Celtic have held tentative talks with Rui Faria, Jose Mourinho's former assistant, as a potential alternative to Ange Postecoglou, according to The Daily Record

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Postecoglou has been strongly linked with the Celtic job following a deal for Eddie Howe collapsing though the 55-year-old is currently employed by Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos.

Indeed, Faria - who worked alongside Mourinho for 17 years - is out of work after leaving Qatari club Al-Duhail SC in 2020 is believed to be keen on the job, though Postecoglou is said to remain the frontrunner. 

Who is Rui Faria? 

The 45-year-old initially joined Mourinho's coaching staff at the turn of the millennium during his time in charge of União de Leiria. 

From there, he worked alongside his compatriot at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, forming a huge part of the success. 

However, the two parted ways during Mourinho's reign at United, with Faria telling The Times in 2018 that he wanted to spend more time with his family before moving into a head coach position elsewhere. 

"It was not a decision I took overnight, it was a mature decision and I don’t regret it," he said. 

"Life has no rehearsals. You live only once. I was living there every day, maybe more time spent at work than with the family."

Has Rui Faria won a trophy? 

Yes. 

In May 2019, he won the Emir Cup by leading his side to a 4-1 victory over Al-Sadd, a team that included Spanish legend Xavi playing the last cup final of his glittering career

Across his 27 games in charge, Faria won 15 times giving him an impressive win percentage of 55.5%. In fact, he only lost once in his final twelve games before leaving his post in January 2020. 

According to Faria's Transfermarkt profile, he largely deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation, a system Celtic operated with on 15 occasions in the Scottish Premiership last time out (via WhoScored). 

What has been said about Rui Faria? 

In October 2018, The Telegraph claimed Manchester United players were delighted by a visit from Faria after he'd left his post and suggested people at the club felt he was one of few people who could keep Mourinho under control. 

Club staff were believed to have bemoaned his exit and sections of the squad are said to have thought they could air their concerns to Faria as they did not feel they could speak directly to the self-proclaimed 'Special One'. 

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