in his play as Spurs fans have come to expect. AFP

SUB Steven Bergwijn (Aurier 108’) – N/R, Tried to make things happen but missed the target with a curling effort from outside of the box. EPA

With the notable exception of Scott McTominay, his favourite United players tended to be products of the 1980s: Nemanja Matic, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia. Those born in the next decade, such as Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw, became targets of his ire. Harry Kane has performed for Mourinho at Tottenham but he can feel a throwback character, plucked from an earlier era.

And Mourinho has tended to lose the generation game. Steven Gerrard regretted not playing for Mourinho, though not choosing to stay at Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp relates to a younger generation better and charismatic leadership always formed part of Mourinho’s aura of invincibility. He was the cooler, cleverer winner, not the bitter old man.

When his teams lose, his frequent explanation that they did not follow his instructions sounds like the selfishness he was decrying.

Yet if Hugo Lloris suggested that was the case after Thursday's 3-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb – Mourinho's worst ever result in European competitions – that could both endorse the manager's version of events and pose the question of why they don't listen to him.

In Croatia, Hugo Lloris hinted at a divided dressing room. Mourinho’s method has always been more to divide and conquer, to criticise some and contrast them with the others. But as he has gone on, he has divided more than he has conquered, finding found fault with ever more players just as ever more outsiders have concluded that he is the problem.

He has a smaller core of loyalists and if Tottenham’s large squad features a sizeable group of underachievers, Spurs have scarcely benefited from Mourinho’s management of Dele Alli, Gareth Bale and several others. For Mourinho, the manager who once had a claim to be the greatest ever, football nowadays really is not easy.

Gallery: Arsenal 2 Spurs 1

Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette scores from the penalty spot against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, March 14, 2021. AP

Arsenal's Cedric Soares lies down behind a wall before a Tottenham Hotspur free kick. Reuters

Tottenham's Harry Kane against Arsenal's Gabriel. EPA

Tottenham Hotspur's midfielder Erik Lamela fouls Arsenal's defender Kieran Tierney. AFP

Bernd Leno of Arsenal attempts to save a free kick from Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur that hits the post. Getty

Referee Michael Oliver shows a second yellow and a red card to Tottenham Hotspur's Erik Lamela. PA

Arsenal's Martin Odegaard celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal. AP

Arsenal's Martin Odegaard scores their side's first goal. PA

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta reacts during the match against Tottenham. EPA

Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale with manager Jose Mourinho. Reuters