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Tag: Jose Mourinho

  • Mourinho  expects fans’ respect as Benfica battle Chelsea in London

    Mourinho  expects fans’ respect as Benfica battle Chelsea in London

    Jose Mourinho insists he will receive a warm welcome from the Chelsea fans who once turned on him when the former Blues boss returns to Stamford Bridge with Benfica tonight.

    Mourinho is back in west London for a Champions League group stage clash that has turned into a trip down memory lane.

    The 62-year-old, who famously announced his arrival in the Premier League by labelling himself a ‘special one’, led Chelsea to three English titles, three League Cups and one FA Cup across two spells that etched him in the club’s history forever.

    Fuelled by the financial backing of then owner Roman Abramovich, Mourinho turned Chelsea from underachievers to serial winners.

    But those triumphs did not stop Chelsea fans chanting “you’re not special anymore” at Mourinho and jeering him when he returned as manager of Manchester United and then Tottenham.

    Now in charge of Benfica after his recent sacking by Turkish club Fenerbahce, Mourinho started his pre-match press conference at Stamford Bridge by claiming he was “not a blue anymore”.

    But aware that he risked more abuse from the stands on Tuesday, Mourinho quickly backtracked, saying he still loved the club and expected to be treated with affection by the fans that used to idolise him.

     “Of course I will always be a Blue. I am part of their history and they are part of mine. I helped them become a bigger Chelsea and they helped me become a bigger Jose,” he told reporters.

    “It was a happy marriage. It was a fantastic decision I made. The reason I came the second time is of course I was so happy the first time.

     “When I say I am not a blue I am talking about the job I have to do tomorrow.

     “I don’t think Chelsea fans will boo. At least on the street Chelsea fans are the ones that disturb me for autographs and pictures.”

    Photos of Mourinho celebrating some of his greatest Chelsea moments were hung on the walls of the Ted Drake Suite to make the Portuguese coach feel at home.

    It was a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Mourinho, who said: “There are not many clubs that do this. In many clubs it looks like there is a fear of what happened in the past.

    “Sometimes it looks like they want to delete people who made history. It shows Chelsea is really a big club.”

    Mourinho, who still has a family home close to Stamford Bridge, opted against piling pressure on Chelsea’s current boss Enzo Maresca, who has come under fire after successive defeats against Manchester United and Brighton this season.

    Maresca led Chelsea to Champions League qualification and won the UEFA Conference League last season.

    “There was a sad period where even me from the outside, I was putting some question marks. It looked like Chelsea lost their identity but what happened in the last season has put things back on track,” he said.

    But Mourinho couldn’t resist pointing out his own achievements with Chelsea whenever the opportunity arose.

    Asked if he still ranked himself as the best manager in Chelsea’s history, Mourinho said: “I am the biggest one until someone wins four (titles).

    “Chelsea won something before my time. Then they stopped winning, and then my team kept winning.”

    And in typically waspish fashion, he played down the two trophies won by Maresca.

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     “The Conference League is an easy competition for a big club to win. I did it with Roma. Champions League is much more difficult to win than the Club World Cup but Chelsea has the potential of course,” he said.

    It is a decade since he lifted a league title but even if Mourinho’s managerial star is on the wane, he remains a box-office attraction.

    After answering the last question of the press conference, Mourinho made a point of embracing several familiar faces among the British media.

    He even posed for a selfie before wrapping a long-serving member of Chelsea’s media team in a warm embrace.

     “You know how I am. I love it,” he said with a smirk before leaving the stage.

    TODAY’S FIXTURES

    Atalanta vs. Brugge

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    Marseille vs. Ajax kick

    Pafos vs. Bayern Munich

  • Mourinho returns to  Benfica after 25-year merry go round

    Mourinho returns to  Benfica after 25-year merry go round

    A quarter of a century after waving Jose Mourinho out of the door, Benfica look to have finally coaxed the ‘Special One’ back — gambling that the sorcery which lit up Porto and dazzled Europe can now be summoned in Lisbon red.

    Few recall that before Porto acclaimed him, Mourinho’s first managerial baptism came at Benfica back in 2000 in a tumultuous three-month stint that ended with fans chanting his name as he walked away.

    Now, at 62, the prodigal son is set to return to Lisbon, Portuguese TV station RTP reported on Wednesday, amidst the wreckage of a 3-2 home collapse against Azerbaijan side Qarabag, who turned a two-goal deficit into a Champions League scalp.

    Ironically, Benfica knocked Mourinho’s former employers Fenerbahce out of Europe barely a fortnight before the Turks bundled him out of a job. Mourinho’s accomplishments are well known.

    The Portuguese, who was born in the coastal town of Setubal, a half-hour’s drive from Lisbon, is widely regarded as one of the best coaches of his generation.

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    He has claimed league titles in four countries and is one of six managers to lift the European Cup with two clubs as well as the only coach to win all three current UEFA club competitions.

    Mourinho’s brief stint after being appointed Benfica manager in 2000 was nothing short of dramatic but it was also crucial as he started building a name and legacy that has kept the club’s fans dreaming of what could have been for over two decades.

    Hired in September that year to replace Jupp Heynckes after a dismal start to the season, with two wins out of five games under the German, Mourinho arrived at a club in political turmoil with presidential elections looming and a broken changing room.

    Working alongside assistant Carlos Mozer, a former Benfica and Brazil great as a defender, Mourinho managed to block the outside noise from his players and transformed the struggling squad, culminating in a stunning 3-0 victory over heavily favoured local rivals Sporting that left fans jubilant.

    But the honeymoon was short-lived. Despite a record of six wins, three draws and two defeats in 11 matches, Mourinho departed just two days after that triumph due to disagreements with newly-elected president Manuel Vilarinho.

    “It is a very sad day for us, the day we end our contractual relationship with Benfica,” Mourinho announced on December 5, 2000, in a press room filled with fans chanting his name.

    “(Before Mourinho) Benfica played terribly … We had a rubbish team; even I could have played, or at least been a regular substitute,” Vilarinho told reporters.

    “And Mr Mourinho, who is an excellent coach and leader of men, almost a wizard, manages to change those mentalities.

    “Mr Mourinho beat Sporting 3-0 … And this is a Saturday. On Monday, we have a board meeting and Mr. Mourinho says this: ‘Either you renew my contract for another year or tomorrow I won’t be coaching any more’.

    “And he left … I think he never liked me, I don’t know why, he must have thought I didn’t like him,” Vilarinho added, trying to explain how Benfica allowed Mourinho to leave.

    Mourinho went on to manage lowly Uniao Leira for a season before joining Porto and leading the Northern Portugal side to unprecedented success by winning back-to-back league titles, a Portuguese Cup, the 2003 UEFA Cup and Champions League in 2004.

    After two decades of a roller-coaster career at Chelsea, Inter Milan, where he won the Champions League, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, AS Roma and Fenerbahce, he is heading home to finish a job that is 25 years overdue.

  • Mourinho tips Man United  Spurs  for Europa League

    Mourinho tips Man United  Spurs  for Europa League

    Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho said his former clubs Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are the favourites to win the Europa League as Premier League sides are on a “different level” compared to teams from other European leagues.

    Fenerbahce are preparing for their third Europa League group phase game against United, a club Mourinho managed for two-and-a-half seasons – winning the competition in 2017 – while he also guided Spurs to a League Cup final.

    “If I have to say now which are the two biggest candidates to win the Europa League, I think it’s easy – Manchester United and Tottenham,” Mourinho told reporters on Wednesday.

    “The Premier League is a different level of quality, intensity, pace, tactical culture – a different level of everything. Tomorrow, I think we are going to play against one of the two strongest teams.”

    Mourinho led United to a second-place finish in his last full season but lost his job the following campaign in December 2018 when they were closer to the relegation zone than the league leaders.

    However, the 61-year-old said he “didn’t lose one minute thinking about” whether the club has improved since his exit, adding that he wished the Old Trafford side and manager Erik ten Hag the best.

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    “I left with a good feeling for the club and its fans and I want the best for them,” Mourinho said.

    “If things aren’t going amazingly well for them, it’s not something that makes me happy. But I have no time, it doesn’t make sense for me to be thinking about what happened (or) what didn’t happen.

    “What happened for sure is that they now keep faith in the coach, supporting the coach who is staying season after season. That means stability and trust, giving him conditions to keep his job.”

    While Ten Hag has been under pressure to deliver after two full seasons at the club, Mourinho believes the Dutchman will eventually succeed even if results have not gone their way.

    “They will succeed sooner or later. Hopefully sooner and before, one day, I go back to the Premier League and they become my opponents. At this moment they are just my opponents for one match,” he said.

  • Six reasons Jose Mourinho was sacked as Roma manager

    Six reasons Jose Mourinho was sacked as Roma manager

    Jose Mourinho has been sacked as Roma manager with the club currently ninth in Serie A.

    The Portuguese, 60, led Roma to the Europa Conference League title a year later.

    He was appointed Roma head coach in May 2021, less than a month after he was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur.

    The following are the reasons Jose Mourinho was sacked as Roma manager.

    1. Last week, Roma were knocked out of the Coppa Italia by city rivals Lazio.

    Read Also: Jose Mourinho sacked as Roma manager

    2. Roma have an inconsistent form this season.

    3. They are currently ninth in the league table.

    4. They are five points off the Champions League qualification spots.

    5. They lost 3-1 to Milan last Sunday making it the team’s third defeat in five league games.

    6. Mourinho’s contract will expire in June.

  • Jose Mourinho sacked as Roma manager

    Jose Mourinho sacked as Roma manager

    Jose Mourinho has been sacked as Roma manager with the club currently ninth in Serie A.

    The Portuguese, 60, took over in May 2021 and led Roma to the Europa Conference League title a year later.

    But they are five points off Serie A’s final Champions League qualifying spot and last week were knocked out of the Coppa Italia by city rivals Lazio.

    Read Also: Jose Mourinho compares self to Harry Potter

    Owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin thanked Mourinho “for the passion and commitment he has shown” as boss.

    “We will always have great memories of his stewardship, but we believe that, in the best interests of the club, immediate change is necessary,” they added in a statement.

    BBCsport

  • Jose Mourinho compares self to Harry Potter

    Jose Mourinho compares self to Harry Potter

    Roma manager Jose Mourinho has called himself “Jose ‘Harry Potter’ Mourinho” and suggested he has raised expectations of what the club can achieve.

    His comments came after Roma were knocked out of the Coppa Italia at the quarterfinal stage with a 1-0 defeat to rivals Lazio on Wednesday.

    Mourinho said be believes fans expect more from him because of his successful career.

    “The Roma fans are the most incredible I have seen. Their coach is Jose ‘Harry Potter’ Mourinho and he raises expectations,” he said.

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    “I don’t know how many derbies I’ve played, 200, 150, they are always special matches. I’ve won, I’ve drawn, I’ve lost, always with a different experience.

    “I have always understood that for a Chelsea fan, a game against Manchester City is not the same as a game against Arsenal. That for Inter, a game against Roma is not the same as a game against Juventus.

    “I understand what a derby means. The derby we played was an important derby.”

    Mourinho has referenced Potter before, as he claimed he “is not Harry Potter” while manager of Real Madrid in a bid to temper expectations.

    Roma are four points off fourth place Fiorentina in the race for a spot in next season’s Champions League and have also qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

    His contract runs out at the end of the season, but said he is committed to the club.

    “I’ve been here for two years and five months and I’m the only person here who hasn’t missed a single training session in that time,” Mourinho said.

  • Mourinho raises alarm: I am tired of resting I need action!

     

    Former Man United coach Jose Mourinho has declared his readiness to return to coaching insisting that resting has seized to be fun.

    Many had predicted following his sack from Old Trafford that the ‘Special One’ who has managed seven different clubs starting with Benfica cannot cope for long outside the football arena.

    The Portuguese live-wire, who was sacked by Manchester United in December, says he is missing football and admitted recently he is “full of fire” over a potential return.

    His focus is on returning to club management, in either the top-flights in England, Spain, Germany, Italy or France.

    Mourinho told Sky Sports News: “I have some time to think, to rethink, to analyse and what I feel is exactly that ‘Ze’ (Mourinho’s nickname as a boy) is full of fire.

    Jose: Eager to get back to coaching.

    “My friends tell me ‘enjoy your time, enjoy your July, enjoy your August, enjoy what you never had’. Honestly, I can’t enjoy. I am not happy enough to enjoy. “I miss my football, I have the fire.”

    However, reports in Spain claim Mourinho has in fact targeted a return to the Real Madrid hot-seat and that he believes an opening there could soon present itself.

    The club had a tumultuous pre-season and while they won their opening LaLiga match of the season, Saturday’s draw with Celta Vigo has heaped focus back on Zinedine Zidane.

    And while Zidane made a raft of summer signings at the Bernabeu, he is yet to find the right balance in his side.

  • Unattached Mourinho gives condition for Roma job

     

    Jose Mourinho has been ‘offered a three-year deal’ to take charge at Roma, but the special one is not one to accept an offer without conditions.

    The former Manchester United boss has been on the job hunt since his sacking last December and the Serie A side are front-runners as it stands.

    According to L’Equipe, the Portuguese will only take up the role if Roma qualify for next season’s Champions Lea

    The capital city club are currently fifth, one point off Atalanta in the final spot for next year’s competition.

    There are still four games to play so Roma have every chance of sneaking into the top four, drastically increasing the chances of Mourinho taking charge having had ‘multiple meetings’.

    As it stands Claudio Ranieri is the interim manager in the Eternal City until the end of the season.

    They are not the first club to chase Mourinho’s services since his departure from Old Trafford.

    Former side Inter Milan also made an approach but PSG are considered the most likely alternative to Roma as it stands.

    Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has also held talks with former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who has been out of work since being sacked from his post at Stamford Bridge.

    Talks between Mourinho and Roma have been progressing well, and he is eager to get back into management with a club that will back his philosophy and show patience.

    His relationship with key players in the dressing room at Manchester United soured, particularly Paul Pogba.

    And after a poor run of form, culminating in the 3-1 defeat by rivals Liverpool at Anfield last December, Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford came to an abrupt end.

    No doubt he’ll be desperate to reestablish himself as one of the greatest managers of his generation in his next role.

    Jose who turned 56 in January has coached seven clubs in the course of his coaching career with two time sojourn at the Stamford Bridge.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Juve defeat: Angry Ronaldo adopts Mourinho’s reaction

     

    Just before former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was sent packing, he reacted angrily after the team lost 3-0 to Tottenham.

    At a post-match meeting the special one demanded respect from the media reminding anyone who cares to listen that he alone won three premiership titles more the all the 19 premiership managers put together

    “I won more Premierships alone than the other 19 managers together,” Mourinho said. “Three for me and two for them” he said while putting up three fingers in the air to buttress his point.

    The scenario however played out again Wednesday but this time not with Mourinho but with Juventus forward and Portuguese international Cristiano Ronaldo after the Italian giants were defeated 2-0 by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League tie

    A wound-up Cristiano Ronaldo continued to taunt Atletico Madrid fans holding up five fingers in the media zone for each of his Champions League titles.

    Having been singled out by the Spanish supporters on Wednesday night, the Portuguese responded to taunts by repeatedly performing the gesture, a clear reference to his incredible success in the competition.

    And evidently the 34-year-old was still seething after the game as he marched through the Wanda Metropolitano media zone with a scowl on his face.

    He refused to speak directly to any journalists but again held up the five-finger gesture and declared: ‘I won five Champions Leagues and these guys none.’

    Ronaldo made a zero with his hand as if to drive home the point as he sped away clutching his luxury wash bag under his arm.  The former Real Madrid forward was jeered throughout the match at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

    Juventus will need to produce a remarkable turnaround in the second leg to reverse the two goal deficit.

    Late goals from Uruguayan defenders Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin mean Diego Simeone’s side will be heavy favourites to progress.

    Juventus boss Massimilano Allegri however still holds out hope that his men will be able to turn it around.

    ‘We were not dead after the 3-0 home defeat against Madrid last season and we are not dead now,’ Allegri told UEFA.com.

    ‘We have to forget this defeat quickly and try to play better in Turin because against a team like Atletico you miss a pass and you are in trouble.

  • Mourinho lands Champions League job with RT in Russia

     

    Jose Mourinho has landed a new job after signing a mega-money deal to return to work for controversial Russian broadcaster RT.

    The former Manchester United manager will get his own biweekly show – titled on the touchline with Mourinho – which will focus on covering the Champions League with the inaugural episode to be shown after the last-16 round ties on March 7.

    Mourinho, who was dismissed by United back in December, worked with international news channel RT during the World Cup and earned £1.71million (£400,000-a-day) for just four days’ work as a TV pundit.

    RT confirmed their hiring of Mourinho, who was in Russia discussing terms for his new show last week, by posting a promotional video on social media on Monday morning.

    ‘I’m going to talk about football on RT, what else did you think I was going to do?’ Mourinho said at the end of the video after initially teasing he could be changing sports to ice hockey.

    Mourinho was in Moscow earlier this month and hit the headlines after falling over as he performed a ceremonial puck drop at an ice hockey game.

    The 56-year-old attended the game during his time in Russia as he and his commercial agents negotiated a deal which will see Mourinho work with the Russian State broadcasters until the Champions League final in Madrid on June 1.

    RT’s reputation among Western audiences has long been controversial, with the broadcaster accused of being part of the Kremlin propaganda machine.

    Despite mainstream politicians and pundits appearing on its channels in Britain, the U.S., and beyond, a number of academics have claimed it broadcasts distorted information on behalf of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

    In 2017 the U.S. Justice Department made the channel register as a foreign agent of the Russian government, which it did under protest despite it being funded by the Kremlin.

    And in December last year, UK media regulator Ofcom ruled that seven programs that RT broadcast after the Salisbury nerve gas attacks breached strict impartiality rules. The channel is yet to receive a sanction.

    Mourinho has built up an onscreen portfolio since being dismissed by United, working as an analyst for beIN SPORTS, helping drive their coverage of the Premier League and Asian Cup in Qatar last month, where he reportedly bagged £60,000 for his handful of appearances on the programme.

    Reports had suggested Mourinho was ready to return to management after receiving his £15m in compensation from United and holding talks with Inter Milan director Beppe Marotta over becoming their boss for the second time.