Born Champion!
Jose Mourinho has the gift of the gab. Very rarely would you see a brilliant thinker being such a good communicator. While he is the delight of the English press with his spicy post-match short interviews, he has given a pretty long interview with Telegraph, which again has been conveniently mis-quoted by various media sources.
The below is te full text of the interview, which tells us more about Jose’s football philosophy, his relationship with fellow-premiership managers, his future at Chelsea, his team selection etc. Enjoy this!
Does failure as a player drive you as a manager?
I was not a top player, but I could have been better. I was not better because I don’t need football at the time. When I made 18 my birthday gift was a car. At 18, I was going to university every day in my car. No public buses. No Underground. I had money to go out with my girlfriend (who is now my wife). If I want money to go on a weekend holiday, I had money. My father was a football man and I had money. I had a good life. So I was not the kind of person who was hungry to succeed to change my life.
I was asked by a Portuguese friend yesterday what I do with my money now. I do nothing special. He said to me: “Don’t you want a big car? Don’t you want something special you dream about?” I dream of nothing. The only thing I dream about is to succeed as a football manager, and I follow that dream.
Where did you get your hunger for management?
As a player I was not stupid. I could understand I would never reach the top. When I was an assistant manager and I was feeling the qualities I would need to be a manager myself, I was thinking I can do it. Year after year I was feeling I was preparing for that.
Could you burn out?
No, no, no. Football doesn’t make me old. There is no relation between football and white hairs or losing weight. I enjoy football very much. What I need is sometimes one day off. For me that is perfect. I’m not saying I like the stress. I like my life. I like big matches. The only thing I don’t like is that hour before the game where you have nothing to do. There is one hour where the players are having massage, changing, studying the size of their studs. They are doing these things to prepare for the game where I do nothing.
I do not find football stressful. I do not get nervous. When I get the teamsheet I try to understand who they have on the bench. What they are going to do if they’re winning. What they’re going to do if they’re losing and they try to change the result. I try to anticipate the situation the maximum I can. I try to read my players’ body language to see if they’re ready for it, if they are calm, extra-motivated, or need a word. The night after the game I just cannot sleep.
Is there stress in being in charge of Chelsea?
Maybe I am guilty of that, because it was ‘just arrive and win’.
Are medical problems, heart problems, a concern?
You cannot say never. Imagine the next game — I could have a heart problem. I don’t think the game will kill me, but you never know. During the game I’m so focused and enjoying so much the good things, the negative things, trying to change things, that I don’t feel it. Maybe one day a referee kills me with a bad decision [laughs]. The only thing that really makes me mad is that.
What about your future? Will you leave in a big explosion?
This is the first time I’m in a club for the third year. I was at Benfica a couple of months, Leiria couple of months. In Porto 2½ years. This is different. The project is different. I left Porto because I wanted more for my career. I don’t know at this moment where I can find more than I have in Chelsea. The challenge is huge. The pressure is huge. The responsibility is huge. The Premiership is the best in the world. You can discuss the quality of the game. You can say I prefer the Spanish game or the Italian game. But when you try to analyse the competition as a whole, here you see the number of spectators, every stadium full, the competitive level, four teams fighting for the Premier League and other teams coming up.
But there are bigger clubs? Milan, Madrid?
They can be bigger clubs, bigger institutions with a century of rich history. They are the clubs with the stature. That’s why people are not always fair when they speak only about the amount of money Chelsea are spending. They don’t put on the other side of the balance the institutional power of these clubs. I play at home against Real Madrid and I have 40,000 people. I go to Madrid I have 100,000. This is a club without one single European Cup or Champions League. Madrid is the club of the century.
Why did you talk about leaving at the end of last season?
I was a bit fed up with certain things. There is not the perfect club, the perfect country, the perfect competition, the perfect manager. I also have some bad qualities. The Chelsea project is very demanding but, at the same time, attractive. My bad qualities are that I don’t care about my image. Because of that I don’t care about the consequences of what I say and do. To have some percentage of being a hypocrite is a great quality in football. I don’t have one single percentage of being a hypocrite and that is a very bad quality in football. I’m not a hypocrite at all.
You would be a better manager if you were a hypocrite?
Yes, because I would care about my image and I would do things to protect my image. I would control my speech in certain ways. I wouldn’t say what I think all the time because sometimes you get into trouble. Instead of being a manager a lot of people love and a lot of people hate, I would be a manager everybody loves.
Do Roman Abramovich and Peter Kenyon find you an absolute pain to work with?
No, I don’t think so.
You like the dramatic gesture. Is there something of the actor in you like when you ripped your medal off after Porto won the Champions League?
I ripped it off yes, but when I won the Uefa Cup [also with Porto] I was crying. We score against Barcelona, I dived on my knees. We score against Manchester United, I did nothing. It depends on the moment and what emotions I have inside. I am quite emotional, both as a person and a manager.
Do you use a press conference to send a message to the opposition, the team or the referee?
That’s normal. You can pass on some messages in the press conferences before and after games. I don’t directly influence the game but, for example, when I say before the game against Man United that we go there to win, and we go home with the same difference in points, then it’s positive. That is me saying to my players we have two results to play for. The Man United players have a big chance to open the gap but they have only one result to play for. When the game finished they know the result is not good for them and we know the result is good for us.
You like to remind United of that message?
Yes — and they try to do the same. My influence on Sir Alex is zero. I do it to take pressure off my players and the fans know they can celebrate a draw because they know we are thinking medium-term and it’s a good result for us. Communication is with everybody.
You have an influence on Rafa Benitez because he always gets uptight.
No, no, no. Matches between us and Liverpool are always very close except we beat them 4-1 one time. Otherwise it’s 0-0, 1-0, 1-1. We used to beat them in the Premiership. They used to beat us in a knockout situation. I respect him a lot as a manager and I think he respects me too. We had problems, we solve problems. Maybe we’ll have problems again in the future. If we have, we’ll solve them again because we respect each other.
Is there any part of you that envies Manchester United or Arsenal for their more expansive, adventurous football? They use wingers.
We had wingers last season and were told we were not an attacking team. This season we don’t have them, so you cannot say that.
But they have a reputation for more pretty football?
They sell their product well.
Everyone says they are more attractive…
Do they?
You are a very good ‘power’ team.
I don’t agree. We are a team adapted to the reality, which is why Arsenal cannot beat Bolton at Bolton and why Chelsea under me have played three matches and got three victories at Bolton with zero goals conceded. You cannot play against Bolton at Bolton the same you play at home against Watford. Some teams and some managers play every game with the same strategy. Sometimes they beat someone 6-0 and sometimes they lose a game they shouldn’t lose. One of the strengths is to adapt to different realities, which is what I’m trying to do with Chelsea in England and Chelsea in Europe. Chelsea cannot play in Europe the same way it plays in England.
Your strategy always seems to be risk-free, good organisation and not being caught on the counter?
It depends. If you play at Old Trafford and change a right-back (Geremi) for a left-winger (Arjen Robben), it is a crazy change, not a conservative change. We’ve played some matches at home with three defenders, some with five players in attack. Chelsea is an attacking team, but against Bolton if you don’t defend as we did in the last 15 minutes, you have no chance. How can you stop 10 throw-ins, 10 free-kicks, 10 corners? Bring people back fighting, changing small players for tall players and fighting for every ball.
Arsenal three years ago were the most eye-catching side you’ll ever see. Would you like to build a team that pretty?
Arsenal were pretty when they were champions without defeat, yes. Not pretty when they finished fourth when they had to win their last game to qualify for the Champions League. Not pretty when they get zero points in two matches. Pretty when they played amazing and were champions. The key is winning and playing well, playing beautiful.
What do you think of Arsene Wenger as a person and a manager?
He is a fantastic manager, one of the best. I don’t think we are the best friends — not even friends. We are colleagues. We had a couple of conversations when we met in Geneva for a coaches’ forum, no more than that. But I have 200 per cent respect for the work he’s done over the years.
Is it not possible to be close friends with other managers?
It is difficult.
But Ferguson likes you.
And I like him.
You are used to having control in the dressing room. How did you find it when William Gallas said he would do his own thing?
Gallas knows I did my best to try and keep him at the club, so, if he wants to be honest, he has to say that from the first day until the contract problems — which were out of my hands — the relationship was very, very good.
Full-backs are key for your width in a diamond formation. Was that the attraction of getting Ashley Cole?
You can’t play 4-4-2 without full-backs going forward, especially on the left. On the right side, we have a lot of players who can reach this kind of position. On the left side, I’m not waiting for Lampard or Ballack to give us that width.
I used to see Ashley as an attacking full-back; now he’s performing both ways as full-back. He knows we defend with only one midfield player in front of two central defenders, he knows the importance of defending well the inside space. He defends that well. His mentality is absolutely brilliant. We have a special relationship between me, him and Wayne Bridge. That is why Bridgey accepts a new contract. He knows we trust him, need him, want him to play. We give him chances. Now we have both and both are happy.
Is there a right-back version of Ashley out there?
I tried with [Khalid] Boulahrouz. He’s just a defensive right-back. He’s perfect to play right-back if he plays with a winger, so he has somebody in front of him. He had a great game against Barcelona, at home, in the defensive role. He is not a right-back to play in the system we’re playing in this moment. After that it is between Paulo (Ferreira) and Geremi. Geremi with the ball is better. He uses the ball very, very well: crossing, passing and keeping possession. Very stable mentally. He’s a right-back with the inclination of a midfield player. He’s doing well for us. I changed him against Manchester United, not because he was playing well, but … (tactically).
Still need a right-back?
Not really. We have a very good one playing for Portsmouth — Jonno [Glen Johnson]. He tells me the work is good, that Harry Redknapp is a good coach, that Tony Adams gives him help to improve him defensively. The natural consequence is next season is Jonno is with us.
Do you have a problem up front with Andrei Shevchenko. Has he struggled to adapt?
I agree. But I also agree that the most difficult job in football is to be a striker. For sure. It’s much easier for a defender to adapt than a striker. The way football is played in Italy and England is completely different. We have in Thierry Henry the best example of that. I know he’s the best goalscorer in the last few years in this country, an amazing player, but he scored one goal in 12 Premiership matches when he first changed Juventus for Arsenal.
We need to give Sheva time. I give him time. The good thing is that he is not happy with the way he is performing. If he was happy we would have a problem. He wouldn’t work hard to go in my direction. But he’s working very hard. After every game we have feedback meetings where I explain to him what we have to change. Between the Manchester United game and the Bolton Wanderers game, we worked together 1½ hours, speaking about his game and I could see the difference easily. He’s going in the right direction.
Is there any pressure from Abramovich to play him?
Are you being serious?
You would walk out if told to pick a player?
For sure. We were both keen to have him. He [Abramovich] is a very intelligent person — the way he made himself he must be a super-intelligent person. The way he understands football now is different to two years ago. He learns very, very quickly. He would never do this [pick players]. If he does this, it’s because he doesn’t trust the manager. If he doesn’t trust the manager, he has enough money to sack me, to give me my compensation, send me home and bring another one in. Is he happy with me? Yes. He respects me, and my options. The day he doesn’t respect me, just give me the cheque and send me home.
Abramovich strives for a more attractive game. Do you talk about that?
No. We are on the same lines. There was a change between Chelsea last year and Chelsea this season. I am not saying we are scoring a lot of goals, or more than in the past, but this Chelsea is more dominant. Before, when we were playing with [Damien] Duff, Robben and only one striker, we were very solid, very compact, very direct counter-attacking. In this moment we are the team with more possession. Against Bolton in the first half, we had the ball all the time. Against Manchester in the second half, we had the ball all the time. Barcelona are normally the team with most possession in European football, but it wasn’t 70-30 (against Chelsea).
They have creative players like Messi, Ronaldinho?
We don’t have Messi. We don’t have Ronaldinho. We have fantastic team players, but not players to do individually what they do. I turn to Sky and see that Spanish programme with Guillem Balague, and they go: ‘Whappo, whappo!!!!’ We are not a team for that. We try to play good all the time.
Could you incorporate Ronaldinho into your team?
If I answer that question I am in big trouble. If I say ‘no’, you tell me I am stupid because you don’t want this player. If I say ‘yes’, Ronaldinho and his brothers (rubs hands) go to negotiate a new contract with Barcelona. So it is the kind of answer I can’t give!
When we see Robben and Joe Cole on the bench, people are disappointed. Do you understand that?
Players pick the team, not me. You think if Cole has an amazing game against Werder Bremen, I don’t play him against Man United. I play him for sure. Do you think if Robben comes on in the second half against Manchester United and is man of the match, do you think I don’t play him?! I play the best players at the time. Makelele, Essien and Frank Lampard are untouchable because of the way they play, not because I love them. Michael Ballack is untouchable because the way he plays. John Terry is untouchable. Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole, and Drogba — they are untouchable. The right-back is not untouchable. That is why I try this and that. Sheva is not untouchable because of the way he is playing. That is why I play Joe Cole against Bremen or Robben or [Salomon] Kalou there.
In this moment, we have nine untouchable players because the way they play. I told the players: ‘’Don’t knock on my office door. Don’t speak with me about why I play or why I don’t play. Don’t send your friends to speak with the press and say this or that. Show me. I promise you I play the best players.” It is easy to select when it is about how they behave on the pitch.
So has anyone dared knock on the door?
No.
It seems English players aren’t coming through, no wealth of youngsters. Should we fear for the England team?
There is a lot of talent.
But at 18?
The reserve team competition should finish. It is nothing. This country has to think about a different way to give competition to young players. The competition is not good enough. If I am a father and my boy is 18, I don’t want him to play in the reserve-team competition because the quality is not good enough, the motivation is not good enough, the pitches are not good enough.
At the moment we have our best kids playing at Queens Park Rangers. We sent Jimmy Smith and Michael Mancienne to QPR because it is better to have them playing in the Coca-Cola Championship than playing for the reserves on a Monday.
This country should look to other countries, to France and Spain.Do you know where the Real Madrid reserves play? In the Spanish equivalent of the Coca-Cola League.
Do you know how many times Porto kids have played against Benfica at 16 years old? Twenty. When they were 9, 10, 11, 12, they play in [Portugal’s] national leagues. They are used to atmospheres with big matches. You go to our kids of 16 and you know how many times they play
Liverpool or Man United? Some of them never. They go to the FA Youth Cup and if they lose, they are finished for the season. So a competitive shape at youth level is something you should be looking at.
Would you like Chelsea B in the Championship?
I would love to see it. I can tell you for sure that if that happened, players like [Lassana] Diarra, [John Obi] Mikel, Kalou, when they are not selected that weekend for the first team, they have competition to play in a different level. So they should have a look.
But Chelsea could one day be first and second in the Premiership?
But like in Spain, they would not be allowed promotion. They don’t even play in the cup to stop the possibility of Real Madrid A against Real Madrid B.
Will England ever achieve more?
They will. They have to. They have quality, they have players. English players won titles with me. Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United boys all won trophies. You had the generation of the Nevilles, Scholes, Beckham, in the top of the game, winning everything. And they couldn’t succeed with England with other managers before, so this is not a thing of Sven-[Goran Erikkson] They can succeed because they have a lot of talent and Champions League experience.
Would England win the World Cup under you?
I have no idea. England is for English.
Would you like to win La Liga, Serie A and manage Portugal before you retire?
For a start, I would like to win my fifth consecutive title. I have won the Champions League. The next aim is to win my second. I have won the Uefa Cup. I don’t want to win the second Uefa Cup [chuckles]. Carling Cup, I would like to win the second. FA Cup, I would like to win the first — at Wembley.
But winning in all the different countries would make you the Special One?
Alex Ferguson only won English leagues [and Scottish] and he is special, so I don’t think it is about [moving around]. Serie A is something that motivates me. But what motivates me more is being in the best league in the world. And the best league at this moment is here.
You would go to Italy not Spain?
I was in Spain four years, so I know the league, the competition, the mentality. I know everything there. Italy is the unknown. You can never say no. Maybe I go to Spain one day. In this moment, if Chelsea doesn’t sack me because Abramovich wants to make the line-up, I don’t think about change.
