Are you ready for Mour?

God have mercy on the rest of the football world! Inter have got themselves the Special One. As if having won 3 consecutive Scudettos wasn't enough! You can almost imagine the press conference tomorrow. Mourinho waxing lyrical about himself. In Italian. He may not quite be fluent but you can be almost certain that he has been learning the language in preparation for this move. It's been an open secret for sometime now but the sacking of Roberto Mancini merely confirmed it.

Looking back at his managerial record, the one thing that stands out is his man management ability. Under his guidance, Porto became the best team in Europe, Chelsea won their first league titles in 50 years and players such as Carvalho, J. Cole and Drogba have flourished into genuinely good players (you can't really label J. Cole as world class). The key point of note here is that he transformed teams who have not tasted success and gave them the confidence to achieve it on the biggest stages of the game, in full view of the public eye.

You can only wonder what he will do to a team of proven winners! Fresh from winning their 3rd league title in a row, the appointment of Mourinho will ensure that they start next season as one of the favourites for the Champions League. And he's already been linked with his former players at Chelsea, notably Lampard, Drogba and Essien. Armed with funds, a team of winners and a few additions to the playing squad and the rest of Europe will be quaking in their boots come next season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has often been accused of not performing in the big games. Inter's encounter with Liverpool in the Champions League last 16 this season added fuel to the critics' fire. However, now that Mourinho has taken the hotseat, you can expect Ibrahimovic to set Europe alight next season. It would not be surprising in the slightest, such is the reputation Mourinho has built up for himself. His ability to bring the best out of his players has been the one constant of his managerial career. Add the return of Adriano from his loan spell at Sao Paulo and you have possibly the most potent striking partnership in world football. Should one of them fail to perform, he will have a very able deputy in Hernan Crespo. The Argentine is a proven hitman in the slow-paced environment of Serie A and could easily replace any of the two. A reasonable defence and a creative midfield ensure that on paper, Inter are bound to be one of the most entertaining teams to watch next season.

However, there is always two sides to a story and for all the hype and expectation surrounding Mourinho's arrival, we may yet end up watching an Italian version of Chelsea. Yes, just imagine that. Outrageously talented players such as Ibrahimovic, Stankovic and Adriano wasted to accomodate Mourinho's notoriously careful tactics. Italian football is already defensive enough and Mourinho's containing tactics may only serve up another reason why Italian football is only watched by defenders and blind men. His entire backroom team that worked under him at Porto and Chelsea will also join him in Italy. Further proof that negative tactics may be a staple at the San Siro next season. He'll get results for Inter but it may not be bad advice to follow their progress via newspapers and websites as opposed to wasting 90 perfectly good minutes watching long balls.

Mourinho has also been known for his impatience with players who underperform and constantly live the high life. The Emperor is well known for his party lifestyle (typically Brazilian) and may cross Mourinho on more than one occasion. Whether he will toe the line is yet to be seen, but it would not be the greatest surprise in the world. Adriano could easily be sent packing next season but if he performs to the standard he is capable of, our eyes will be the winners.

You can't help but wonder if Mourinho has made a wise career choice. Inter have just sacked their most successful manager in recent times. Shades of Chelsea. The impression is that 1 trophy will not be enough for Mourinho. Then again it's not enough at most top clubs these days anyways. Whatever happens, all eyes will be on Inter next season. All the best to him. He's just one of those people you love to hate.