He may think he knows, but Chelsea under Mourinho have developed a siege mentality that has defied some of the finest tactical brains.
The big difference between Chelsea and Arsenal this season, for instance, has been in defensive consistency. Arsenal once had the best back four in the business. That accolade must now go to Chelsea.
Many would argue that Arsenal once had the best goalkeeper. None would now dispute that the best goalkeeper is Chelsea's Petr Cech, whose enduring excellence has underpinned their remarkable assault on three trophies this season.
Injuries have gnawed at their defensive confidence in recent weeks but the challenge for Magath remains to find a route that bypasses three unyielding layers of defence - -Claude Makelele in midfield, John Terry and his back four and finally the 6ft 4in Cech.
Magath encourages attacking football and his team have scored goals in the Champions League - five against Maccabi Tel Aviv and four against Ajax. But they struggled against Juventus. Rather like Chelsea, Juventus have an outstanding goalkeeper in Gianluigi Buffon, great defenders in Fabio Cannavaro and Lilian Thuram and a powerful midfield anchorman in Emerson. They twice beat Bayern 1-0.
The fact that Dutch striker Roy Makaay is expected to recover from a hamstring injury is an enormous boost for the Germans. His seven goals have been largely responsible for Bayern's progress in the Champions League, but the man who destroyed Arsenal with two goals, Claudio Pizarro, is ruled out.
His place will probably go to another Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero, who scored five goals in his first six Bundesliga matches this season. Magath claims the 21-year-old star is "one of the discoveries of the season".
Rather like Mourinho, Magath strives for organisational excellence. He had a reputation as an arch-disciplinarian-who devised merciless training sessions and that is why Bayern brought him in to replace Ottmar Hitzfeld. For some of the big names at Bayern, life had got a little too cosy.
This was never going to be tolerated at a club where legendary past players such as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeness and, of course, Beckenb a ue r remain influential figures.
These are the thoroughbreds of Bayern Munich and they have made it clear to Magath that, after three disappointing Champions League seasons, something closer to the triumph of 2001 is overdue.
Magath has responded by taking Bayern to the last eight and the top of the Bundesliga. Such is the new sense of optimism that England's Owen Hargreaves pointed out: "We have great players in every position and now fancy our chances against anyone."
The competition among the midfielders is such that Hargreaves has no guarantee of a starting place, unlike Michael Ballack, who is as important to Bayern as Frank Lampard is to Chelsea. Ballack can play wide or just behind the front two. He can win the ball, distribute it and score goals - a bit like a young Beckenbauer. Comparisons are inevitable because every gifted young German player who doesn't fill a striking role is invariably compared to 'The Kaiser'.
"It's an honour to be compared to one of the true greats of the game," said Ballack.
Given the time and space, Ballack could dominate the game tonight but before disappearing to a quiet spot to abide by the terms of his UEFA suspension, Mourinho would have pointed out all the relevant perils to Lampard and Makelele.
An intriguing match is in prospect and if Chelsea are as good as they think they are, the absence of Mourinho should make little difference. They have all the qualities needed to reach the semi-final, with or without the manager on the bench.
