AS Roma’s celebrated coach Jose Mourinho has jetted into Namibia for an off-season holiday, FARPost can exclusively reveal.
Media outlets in Namibia and the country’s Eagle FM journalist Kelvin Tjiringa confirmed to FARPost that Mourinho arrived on Monday.
“We are told he will be here for a week. It’s not clear if he will have time to meet football officials here. It is really a private holiday,” he tells FARPost.
Nonetheless, Tjiringa said the Namibia football fraternity is excited to welcome the celebrated Portuguese mentor who calls himself the Special One.
“Well, it feels great that Mourinho’s star-power is radiating through Namibia and sending the right energy out there that we are indeed no longer Africa’s secret. We are a country, a brand and a destination for all sorts of visitors, high and low profile,” he said.
The reporter added that supporters of Mourinho’s former English club Chelsea are particularly over the moon with the manager’s visit.
“There is a general air of excitement among Chelsea fans, and the tourism players see this as a bonus in marketing Namibia since we are now entering the high peak tourism season,” Tjiringa said.
Mourinho arrived at Hosea Kutako International Airport on Monday and he is lodged at the luxurious Habitas Namibia sanctuary, about 73 kilometres east of Windhoek.
The lodge is located on a 47,000-hectare private estate, 45 minutes from the airport and boasts diverse natural habitats and hundreds of rare species of wildlife.
Mourinho has just led Roma to the UEFA Conference League title in Italy in the just-ended season.
He made a name at Porto in Portugal, where he took them to the UEFA Champions League title in 2004, with South African great Benni McCarthy among his star players.
Mourinho signed for Chelsea and led them to multiple silverware before Inter Milan came calling after he had fallen out with management at Stamford Bridge.
The outspoken man wasted no time in turning Inter into Champions League winners in 2010.
His success could not escape the attention of Real Madrid, who came with an open chequebook that Mourinho could not resist.
Many years of success followed at Madrid before he returned to Chelsea and won the domestic league title, then he was forced out, with Manchester United being the inevitable destination.
The Portuguese mentor earned Manchester United the Europa League trophy a few seasons ago, then spent time at Tottenham Hotspur before relocating to Roma.
