Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Outspoken Behaviour Cost Jose Mourinho Barcelona Job
Outspoken Behaviour Cost Jose Mourinho Barcelona Job - Report Outspoken behaviour may make the Inter boss a character, but it cost him a chance of the top job at Camp Nou...
Jose Mourinho could have been preparing Barcelona to face Inter this week in the Champions League, but his desire to be controversial cost him the chance, according to a report.
The Portuguese coach allegedly held a secret meeting with Blaugrana officials during the 2007-08 campaign, when he was not in work, and came close to being appointed only for one characteristic to let him down.
Barca had decided to release Frank Rijkaard at the end of that same season following defeat in Camp Nou by Real Madrid, and the search for a new trainer took them to Mourinho.
Sport state that technical secretary Txiki Begiristain and then sporting vice president Marc Ingla flew separately to Portugal to meet the coach and his agent, Jorge Mendes.
To avoid the news of the meeting leaking out, the quartet met in the safe rooms of a bank in Lisbon, where Mourinho was handed a nine-point document that outlined what his duties would be.
According to the report, the current Inter boss agreed to all of them bar one. He was not keen on point six, which demanded he behave with the media and respect all opponents.
Mourinho thrives on his outspoken behaviour and believes that using the media to gain advantages ahead of matches is crucial, but Barca did not agree and ruled him out of their thoughts.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Mourinho's 10 most special spats with managers and other football figures PART 2
source: mirrorfootball.co.uk
4) Mourinho v Claudio Ranieri (August 2008)
Shortly after arriving in Italy, Mourinho took aim at Ranieri for his failure to win trophies at Chelsea.
Ranieri: "I don't like the way he stirs up controversies from time to time. Our frictions have nothing to do with the fact that he replaced me at Chelsea.
Mourinho: "I studied Italian five hours a day for many months to ensure I could communicate with the players, media and fans. Ranieri had been in England for five years and still struggled to say 'good morning' and 'good afternoon'.
Ranieri: "Unlike Mourinho I don’t need to win to be sure about what I am doing."
Mourinho: "I guess he's right with what he said. I am very demanding of myself and I have to win to be sure of things. This is why I have won so many trophies in my career. Ranieri on the other hand has the mentality of someone who doesn't need to win. He is almost 70 years old. He has won a Supercup and another small trophy and he is too old to change his mentality. He's old and he hasn't won anything."
3) Mourinho v Lo Monaco (September 2008)
Speaking at the post-match press conference follwoing his side's defeat of Catania, Mourinho incurred the wrath of Catania's sporting director Pietro Lo Monaco.
Mourinho: "We could have won that game 5-1 easily. In fact, I could have played in goal for Inter and we still would have won."
Lo Monaco: "Somebody who says such things has no respect for anyone, neither for his opponents nor for the country in which he is a guest. Mourinho is, plain and simple, the kind of guy who should get smashed in the teeth"
Mourinho: "Lo Monaco? I don’t know him. I know of Tibetan monks [Monaco means 'monk' in Italian], I know Bayern Munich [Bayern Monaco in Italian], I know the Monaco Grand Prix... I don’t know any others. If this guy wants to earn free publicity by talking about me, he'd better pay me. adidas feature me in their adverts, but they pay me a lot of money to do that. I don't get paid to help this Lo Monaco get in the papers."
2) Mourinho v Ranieri II and the Italian media (March 2009)
After Inter are awarded a dodgy penalty during a 3-3 draw with Roma, Juve manager Claudio Ranieri agreed with the general consensus it wasn't a penalty.
Mourinho: "I don't like intellectual prostitution, I like intellectual honesty. There has been great intellectual manipulation over the last few days to manipulate public opinion. We haven't talked about a Roma side with great players, lots of players I wanted to have with me, that will finish the season with zero titles. We haven't talked about Milan, who will finish the season with zero titles. We haven't talked about Juventus, who have won lots of points with refereeing mistakes.
1) Mourinho v Marcello Lippi (August 2009)
Mourinho was not best pleased after Italy's coach predicted Juve would win the Scudetto.
Mourinho: "It's normal that journalists give their opinion and say 'Juve will win the title'. It's normal that Juventus directors and the coach say it, but it's the first time I've read of a national coach saying these things. Even if he wants that, even if he thinks that, it's a lack of respect. I still want to think that it's not true. It's the first time that I've read of a national coach, a person with such a great responsibility, saying such things. I'm expecting a reaction from national football."
Lippi: "I'm sorry if Mourinho interpreted my comment in that way: it was simply a prediction, one of the many theories that are bandied about before the start of the championship. I give thousands of interviews. For three years I've been saying that Inter is the best team. Yesterday, in a interview that covered many things, I gave a quick reply to a question about the upcoming championship and I said that I thought Juventus would win. On many other occasions I've said good things about other teams, and I think things have been exaggerated in this case. Mourinho seemed to me to be an intelligent person, and I'm sorry that he interpreted my comment differently: but there is no problem. I said what I said..."
Mourinho: "It's of little relevance if in previous interviews, a year ago or a month ago, Lippi said good things about Inter or other clubs. Yesterday evening the top person in Italian football gave a precise indication about the outcome of a championship that has yet to start. This does not seem right to me, and I say this calmly as a club manager to the national coach. I still believe that Lippi, being the national team coach, should not make predictions on Serie A. I don't think that Fabio Capello or Vicente Del Bosque would make predictions on the Premier League or La Liga. They are smart..."
Mourinho's 10 most special spats with managers and other football figures
source: mirrorfootball.co.uk10) Mourinho v Fergie I (February 2004)
There was many a sparring session between these two footballing titans during Mourinho's tenure at Chelsea but his best put-down of Ferguson came when he was still at Porto. After Mourinho's men had just knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League, Ferguson complained at Vitor Baia's over-reaction that got Roy Keane sent off...
Mourinho: "I understand why he is a bit emotional. He has some top players in the world and they should be doing a lot better than that. You would be sad if your team gets as clearly dominated by opponents who have been built on 10% of the budget."
9) Mourinho v Frank Rijkaard (February 2005)
After Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona, Mourinho accused the Barca coach of fraternising with the referee Anders Frisk during the interval.
Mourinho: "Rijkaard was in the referee's changing room with him for five minutes. I know because my assistants were at the door while the meeting was going on. Later I ran into the referee and I told him I was going to make a complaint about him to UEFA after what had happened in the changing room. Frisk told me to go ahead as it would be his word against mine. When I saw Rijkaard walk into the referee's changing room I just couldn't believe it and it was no surprise to me when Drogba was expelled."
Rijkaard: "There was a lot of talking before the game and now surprisingly there is a lot of talking after the game. It is not good behaviour after a match."
Mourinho: "My history as a manager cannot be compared with Frank Rijkaard’s history. He has zero trophies and I have a lot of them."
8) Mourinho v Benitez I (March 2005)
Mourinho was apoplectic after Luis Garcia's controversial goal in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at Anfield cost his side a place in the final.
Mourinho: "It was a goal from the moon. The linesman scored the goal. No one knows if that shot went over the line and you must be 100 per cent. I felt the power of Anfield, it was magnificent. I felt it didn't interfere with my players but maybe it interfered with the other people and maybe it interfered with the result. But you should ask the linesman why he gave the goal. The best team lost. After they scored only one team played, the other one just defended for the whole game."
Benitez: "I don't know whether it was a goal or not. But if the goal isn't given it could well be a red card for Petr Cech for the foul on Milan Baros, and a penalty."
7) Mourinho v Arsene Wenger (October 2005)
After Wenger answered questions about Chelsea's draw with Everton and subsequent Carling Cup defeat to Charlton, Mourinho took aim at the Frenchman.
Mourinho: "I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea. They need to work and try to improve. I don't know if he wants my job, I don't know. He loves Chelsea."
Wenger (on whether he would sue): "Have you seen the price of lawyers in England? They say 'Hello' and it's £100,000 before they shake your hand. I just wanted to see how it was perceived. I had to choose between my holidays and the case. I find in England that the law is very expensive frankly. Compared to France it looks, to me, unbelievable. I cannot see that statement to be malicious or vicious enough. For me the intention behind the statement is important. I came to the conclusion that it was not - I hope I am right - anything planned or malicious
6) Mourinho v Benitez II (April 2006)
Mourinho bridled at his side's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool.
Mourinho: "Did the best team win? I don't think so. In the Premiership Liverpool have no chance. "In a one-off game maybe they will surprise me and they can do it. In the Premiership the distance between the teams is 45 points over two seasons."
Benitez: "I always say that Abramovich has done a really good job at Chelsea That is the key."
Mourinho: "Liverpool are not a big team. To have not won the league for almost 15 years is not good enough."
5) Mourinho v Cristiano Ronaldo and Fergie (April 2007)
Frustrated at a goalless with Newcastle that left them three points adrift of Manchester United, Mourinho complained that unlike United, his side never gets penalties - to trigger of a spat with CR7.
Mourinho: "It is not possible [for] penalties [to be awarded] against Manchester United, and it is not possible [to get] penalties in favour of Chelsea. If somebody punishes me because I tell the truth, it is the end of democracy, we go back to the old times.
Ronaldo: "He always has to say something because he can't admit his failures. The whole world knows how Mourinho is. He always has something to say to gain attention, especially when he's not happy with the work of his players. He never recognises he is wrong."
Mourinho: "A player who wants to be the best in the world needs to behave well, to keep quiet and have sufficient honesty and maturity to verify that, against the facts that I have shown, there is no argument on his part. If he says that it is false that Manchester United have conceded penalties that were not given, it's lies. And if he is a liar he will never reach the highest level that he desires in football. It's not even a game between me and him. It's a game where a kid made some statements not showing maturity and respect. Maybe [it's his] education, difficult childhood, no education, maybe [it is] the consequence of that."
Ferguson: "It is really below the belt to bring class into it. Just because you come from a poor, working-class background does not mean you are not educated."
to be continued...
Jose Mourinho is the highest paid star in Italian football, according to new research
INTER MILAN manager Jose Mourinho is the highest paid star in Italian football, according to new research. The former Chelsea boss has become the first non-player to top the annual earnings chart, trumping the likes of AC Milan star Ronaldinho and Roma captain Francesco Totti. Figures published in the Italian press reveal The Special One earns a whopping £9.6million a season at the San Siro. In total, SIX of the highest paid footballers in Italy play for the Nerazzurri. You can view the eleven biggest earners in Serie A by clicking on the picture grid on the right.