--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would rather play with 10 men than wait…" description: "\"I would rather play with 10 men than wait for a player who is late for the bus.\" — Jose Mourinho" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/jose-mourinho-2585_bus_i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wai_2776074.jpg" --- # I would rather play with 10 men than wait for a player who… ![“I would rather play with 10 men than wait for a player who is late for the bus.” quote by Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/jose-mourinho-2585_bus_i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wai_2776074.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/jose-mourinho-2585_bus_i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wai_2776074.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/jose-mourinho-2585_bus_i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wai_2776074.jpg) > “I would rather play with 10 men than wait for a player who is late for the bus.” [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prefers playing with a full team over waiting for a late, unreliable player. **In simple terms:** Play with ten men rather than wait for a late player. Key Takeaway Prioritize action over waiting. Themes teamwork efficiency leadership Mood decisive pragmatic Type sports business When to use this quote - sports coaching - project management - event planning Key Concepts strategic decision resource management Questions to Reflect On - When is it better to wait? - How to handle unreliable participants? A Different Perspective Waiting can waste opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bus/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Late Bus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late-bus-1578907/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-wait-1302418/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play 10](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-10-731604/) [Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/player/) [Player Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/player-late-661077/) [Wait Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait-player-3276726/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) ## Related quotes > [“I'm sitting on the lumbering late bus, thinking about the way I'm going to start my Monday: by filling out an unexcused absence form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-m-sitting-on-the-lumbering-late-bus-thinking-about-the-way-i-m/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Of course I knew The Band's Canadian keyboard player, the late Richard Manuel, but I didn't play that night because I was there as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lightfoot/of-course-i-knew-the-band-s-canadian-keyboard-player-the-late-richard/) [Gordon Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lightfoot/) > [...GREAT PLAYER LATE RIP SH DARA SINGH…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/z/great-player-late-rip-sh-dara-singh/) [Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/z/) > [“Most men wait to move until victory is guaranteed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/most-men-wait-to-move-until-victory-is-guaranteed/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/weak-men-wait-for-opportunities-strong-men-make-them/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Time and tide will wait for no man, saith the adage. But all men have to wait for time and tide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/time-and-tide-will-wait-for-no-man-saith-the-adage-but-all-men-have/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It is men who wait to be selected, and not those who seek, from whom we may expect the most efficient service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/it-is-men-who-wait-to-be-selected-and-not-those-who-seek-from-whom-we/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [Mediocre men wait for opportunity to come to them. Strong, able, alert men go after opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/mediocre-men-wait-for-opportunity-to-come-to-them-strong-able-alert/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Great men wait for the right moment to abandon caution. The rest of us abandon it when impatience becomes too much for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/great-men-wait-for-the-right-moment-to-abandon-caution-the-rest-of-us/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I can play as a striker or I can play as a No 10. I can even play on the wing as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelechi-iheanacho/i-can-play-as-a-striker-or-i-can-play-as-a-no-10-i-can-even-play-on/) [Kelechi Iheanacho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelechi-iheanacho/) > [I'd rather play with 10 people and just get penalized all the way until we have to do something else rather than play with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-singletary/i-d-rather-play-with-10-people-and-just-get-penalized-all-the-way/) [Mike Singletary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-singletary/) > [Whether I play five or 10 metres forward or back does not change my way of playing, to be on the ball a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-kroos/whether-i-play-five-or-10-metres-forward-or-back-does-not-change-my/) [Toni Kroos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-kroos/) > [Every show I play, 10 or 10,000 people, I want it to be the same one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yungblud/every-show-i-play-10-or-10-000-people-i-want-it-to-be-the-same-one/) [Yungblud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yungblud/) > [All my younger years, I was a No. 10. In the national team, I used to play No. 10, and Marseille, I used to play No. 10.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-nasri/all-my-younger-years-i-was-a-no-10-in-the-national-team-i-used-to/) [Samir Nasri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-nasri/) > [I can play No. 9, 10, 7 and 11 - I can play different positions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelechi-iheanacho/i-can-play-no-9-10-7-and-11-i-can-play-different-positions/) [Kelechi Iheanacho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelechi-iheanacho/) ## More by Jose Mourinho > [So if one day the result becomes 3-3, for me it doesn't change my mind, because it's football, it's normal. What is not normal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/so-if-one-day-the-result-becomes-3-3-for-me-it-doesn-t-change-my-mind/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [Yes, Manchester United are the best team in England, but you have to ask how good has the Premier League been since I left?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/yes-manchester-united-are-the-best-team-in-england-but-you-have-to/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [I was nine or 10 years old and my father was sacked on Christmas Day. He was a manager, the results had not been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-was-nine-or-10-years-old-and-my-father-was-sacked-on-christmas-day/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [In the same way that I had to follow an Italian manager here, I can imagine that it was not easy for an Italian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/in-the-same-way-that-i-had-to-follow-an-italian-manager-here-i-can/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [I enjoy the work, I enjoy every minute of my professional life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-enjoy-the-work-i-enjoy-every-minute-of-my-professional-life/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [I must try to hide my emotions. I have to live with both the victory and the defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-must-try-to-hide-my-emotions-i-have-to-live-with-both-the-victory/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [I followed an Italian manager and it cannot be easy when you follow a manager who thinks very differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-followed-an-italian-manager-and-it-cannot-be-easy-when-you-follow-a/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [Drogba is a fighter. He is the kind of player I would say 'With you I could go to every war.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/drogba-is-a-fighter-he-is-the-kind-of-player-i-would-say-with-you-i/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [No club moves me from Chelsea until Chelsea wants me to move because I want to be where I am loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/no-club-moves-me-from-chelsea-until-chelsea-wants-me-to-move-because/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [It is like having a blanket that is too small for the bed, you pull the blanket up to keep your chest warm, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/it-is-like-having-a-blanket-that-is-too-small-for-the-bed-you-pull/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [I asked the players: 'Do you want to enjoy the game? Or do you want to enjoy after the game?' The players told me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-asked-the-players-do-you-want-to-enjoy-the-game-or-do-you-want-to/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [In football, the only game I know is the 90-minutes game. It's not mind games; I don't try to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/in-football-the-only-game-i-know-is-the-90-minutes-game-it-s-not-mind/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [The Porto players were with me for two and a half years, they believed in me, in my methods, in the way we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/the-porto-players-were-with-me-for-two-and-a-half-years-they-believed/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [Ronaldinho is better than Cristiano Ronaldo, but neither are as good as Leo Messi. He holds numerous records, such as the most goals scored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/ronaldinho-is-better-than-cristiano-ronaldo-but-neither-are-as-good/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [Would you phone the president of Ghana?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/would-you-phone-the-president-of-ghana/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) [Explore all 159 Jose Mourinho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) ## More Bus quotes > [“You go into extinction by being obsessed about becoming something else and then travelling in the wrong car while your real self keeps waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-go-into-extinction-by-being-obsessed-about-becoming-something/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [I only started driving lessons because of comedy - before that, there's be no need. There was a bus from where I lived to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-millican/i-only-started-driving-lessons-because-of-comedy-before-that-there-s/) [Sarah Millican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-millican/) > [I've been so lucky with the people I've worked with, but I'm such a fan girl. When I moved to London at 16, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-smith/i-ve-been-so-lucky-with-the-people-i-ve-worked-with-but-i-m-such-a/) [Sheridan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-smith/) > [When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-came-back-after-all-those-stories-about-hitler-and-his-snub-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [No-deal Brexit could be Boris Johnson's biggest deception yet - worse than the Boris bus or the lies that had him sacked as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-davey/no-deal-brexit-could-be-boris-johnson-s-biggest-deception-yet-worse/) [Ed Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-davey/) > [I'm very proud of being Italian-American, but people don't realize that the mafia is just this aberration. The real community is built on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chazz-palminteri/i-m-very-proud-of-being-italian-american-but-people-don-t-realize/) [Chazz Palminteri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chazz-palminteri/) > [The idea of photography as evidence is pure bullshit. A photo is no more proof of any reality than what you may hear being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-riboud/the-idea-of-photography-as-evidence-is-pure-bullshit-a-photo-is-no/) [Marc Riboud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-riboud/) > [I don't think anything happens without the press, one way or the other. I think it's all done for it. You saw it start,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-think-anything-happens-without-the-press-one-way-or-the-other/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Our bodies penetrate the sofas upon which we sit and the sofas penetrate our bodies. The motorbus rushes into the houses which it passes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-boccioni/our-bodies-penetrate-the-sofas-upon-which-we-sit-and-the-sofas/) [Umberto Boccioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-boccioni/) > [Back in the day, when we'd get into a town, I would go in the phone book and look up record stores. Then I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-schneider/back-in-the-day-when-we-d-get-into-a-town-i-would-go-in-the-phone/) [Fred Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-schneider/) > [I quietly work with my computer on the tour bus, and then I wait to make my more natural rhythms when I get home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jain/i-quietly-work-with-my-computer-on-the-tour-bus-and-then-i-wait-to/) [Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jain/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Perhaps we've time to have a look at the Number Thirty-One bus queue before we turn in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/perhaps-we-ve-time-to-have-a-look-at-the-number-thirty-one-bus-queue/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) [Browse all 1,135 Bus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would rather play with 10 men than wait for a player who is late for the bus.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose Mourinho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wait-for-a-player-who-is-late/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wait-for-a-player-who-is-late/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/jose-mourinho-2585_bus_i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wai_2776074.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/jose-mourinho-2585_bus_i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wai_2776074.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/jose-mourinho-2585_bus_i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wai_2776074.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I would rather play with 10 men than wait for a player who is late for the bus.” — Jose Mourinho", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jose Mourinho", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I would rather play with 10...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wait-for-a-player-who-is-late/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-would-rather-play-with-10-men-than-wait-for-a-player-who-is-late/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```