Jose Mourinho has insisted there is a "big, big difference" between a captain and leader and revealed how their influence greatly benefits a coach.
The 56-year-old Tottenham boss' illustrious managing career has seen him in the dugout at Manchester United, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid.
And Mourinho named Inter legend Javier Zanetti and Chelsea hero John Terry as two of the finest leaders he has ever managed.
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"I've had captains that were not leaders," he said.
"Normally, the connection is the armband and this guy is the captain, this guy is the leader.
"No, many times the captain is not the leader.
"These two guys [Javier Zanetti and John Terry] were leaders and when you have these leaders you become more [of] a coach, you focus more on the coaching side of it.
"The captain and the leader, there's a big, big difference.
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"You don't buy leaders, you don't make leaders. When you have them, your team is one step ahead.
"But, importantly, now football is full of image and people give more attention to the ones that look [like leaders than] to the ones that really are."
Mourinho, who was axed at United last season, has since returned to management after replacing Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs last month.
Tottenham won their first three matches under the 'Special One' before losing 2-1 to United earlier this month.
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The Portuguese manager admitted that he couldn't be happier at Spurs amid speculation linking him to Arsenal.
"You could put in front of me any club in the world and I would not move," he said.
"I'm so happy here that I could not even think about the possibility to go to another place.
"The facilities are the best I've ever seen and I've been in big clubs.
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"It's not like I arrive here from small clubs and think, 'Wow.'"
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/PATopics: Football News, Jose Mourinho, Football, Special One
