Jose Mourinho can make David Luiz the best in the world

With Jose Mourinho’s appointment at Chelsea, the first question many asked was ‘How does this affect David Luiz?’. The presumption that is quite prevalent is that Mourinho will want to get rid of Luiz, possibly to Barcelona, because he won’t like his recklessness, he won’t like that he doesn’t play like a robot in his system. However, as with a lot of the hysterical Mourinho analysis, this is just wrong. If you take even a cursory look in to his past, it is apparent that not only is he not afraid of David Luiz’s type but he actively likes it. He likes the challenge of taming the talented central defensive maverick and has done so several times in his coaching past.

Sergio Ramos, Lucio, Ricardo Carvalho. Jose Mourinho’s three main centre backs in his career. None of whom could you describe as what is commonly thought of as a ‘prototypical’ Mourinho defender, certainly not when he first got his hands on them. When Jose Mourinho took charge of them, they could be described in similar ways to how David Luiz is currently thought of. Ramos was too reckless, Lucio liked to dribble out of defence too much and Carvalho liked to fly in to tackles. Does that all sound familiar? All of these are accusations which have been sent David Luiz’s way. They were flaws which apparently would sit ill at ease with Mourinho. And yet, they were the key men in some of best defences in Europe. In the case of Lucio, the drop off in his performances after Mourinho left was staggering.

Sergio Ramos was a decent centre back and excellent right back when Mourinho arrived in 2010. He’d won the World Cup with Spain but still there were doubts about his defensive capability. Three years later, Ramos has shown himself to be one of the top five centre backs in the world. Lucio had been good at Leverkusen but floundered at Inter and had started to make more errors with his risky style. Mourinho found a way to harness him and when they won the Champions League in 2010, Lucio was one of the best in the world. Carvalho overcame doubts about impetuousness and became a core Mourinho man at Porto and Chelsea.

The reason is, Mourinho looked beyond the flaws and analysed how he could use them and make them better. All three of them were strong and had excellent footballing instincts. They were all tough in the tackle and very comfortable in possession. He partnered them with a more secure but less talented sidekick more often than not; Ramos and Albiol, Lucio and Samuel, Carvalho and Terry.

David Luiz has everything you could possibly want from a modern central defender. If you built one, it would look like him. He’s quick, strong, tough and intelligent. The flaw is that he loses concentration and then makes poor decisions. But he’s only been a regular at the top level for four years and has bounced between defence and midfield. He has never been given the responsibility to lead a defence, to be the main man, and to play there all the time. Rafa Benitez moved in that direction towards the end of last season and his form responded accordingly. He cut down on the errors and showed some excellent form. Yes, there was the pantomime with Rafael, but in terms of pure defending, he was excellent.

You can’t teach instinct or physicality, you can teach tactical responsibility. Jose Mourinho made his name as a coach, as a teacher. This is exactly what David Luiz needs. The only flaw in his game is his concentration. But that was an accusation made of Sergio Ramos, Lucio and Carvalho. They would have head scratching moments but more monents of outstanding defensive play. Gradually, given time to teach and coach, Mourinho turned them in to world class defenders.

The exciting thing for Chelsea fans is that none of them had the talent that David Luiz has. His passing range and physical presence is a dream for a modern central defender. Jose Mourinho has an excellent history of harnessing roguish defenders and making them elite. He sees the good and coaches out the bad. This is exactly what he can do with David Luiz to make him the very best.