COMMENT: Amazon Prime's latest sports documentary series All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur is an excellent – and revealing – portrait of the club's ambitions, fractures, and most interestingly, its charismatic coach José Mourinho, writes Joel
'All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur' review: The untold story of the most interesting man in football
The documentary picks up from the internal unrest around the club's struggles under Pochettino, a fan favourite and one of the most highly rated managers in world football. After leading Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019, the club plummeted to the bottom half of the Premier League table. The conflict between Pochettino and Levy is soon laid bare. "It's the most emotional decision I've ever had to make," Levy says about the decision to replace his manager.
But the undoubted star of the show, as he often is, is Pochettino's successor José Mourinho – the most interesting man in world football. Mourinho has had his fingerprints all over the Premier League since he first joined Chelsea in 2004. But lately, he's become somewhat of a controversial figure in England, having been sacked in the Premier League twice. Love him or loathe him, it's hard not to fall prey to his undeniable magnetism. "I'm falling in love with the guy despite my better instincts," says a fan in the documentary.
Over the years, Mourinho has had up and down spells at English clubs. He coined the term "park the bus", only to become one of the reviled tactic's biggest proponents years later. He's been accused of having a coaching style that isn't in touch with the 21st century footballer. He tends to become bigger than the clubs he manages – Spurs v Chelsea becomes José v José's former team. He's also, of course, won 24 trophies in his career.
Mourinho's genius, shortcomings and cult of personality are displayed in all its glory thanks to the unprecedented access given to the documentary crew – and it makes for thrilling TV. Fans get to witness unseen footage of Mourinho's tactical white boards, his one-on-one motivational speeches to players in his office – "By being with me, I can help you explode," he tells striker Harry Kane – and his fiery, foul-mouthed team talks where he often scolds his players for being "too nice".
One of the best things about the documentary is the microscopic dissection of the flawed Mourinho philosophy: his fascination with players who outwardly display desire; the "kill the game" mantra he's employed over the years; his Machiavellian control of the fawning media. The first three episodes, during a time when Spurs were improving on Pochettino's slow start, is almost gushingly complimentary of the Portuguese manager. But as we all know, the season doesn't quite go to plan for Tottenham.
The documentary also takes time to focus on certain players – the third episode on Korean forward Son Heung-min was particularly charming – and will eventually cover Spurs' role in one of the craziest seasons in Premier League history, thanks to the pandemic-enforced sporting shutdown. It all makes for one of the best iterations of the All or Nothing franchise so far.
Spurs ended up finishing in a disappointing sixth, missing out on their goal of Champions League qualification. With Mourinho at the helm, who knows where they're headed next. There will probably be plenty of memes to come. But at least it's never boring.
All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur will be released on Amazon Prime Video on Monday 31 August, with three new episodes available every Monday until 14 September.