‘MOURINHO’ (2026) Netflix Series Review - When Football Becomes Theatre

If you have heard of Jose Mourinho, then this documentary is for you. If you haven’t, then watch it to know more about him. The Portuguese manager built a whole career around confidence and his remarkable ability to turn football into theater. If you have witnessed his career, the documentary is nothing different. The makers cover the familiar highlights of his career right from his breakthrough at FC Porto to his time at Chelsea. We are also shown his complicated time at Real Madrid. It is quite rare to see a documentary on a manager, especially when it comes to football, given how much fame the sport has in itself due to the players and the teams. But all in all, Netflix and the makers have tried their level best to cover everything about Jose Mourinho, right from career highs to some turbulent times, without any filter.

Perhaps this is what makes Mourinho such an authentic watch. When he returned to Chelsea, that move also received considerable attention from across the world, given how his earlier tenure had been. But that is not the only thing that has been covered or shown so far. Mourinho remains an extraordinary storyteller. He comes and tells us about his career and experience from his mouth. That makes the interviews entertaining. Jose Mourinho revisits his battles with Arsène Wenger, his relationships with Iker Casillas, but most importantly, his frustrations he has had with Real Madrid. If you have read about his ego, that too is visible in Mourinho.

But at one point of watching, it somehow feels as if a whole lot of Wikipedia has been converted into a docuseries. There is nothing more or beyond that we get to see than what is already known about the manager. That is one major drawback. I wish the makers had aimed at showing us something far beyond what exists and is known by the world at large. Additionally, the latter half of his career hardly receives any attention compared to the first half. Very little spotlight is given to his tenure at Manchester United, Tottenham, Roma, Fenerbahçe, and Benfica. Until I mentioned them, I bet hardly any of the readers remember this phase too. It is as if the makers were so into covering the “famous” aspects of his career that some other parts were completely left untouched.

A good thing, however, is that we get to know what managers undergo and that the sport is not only about the brand and the players. That’s the kind of awareness very few of us have, and yes, Mourinho works well to show us that.

The pacing remains brisk. This is quite important when we are looking back in time because everyone knows how boring things will get if the pacing hardly matches. So all in all, whatever has been offered in Mourinho is worth a watch. Yes, some things could have been made differently, but for now, whatever is offered to us is what we should watch. And that is still a good watch.

Final Score - [7/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Ch
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times