Jose Mourinho, now Roma manager, called Joe Hart the “best English goalkeeper” as recently as April 2021.
The new Celtic stopper, signed from Mourinho’s old club Spurs, was winning plaudits despite barely playing for the North Londoners. The former Tottenham boss was delighted with his options in goals, before the tide turned, and the Champions League winner lost his job [BBC].
Commenting on his rotation of Hugo Lloris and Joe Hart, Mourinho said [Sky Sports]:
“I don’t want to offend anyone, and I hope that people just accept my opinion; we have the best goalkeeper in England and the best English goalkeeper.
“So I am so happy with that, that I don’t think about what can or cannot happen [in the summer]. Hugo has a contract. Joe has a contract. I am so happy with both, no problems at all.
“Hugo is Hugo. He is a very good goalkeeper. He is our number one. It is hard for me to say that because Joe works so hard and deserves more than not playing one single minute in the Premier League until now. But it’s the reality of things.”
There’s no shame in being second-fiddle to Hugo Lloris, of course. However, it’s worth remembering that Joe Hart was one of the top keepers in Europe. Gianluigi Buffon even named him as one of the world’s top three, in 2015 [Eurosport].
Hart also won four Golden Glove awards from the Premier League. So, the pedigree is certainly there. Some fans are concerned, however, given how his career has been since leaving Manchester City.
Jose Mourinho has coached top goalkeepers, so his words on Joe Hart count
Brought in for £1m, Hart signed for Celtic only today. However, he could immediately be called into action, with the Bhoys facing FK Jablonec on Thursday night.
Where Jose Mourinho is concerned, though, his words hold weight. Fine, he might not be in that elite tier of managers these days. However, he’s coached the likes of Petr Cech, Iker Casillas, Julio Cesar and plenty of other world-class stoppers.
For him to rate Hart so highly has to be a good sign for the Bhoys. It’s not as if these are remarks from the early 2010s, either; they’re from April.
If he trained to a high standard at Tottenham Hotspur, chances are he’ll do that for Celtic. Jose Mourinho, a taskmaster of some repute, rates Joe Hart highly, and he’s hardly one to mince his words in terms of training and effort.
Of course, our goalkeeping fears won’t be allayed until we see Celtic winning games and keeping clean sheets.
However, for now at least, Jose Mourinho positively commenting on Joe Hart is surely a good thing for Celtic supporters.
In other news: Emilio Izaguirre’s unusual post-playing path
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