José Mourinho: The Art of Winning

The manager everyone loves to hate…

Mercurial Portuguese manager José Mourinho, who regards himself as football’s equivalent of George Clooney, featured in his own blockbuster this summer when he took charge of Manchester United – the world’s biggest club.

The news sent shockwaves through the Old Trafford faithful – generations of whom have pledged their loyalty to a succession of managerial legends including Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson.

At the very outset of what promises to be a tumultuous season for the Red Devils, Andrew J Kirby investigates in his latest book José Mourinho: The Art of Winning whether the latest controversial move by the club’s owners is a marriage made in heaven or hell.

He examines in a way that only fans know how the performance of the man they loved to hate but who would now be King of Manchester – the wins, the loses, the tantrums, the arrogance, the rivalries, and the mind-games.

Can they forgive and forget?

Stuffed full of statistical detail and flavoured with a wistful view of a game, he sets the spectacular scene for a showdown of showdowns in this season’s Premier League campaign where the ultimate prize for United will be the crucial return to the Champions League.

With interviews with football writers, players and fans, this book is a must that every Manchester United fan – and indeed every football supporter – needs to read.

Andrew J Kirby’s sports-writing has featured in BBC Sport magazine and on the Radio Five Live website. He has held a Manchester United season ticket for the entirety of the Sir Alex Ferguson reign at Old Trafford and regularly follows the Reds across Europe and beyond. His other books include, Fergie’s Finest: Sir Alex Ferguson’s First 11, The Pride of All Europe: Manchester United’s Greatest Seasons in the European Cup and Louis van Gaal: Dutch Courage.

He has also written award-winning crime fiction as AJ Kirby, and has published five novels including Sharkways and Paint This Town Red, which was shortlisted for the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize 2012.