Mourinho's new documentary gives Football Daily a lift

The Guardian's Football Daily is back after a break, leading with José Mourinho's shiny new Netflix documentary. In the trailer, Mourinho says: "You don't do a documentary with a guy who wins nothing" — a line the newsletter notes sits awkwardly with a trophy haul that since 2017 includes only the 2021-22 Europa Conference League with Roma, which it jokingly calls the 'Tin Pot'.

The Daily also suggests that, on paper, Mourinho's recent spells at Tottenham, Fenerbahce and Benfica do not make him the obvious man to put Florentino Pérez's 'Death Star' back on course at Real Madrid. It is the kind of self-aggrandisement and backslapping, the newsletter seems to say, that only José could pull off.

The rest of the edition is given over to readers' letters. Ken Muir complains about Hearts' European draws, having faced Sturm Graz and Benfica and now likely Rapid Vienna; he wishes they had drawn 'some other made-up team from an even worse league'. Dave Lambley enjoys a 2002 Rivaldo article, noting that the idea of a Serie A giant offering more wages than Spurs now seems laughable. Giuseppe, meanwhile, recalls how St James' Park reminded him of Genoa's old Luigi Ferraris, unlike the rebuilt stadium for Italia 90, which he found ugly and soulless.

After being away during the 'Geopolitics World Cup', the Football Daily picks up its quill and parchment once more, mixing news from the past with a healthy dose of present-day opinion. Readers can find related match highlights on this site.