Well, let's face facts, that's pretty much what's happened to poor old Jose.
On two separate occasions he was denied the chance to make his position as Chelsea manager pretty much 100% secure and on two separate occasions he was denied - by Rafa Benitez.
Make no mistake about it, if Chelsea had won a European Cup under his stewardship Mourinho would not be spending this morning signing on at the job centre on Kings Road (that's if they even have such a thing in West London).
The European Cup has become a holy grail for Abramovich and not winning it meant he could dispense with the man who has brought him two league titles.
Forget about this talk of Chelsea not playing football that is easy on the eye. That's just a smokescreen to cover the fact that Mourinho did not win the trophy that his paymaster coveted above all others.
And the fact that he didn't is largely down to Benitez.
In both 2005 and 2007 Mourniho took charge of a team which was clearly more talented than the one Benitez had at his disposal and on both occasions he was outwitted tactically and his side was dumped out at the semi-final stage.
Do not underestimate the damage this did at Stamford Bridge and to the relationship between Abramovich and Mourinho.
These defeats made the Portuguese look much less special than he thought he was. He could try and shift the blame to the apparently failing eyesight of a linesman and a resultant "ghost goal" the first time around, but the second time it happened the excuses were no longer going to wash.
Just as Benitez's reputation was enhanced by such heady victories, so Mourinho's stock fell as he was made to look distinctly second rate by a manager who could not call upon the same resources as his rival.
Mourinho once famously shushed the Liverpool fans at Cardiff but it was to be they who ultimately had the last laugh at his expense.
And today they're laughing louder than ever.
Nice one Rafa.
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Torben Piecknik wrote...
Job's a good un Rafa. Amazing what damage a manager of such a 'small club' can do, eh Jose!
Posted by: Torben Piecknik | September 20, 2007 9:38 AM