The ESPN FC crew debate whether or not Jose Mourinho would make Manchester United a title contender overnight.
Jose Mourinho has finally begun work as the new Manchester United manager and he has brought several of his most trusted followers with him. Chief among them is Rui Faria, the fitness coach and assistant renowned for his unshakeable loyalty and fiery temper.
ESPN FC takes a closer look at the other man who will soon be prowling the Old Trafford dugout this season.
Who is he?
Faria is Mourinho's longest-serving assistant and most trusted advisor -- or as Mourinho himself once described him: "my methodology right arm." It was no surprise to see the two men walking side-by-side in London as reports of an imminent agreement with Manchester United intensified; they have been close on and off the training pitch for the last 15 years, since Mourinho appointed Faria as his fitness coach and video analyst in his first managerial role at Uniao de Leiria in 2001.
Where is he from?
Born in the modest town of Barcelos in northern Portugal, Faria never played football at any significant level (like Mourinho) and instead made his living as a physical education teacher. The two men met when Faria attended a coaching seminar at Barcelona's Camp Nou, where Mourinho was then employed as Louis van Gaal's assistant manager.
Mourinho found that he and Faria shared a similar outlook on coaching and took the younger man with him to Leiria, though their first adventure might have ended before it began. Faria was convinced he would be sacked only a fortnight into the job when Mourinho got involved in an ugly standoff with the club's chairman, who had insisted on coming to watch a training session. In the end, Mourinho got his way and peace reigned.
What does he control?
Faria's main remit is still as a fitness coach, tasked with devising ways to maintain the peak condition of players and minimise the risk of injuries. But over time his role has broadened as Mourinho's trust in him has grown, and in recent years he has also regularly advised his manager on tactical and strategic matters both on and off the pitch.
In his controversial book "The Special One: The Dark Side of Jose Mourinho," Spanish journalist Diego Torres claims that Faria was chosen to act as the intermediary between Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, due to the fact that the superstar regarded him as a trusted counsellor and friend.
Faria does not, however, keep a public profile. Over the course of Mourinho's career it has always been the other "local" assistant coach -- Steve Clarke and Steve Holland at Chelsea; Giuseppe Bergomi at Inter; Aitor Karanka at Real Madrid -- who attends news conferences whenever the manager is unavailable or unwilling. Faria does his work exclusively behind the curtain.
This is unlikely to change at Old Trafford, though Ryan Giggs' departure leaves few obvious candidates to take on any media responsibilities that Mourinho delegates.
What is his style?
Asked about his many coaching disciples during the BT Sport documentary "Jose Mourinho -- Portrait of a Champion" last summer, Mourinho singled out Faria as "the one with more similarities with me, even in some traces of personality."
These similarities constitute the good and the bad. Like Mourinho, Faria is smart and a keen learner, priding himself on being a meticulous planner with a formidable work ethic. But his spiky personality also reflects some of the less admirable character traits of his boss.
In the dugout on matchdays, Faria regularly acts as Mourinho's attack dog, haranguing referees and fourth officials on his manager's behalf. During the 2011-12 season that saw Real Madrid wrestle the title from Barcelona, he was sent off four times in as many months for protesting decisions. The most memorable Chelsea flashpoint came in April 2014 during the closing stages of a 2-1 defeat to Sunderland -- the loss ended Mourinho's long unbeaten home run in league matches and all but ended his team's Premier League title challenge.
Faria worked himself into a rage at the awarding of a Sunderland penalty by referee Mike Dean and had to be restrained by Mourinho before being shepherded down the Stamford Bridge tunnel by other Chelsea staff. He received a six-match stadium ban from the Football Association, reduced to four on appeal.
If Sir Bobby Charlton and other more traditionally-minded members of the United hierarchy once harboured concerns about Mourinho's abrasive public persona, they are unlikely to take a liking to Faria.
Why does Mourinho value him so highly?
In a word: loyalty. Faria has been at Mourinho's side longer than any other member of his current inner circle -- even goalkeeping coach Silvino Louro, who has followed Mourinho since his time at Porto and is expected to replace the departed Frans Hoek at United.
"If one day I have to speak about disciples, the real one is the one that is with me since 2000,"Mourinho said of Faria last summer. "The one that has more potential than any other one, the one that if he wants to become a manager tomorrow he is more than ready to do it at the highest level, but is the one that simply is enjoying so much to be where he is that doesn't have that feeling."
Faria has never sought a managerial role elsewhere even as he watched former colleagues Andre Villas-Boas, Baltemar Brito, Karanka and Jose Morais all strike out on their own coaching paths to varying degrees of success.
When Mourinho was accused of breaching a UEFA stadium ban for a Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern Munich during his first Chelsea spell, Faria was the man spotted in the Stamford Bridge dugout wearing a woolly hat and -- allegedly -- a concealed earpiece.
When Mourinho took a nine-month break between his first Chelsea sacking in September 2007 and arrival at Inter in June 2008, so too did Faria.
The two men have been inseparable for 15 years, their relationship underpinning Mourinho's astonishing run of coaching successes. United hope it will yield more silverware in the coming seasons -- though if history is any guide, they should be prepared for more than a few fireworks along the way.
Source:ESPN FC
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