Transferable skills - Football manager to bank CEO

Is being a world famous football manager so different from being the CEO of a world famous bank? Let's take a look.

Mourinho on today's match, Manchester United vs Watford (these were his actual words).

“I was completely aware that we were not the perfect team, that we had lots of players who are not end products and can make their own mistakes,” Mourinho said. “My only doubt was the way they can cope with the negative moments that come sooner or later. I feel that some individuals probably feel too much pressure and that responsibility.

“But from a collective point of view I only have good things to say about them. If you analyse our three defeats in the last week, we were always the best team in the second half. We didn’t start well today but then in the second half the players showed quality, intensity, desire, commitment and ambition. And we lost again in our best moment.

“I can split this into three factors: one is the referee’s crucial mistakes – that’s not in my control. Against Man City you know what happened in minute 55 [when Claudio Bravo made the challenge on Wayne Rooney], today you know what happened for the first goal, against Feyenoord you know that the goal was in an offside position, so we were punished by these mistakes and I can’t do anything.

“The third thing is what is in my hands, which is the improvement of the team,the improvement of individuals, trying to stop with the defensive mistakes. I knew that I had a task because, for example, the first Man City goal and this second goal today, you can find an incredible similarity.This is tactical but it is also a mental attitude. It’s something that you don’t go there and in a couple of weeks everything becomes perfect. So we have to improve, no doubt, individually and collectively. And that’s my job because lady luck you don’t control and referees mistakes you don’t control.”


Now if we transfer Mourinho from Manchester United to CEO of Deutsche Bank let's see how he gets on

Deutsche Bank vs the US 

“I was completely aware that we were not the perfect team, that we had lots of traders who don’t know their products and can make their own mistakes,” Mourinho said. “My only doubt was the way they can cope with the negative moments that come sooner or later. I feel that some individuals probably feel too much pressure and that responsibility."

“But from a collective point of view I only have good things to say about them. If you analyse our three fines in the last years, we were always the best team later on. We didn’t start well but then in the later period the players showed integrity, intensity, desire, and commitment to clients. And we lost again in our best moment.

“I can split this into three factors: one is the regulator’s crucial mistakes – that’s not in my control. Against the DoJ you know what happened at the last minute [when Loretta Lynch made the challenge on our mortgage book], you know what happened for the first fine against FX, you know that the fine was for an offside fix, so we were punished by these mistakes and I can’t do anything.

“The third thing is what is in my hands, which is the improvement of the team, the improvement of individuals, trying to stop with the defensive mistakes. I knew that I had a task because, for example, the first fine for LIBOR and this RMBS today, you can find an incredible similarity. This is tactical but it is also a mental attitude. It’s something that you don’t go there and in a couple of years everything becomes perfect. So we have to improve, no doubt, individually and collectively. And that’s my job because lady luck you don’t control and regulators mistakes you don’t control.”

Spooky isn't it?