Wright-Phillips finds Strictly partner Warr more daunting than Mourinho
Former footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips, who is competing on Strictly Come Dancing, has claimed that his professional dance partner Alexis Warr is "scarier" than José Mourinho, the strict manager he played under at Chelsea in the mid-2000s. The 44-year-old ex-England winger has suggested he finds dance training more daunting than his football career, saying he prepares himself for his choreographer's demands.
During his time at Chelsea, Mourinho famously implemented zero tolerance for player lateness and poor conduct. Wright-Phillips, the adoptive son of former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, has received encouragement from his father and football teammates via WhatsApp chats. He recently performed a Quickstep to "I'm a Believer" and has acknowledged feeling "way out of [his] comfort zone" whilst learning professional dance routines in front of audiences of up to 8 million viewers.
- Wright-Phillips finds his Strictly dance partner scarier than Jose Mourinho
- The ex-footballer is struggling with professional dancing's physical and mental demands
- His father and football mates have shown support throughout the competition
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Shaun Wright-Phillips is a retired English footballer who is competing on Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC show in which celebrities learn ballroom and Latin dances from professional choreographers. The 44-year-old spent much of his career at top clubs, most notably Chelsea, where he played under José Mourinho in the mid-2000s.
Mourinho became famous throughout football for his extremely strict management style and zero tolerance approach to discipline. This makes a recent comment from Wright-Phillips particularly striking: he has suggested that his Strictly choreographer feels more intimidating than the famously demanding manager.
Wright-Phillips has described feeling far outside his comfort zone whilst learning complex dance routines. Unlike his football career, where he had years of expertise, dancing is an entirely new challenge requiring him to learn from the ground up whilst performing weekly in front of millions of television viewers.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Ex-footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips says his Strictly partner Alexis Warr is far ‘scarier’ than Jose Mourinho”.