Super League debacle outshines Mourinho's ouster

TO describe the events in European football over the past week as tumultuous would be putting it mildly - and what's more, all the action happened off the pitch, instead of on it. The biggest and most controversial talking point was, of course, the bombshell announcement on Monday that 12 of the continent's wealthiest and most popular clubs would break away from the established football order and form a "super league" among themselves.

Among the clubs that committed to the new tournament were six English Premier League sides including Manchester United and Liverpool, and a trio of top teams from Italy and Spain. Up to eight more clubs were to join them in due course.

The plan was to start the competition in August and have the 20 teams play one another in what would be a weekly clash of the titans, with no relegation or promotion to worry about. But no sooner than the news went viral around the world, the ambitious multi-billion dollar project began to unravel at the seams.

Barrage of criticism

In just 48 hours, one team after another from the so-called "dirty dozen" pulled out, after enduring a seemingly endless barrage of criticism and disgust from all corners - sports officials, politicians including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, other clubs, and even their very own supporters.

The fans - who have been barred from watching their teams play at the stadiums for most of the past year due to the ongoing pandemic - were outraged after being bypassed in the decision-making process.

Many of the players, too, were seemingly in the dark. It is quite remarkable to read about how these millionaire superstars - the very people essential to the European Super League's success - were clueless about the plans.

Graeme Souness, the former Liverpool captain and Scotland international player, summed up the sentiment nicely: "They were going to sell the souls of our major football institutions. I don't know how these clubs will manage to get back on-side."

It was, by all accounts, the ultimate public relations disaster. It's clear that the big wigs running these clubs failed miserably in their "reading of the room". Sure, they would have expected some resistance, but certainly not on this scale.

While the tournament's future now lies in tatters, the question on everyone's lips is whether Uefa - the governing body of European football - will take some sort of action on the wannabe defectors, be it deducting points or banning them from taking part in future seasons of the lucrative Champions League.

Given the boot, yet again

With all the hoo-ha over the European Super League taking up everyone's attention, it was easy to overlook the other major piece of football news that broke on Monday.

Jose Mourinho - the man who has now been fired more times than he would care to remember (five, to be exact) - was given the boot by Tottenham Hotspur, after just 17 months as manager of the North London club.

The self-proclaimed Special One (or should it now be the Sacked One?) probably won't mind all that much, seeing as how his bank account will get yet another boost due to a generous severance package worth about £15 million (S$27.6 million).

Taking into account the payouts he received after he was sacked by Chelsea (twice), Real Madrid and Manchester United, Mourinho has amassed a staggering £77.5 million from losing managerial jobs over the course of his career.

Money aside, it wasn't that big of a shock to learn that the often irritable and gruff Portuguese was shown the red card yet again, after failing to impress his bosses following a string of disappointing results. The abject defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League in March, after Spurs had led 2-0 from the first leg, was seemingly the last straw for his paymasters.

Perhaps the only surprise was that the 58-year-old was shown the door just days before he was due to lead Spurs out at Wembley Stadium to take on Manchester City in Sunday's Carabao Cup final (11.30pm kick-off, Singapore time), denying him of the opportunity to win a trophy.

The man now in the hot seat at Tottenham is 29-year-old Ryan Mason, a former England midfielder who has been handed the reins for the rest of the season.

Mason's story is a fascinating one. He was just eight years old when he played at Tottenham's academy as a schoolboy, eventually working his way up to make his first-team debut at 17 in 2008.

He has starred in a North London derby against Arsenal, was in the first eleven in the League Cup final in 2015, and even captained Tottenham and scored in a Europa League match against Fiorentina in 2016. His playing career was abruptly cut short due to a head injury and he was forced to retire at 26, an age when most players are about to reach their peak.

Call it beginners' luck if you will, but Mason's debut in the Spurs dugout on Wednesday night ended up being a nail-biting 2-1 win over Southampton, with Son Heung-min netting a penalty in injury time to secure maximum points for his team.

Mason's attention now turns to Sunday, and a glamourous final against Manchester City, the runaway English Premier League leaders and Champions League semi-finalists. If he can somehow mastermind a famous victory and bring the trophy back to London, Mason will do his chances of getting the job on a full-time basis no harm at all.