THE apprentice failed just like his mentor.
Just four months after his appointment as Tottenham boss, Nuno Espirito Santo, 47, has been sacked.
The final nail in the coffin came on Sunday, as Spurs were woeful in a 3-0 home defeat to Manchester United.
Worse still, Espirito Santo was booed by the home fans who chanted “you don’t know what you’re doing” after he subbed off crowd favourite Lucas Moura for Steven Bergwijn.
It’s a bitter pill for Nuno to stomach, who followed in the footsteps of Jose Mourinho, his former gaffer, who he played under at Porto.
They also share the same agent in Jorge Mendes, who Nuno met in the late 1990s.
PLAYING CAREER
Espirito Santo was a goalkeeper in his playing days, but spent a lot of time playing second-fiddle to a No1.
After beginning his career at Vitoria SC, the 6ft 2in shotstopper met Mendes in 1996, who owned a video shop and ran a nightclub.
Nuno became Mendes’ first client, and in 1997 he brokered a deal that would take the ambitious goalie to LaLiga’s Deportivo La Coruna for a fee of around £1million.
He spent three of his six seasons there as Cameroon goalkeeper Jacques Songo’o’s understudy, and was loaned out to clubs including Merida and Osasuna.
A return to his homeland was inevitable.
WORKING UNDER MOURINHO
In 2002, Mendes orchestrated a deal worth around £3million that brought Nuno back to Portugal with Porto.
In two years, he only played six times for the Portuguese giants – playing second fiddle to Vitor Baia.
But, in Mourinho, he had a man who respected him. Despite a lack of first-team football, Espirito Santo never complained or argued. More importantly, he continued to train hard and wasn’t disruptive towards the team.
It was fitting that Jose would allow his substitute goalkeeper to take a penalty during a 2003 Taca de Portugal match against Varzim SC in a 7-0 rout. He scored too.
Nuno, for his part, also revered Mourinho.
Although he was an unused sub against Monaco in the Champions League final, the No2 was thankful for what his teacher taught him – giving him that winning habit needed to succeed.
Espirito Santo told Sky Sports: “When you speak about Jose Mourinho, personally he has an impact on me. Because I was a member of the [Porto] squad in 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 at Porto. That will stay forever.
“When you have someone that manages, coaches you and you follow, and you believe and you do everything that you can because you believe in that idea in your leader – that stays forever.
“That is the impact Jose Mourinho had on me. I think with every member of that squad he taught us how to win so that will stay forever.”
A TIME FOR MANAGEMENT
Working under Mourinho also inspired Nuno to go into coaching.
So, when he called time on his career at 36, a career that saw him represent Portugal at the 1996 Olympics and get a call-up to the Euro 2008 squad, it was natural he would take up a post where he could pass on his experience.
He joined former Porto manager Jesualdo Ferreira at Malaga as a goalkeeping coach, before they both moved to Greek side Panathinaikos FC in 2010.
However, in 2012 Nuno branched out on his own when Rio Ave sacked Carlos Brito.
Working for the underdog seemed to suit the rookie coach, who guided the club to both the Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga finals in his second season as boss, as well as a Europa League qualification for the first time in their history.
It was a matter of time before the big boys would begin to circle.
RETURN TO SPAIN, THEN A HOMECOMING
Nuno might’ve felt he had unfinished business in Spain, after a failed playing career.
So in 2014, he signed a one-year deal with LaLiga giants Valencia, who he led to fourth place in his first season.
Inevitably, an extension to his contract was inked – but in his second campaign he felt the pressure.
A poor start in both the league and Champions League saw Nuno resign from his post.
But in 2016, he was back with Porto – where he had enjoyed so much success – and was hopeful of bringing the Mourinho glory days back.
Sadly, it didn’t work out as Nuno would’ve liked. Finishing runners-up in the league and without any silverware, he was relieved of his duties, heart-breaking for a man who loved the club as much as he did.
ENGLAND CALLING
It could be argued that Nuno’s best spell as a manager was at Wolves, although parting by mutual consent last summer might’ve left a bitter taste.
In 2017, he was named Wanderers boss – with the club still looking back at past achievements and languishing in the Championship.
Espirito Santo led the club to the Premier League after a six-year absence in his first season.
The following year, they took the Premier League by storm – with Portuguese stars Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves pulling the strings.
The club finished seventh in the 2018–19 league season – their highest Premier League rank and their highest in the English top flight since the 1979–80 season, which also got them Europa League qualification.
The locals were enamoured – joking his beard had mystical powers. The University of Wolverhampton even awarded Nuno an Honorary Doctorate in Sport.
Nuno repeated the trick in 2019-20, once again finishing seventh and gaining Europa League qualification.
They also reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League, but his third campaign in the Premier League saw standards slip.
Injury to Raul Jimenez, as well as the sale of Diogo Jota to Liverpool, hurt his cause, as they limped to 13th. It’s worth remembering they were in sixth place until a horrific cracked skull injury in December ended the Mexican’s season, and effectively theirs.
But Nuno knew it was best to part with his Midlands love affair, after such a stellar job.
Sadly for Spurs fans, he couldn’t repeat some of that magic in North London.
You can bet, though, we haven’t heard the last of Espirito Santo.
