Mourinho's Taunts Find New Arena: the Playground

As Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho was known for dishing it out to anyone who met with his disapproval. But it seems that, when it comes to schoolboy taunts, the self-proclaimed Special One simply can't take it.

Mourinho, who prior to his dismissal from Chelsea this season had said he was more "serene" than ever, seems to have flown into a rage when his 11-year-old daughter told him about playground taunts that another boy had made, comparing her with her father.

Mourinho went into the playground at the £6,500-a-year school his daughter attends in Setabul, near Lisbon, on Wednesday afternoon and found the boy who had been taunting his daughter, Matilde.

He then appears to have pulled the 12-year-old boy by the ears and gave him a thorough dressing down, as other parents and pupils looked on in bemusement. It is not clear whether he employed the "hairdryer" technique favoured by his former rival, Sir Alex Ferguson.

One witness told the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha that he was left "speechless" as he watched Mourinho scold Pedro Antonio.

Mourinho, 44, was then hauled into the office of the headmistress like a naughty schoolboy and made to apologize to his tearful victim and his family.

Isabal Simao, the headmistress of St Peter's school, said Mourinho appeared truly embarrassed and later wrote to the boy and the school to apologize for his behavior.

She said: "From what I know, Pedro told Matilde 'Your father is very good and you are ugly'.

"Mr Mourinho was near and approached the youngster to ask him for his parents' telephone number. The approach was perhaps a little bit heated.

"There was no violence from Mr Mourinho towards the boy. Our CCTV images show there wasn't a violent attitude. But there was some psychological pressure. We treated it like we would any other incident and called a meeting to tackle the problem. Mourinho said he was sorry for what had happened and he apologized to the boy and his parents. Everything was sorted out in the end," said Ms Simao.

Yesterday, Mourinho decided to keep his children, Matilde and seven-year-old Jose Jr, out of school as a way of diffusing the situation. Ms Simao told Correio da Manha: "Jose Mourinho's children didn't come to school yesterday as a precaution after what happened."

Mourinho, who reveled in the mind games that he played with Sir Alex, was famous for his barbed comments about opponents. He once said of the Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger: "I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families."

But now it seems that even 12-year-old boys can get the better of him when it comes to trading insults.