Jose Mourinho still the master of distractions after dispute with Chelsea medics

For Jose Mourinho, it's all about the message. In a way, he's still that same translator from his early days at Barcelona.

In 1996, Mourinho spoke for manager Bobby Robson - to the players, to the media, to anyone who wanted a quote. And sometimes - according to journalist Simon Kuper in his book "Soccer Men" - Mourinho "added a few thoughts of his own" in the translation.

Even then, almost 20 years ago, before the Champions League wins and the trophies at Chelsea, the Portuguese manager knew how to manipulate his surroundings to his advantage.

So the latest development shouldn't surprise anyone.

Mourinho sparked an outrage this week after berating his medical staff for pulling off forward Eden Hazard at what he thought was an inopportune time - even though the referee called for treatment. First-team doctor Eva Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn were subsequently removed from the bench for Sunday's marquee match against Manchester City.

"They will not be on the bench on Sunday, that’s clear, that’s my decision, that’s my responsibility," Mourinho told reporters, via chelseafc.com, "but that doesn’t mean they cannot be in the future."

Several colleagues and groups, including the Football Medical Association and the Professional Footballers' Association, came to the defence of the medical staff, and newspapers printed multiple criticisms.

In other words, Mourinho won again.

The actual performance on the field against Swansea City from that opening game - in which Chelsea blew two leads en route to a disappointing 2-2 draw - disappeared from memory as soon as the controversy took hold. Video of Mourinho's tirade only served to push the antics off the pitch ahead of the dour play on it.

Mourinho's comments and actions make headlines so his team doesn't have to.

"Everything I say and do are mind games," Mourinho said last year. "The only thing that is not mind games are the result."

Mourinho is all about the means justifying the ends. That's how his teams play. There was the time his Inter played with only 19 percent possession against Barcelona just to secure a 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona, or more recently, the times he went to Manchester City and Arsenal just to play for a draw.

"Even in the training games he hates losing, he hates conceding goals and that rubs off on the players," captain John Terry said, via the Guardian. "It’s important you have a manager like that and players who are willing to give everything on a daily basis."

And press conferences are his pulpit. From the moment he takes his seat behind the microphone, Mourinho is liable to say or do anything. He creates narratives by himself.

If not for the recent bust-up with his own staff, he would have his own rivalry with City manager Manuel Pellegrini to contend with. For years, the two have barked back and forth, sometimes refusing to shake hands after matches.

Then there are his conspiracies that referees go against his teams - "there is a campaign against Chelsea," he said last year - and the unfavourable fixture lists and Champions League group draws.

Suddenly it's no longer about the games at hand. It's about Mourinho.

He has no problem criticising officials or fans or managers or even his own medical staff, but rarely his players. It's them against the world, all the time.

This particular standoff with Carneiro - particularly after questioning her understanding of the game - has brought about charges of sexism. Former Liverpool head of medicine Peter Brukner called it "appalling behaviour" from Mourinho, with other medics in the football industry raising their voice in a similar refrain.

"The insidious narrative he’s perpetrating is that, as a woman, Carneiro couldn’t possibly grasp the complexities of football," wrote Claire Cohen of the Telegraph. "It’s the old, sexist joke about women not getting the offside rule, on a massive scale."

It's also part of an old routine from Mourinho. The pressure is not on Hazard or Diego Costa to score at the Etihad on Sunday, it's on Mourinho and his staff as he continues to direct the conversation about him and his club.