CHELSEA NEWS
José Mourinho relishes return to
Chelsea and beloved Premier League
The Portuguese manager says he missed the
mentality of English football and predicts a title win
within two years
Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge
There was a moment, away from all the cameras,
when José Mourinho could sit down and try to put
into words what has changed at the age of 50. "More
grey hair," he began. Then he reached into the inside
pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a pair of
reading glasses. "And these …"
The new José, he told us. Older, wiser. Less
confrontational, more clued-up . "Humble" was the
word he used. Well, until the moment he was
reminded of the time, at one of his first Chelsea press
conferences, he had lifted his hand above his head to
show approximately where he regarded his own ego.
Did he still feel the same? "Of course," he replied,
and for the first time he cracked a smile. "I'm still
very confident. But, at the same time, I'm more
stable, more mature. If I was a proud guy because of
what I did before, now I've done more. I've been at
Inter Milan, Real Madrid, I've won titles. The only
thing that affects me is the glasses, man. After that,
I'm happier than ever."
That was one of the 18 times the soft-focus, best-
behaviour Mourinho used the word "stable" or
"stability". And if you didn't know the man, you
might have wondered why Chelsea had received
more press applications than for a single match at
Stamford Bridge last season . It might have passed
you by that, a couple of months before Roman
Abramovich moved him out in 2007, Mourinho had
gone for the same line about "mellow Mourinho". Or
that the reason Manchester United and Manchester
City overlooked him was because he could not
guarantee the one thing he now promised: stability.
The only flicker of irritation came afterwards, having
left the bedlam of the Harris Suite, when it was
pointed out to him that the man he had just
described was not the guy we had seen at Madrid.
You remember the one: the manager who poked Tito
Vilanova in the eye , the acrimony with the Spanish
media, the breakdown in his relations with all those
modern-day galacticos and, finally, the long, drawn-
out break-up.
Mourinho took that to mean a specific reference to
Iker Casillas. "A football decision, nothing else," he
said. "The same decision Sir Alex [Ferguson] made
by leaving Wayne Rooney on the bench when they
played Madrid in the Champions League. The same
thing for me to leave [Marco] Materazzi on the
bench when he was a God at Inter – decisions that
every manager makes around the world, based on
meritocracy. After that, I can sleep at night.
"But the Real Madrid captain … that was a problem
for the media. For them, a meritocracy doesn't exist.
Some guys are untouchable. They can be injured for
three months but, when they're back, there's no
respect for the other guy who has come in. The
goalkeeper [Diego López] played more than 20
matches in three months. Real won at Old Trafford
because that goalkeeper was man of the match. But
people wanted Casillas back after three months out,
with two training sessions. That was it. They wanted
him back. Like that [swats his hand]."
Point made. The Happy One, as he wanted to be
known, glossed over the fact his fallouts at the
Bernabéu were not just restricted to Casillas. But he
still had that disarming knack, as implausible as
some of it was (there was never a fallout with
Abramovich, apparently), of sounding like he
believed every word.
He mentioned being "happy" that Arsène Wenger
was still around, but it did not carry the read-
between-the-lines mischief of old. As for David Moyes
and Manuel Pellegrini, there were kind, supportive
words – "good decisions, good decisions" – and only a
passing reference to the fact Moyes had never
managed in the Champions League "so people can't
expect him to be a fish in water". Mourinho, of
course, has managed "I think, 108 matches" at that
level.
On Chelsea, he said he would not talk about Rafael
Benítez's time in charge. That, too, wavered a little
with his assessment of the squad. "Europa League
winners can be analysed in two ways. One way: you
won it. The other way: why did you win it? You won
it because you didn't get through the group phase of
the Champions League. You don't have teams like
Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League …"
What is clear is that he fits more snugly into English
football than its Spanish counterpart. "I don't enjoy
too much winning 6-0. I don't enjoy a league where
you are against one team and it is about 90 points,
92 points, 96 points, 100 points; 100 goals, 110 goals,
120 goals. The number of points Barcelona got last
season, finishing second, they would win every other
league with this number. The same with Real this
season.
"It's a two-horse race, and that is a big difference
with English football. But also, I missed the
mentality of the 90 minutes in England, pushing
everybody to the maximum, playing the extra
competition [the Capital One Cup], 60 matches, 70
matches, three matches in a row, the Christmas
period, the Easter period. Fantastic.
"I'm not saying it's right, I just love it. Sometimes
you love things that aren't right. But would I prefer
to have a week's holiday in Christmas? I went to
New York two years ago, last year Brazil. But I'd
prefer to play. I was envious at home, watching the
Premier League. Envy. Total envy. Is it right playing
four consecutive matches? Probably not. But I love
it."
This was the point at which he was asked how the
Premier League compared now to his previous stint.
"In terms of quality, I don't think it's better. In terms
of quality, we all have to work together to raise the
level. But in terms of competitiveness, it's harder.
"Last time, everyone knew it would be between
Chelsea, United and Arsenal. Now City have appeared
with this fantastic economical power. Tottenham had
a very good period with Harry [Redknapp], reaching
fourth spot, playing Champions League, going up and
up and up. André [Villas-Boas] did a good job and
they have conditions to fight for the Premier League,
not just a Champions League spot. And Liverpool. I
know Brendan [Rodgers] and I know he can do it. I
know his ideas, his project, and Liverpool will go up,
too. So there are six teams. Who's going to be first,
who's going to be sixth? I don't know."
And therein lies the problem. What happens if
Chelsea finish second or worse when, historically,
that tends to mean one thing with Abramovich: the
sack? "I don't need anybody to push me to have that
ambition [winning the title]. I've enough motivation
and self-esteem myself, enough desire to do it. But if
we don't do it, yet show we're moving in the right
direction, I think we'll be champions in the second
season. I don't think it's a drama. I'd expect to be
here to win it in that second season. Of course."
Chelsea and beloved Premier League
The Portuguese manager says he missed the
mentality of English football and predicts a title win
within two years
Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge
There was a moment, away from all the cameras,
when José Mourinho could sit down and try to put
into words what has changed at the age of 50. "More
grey hair," he began. Then he reached into the inside
pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a pair of
reading glasses. "And these …"
The new José, he told us. Older, wiser. Less
confrontational, more clued-up . "Humble" was the
word he used. Well, until the moment he was
reminded of the time, at one of his first Chelsea press
conferences, he had lifted his hand above his head to
show approximately where he regarded his own ego.
Did he still feel the same? "Of course," he replied,
and for the first time he cracked a smile. "I'm still
very confident. But, at the same time, I'm more
stable, more mature. If I was a proud guy because of
what I did before, now I've done more. I've been at
Inter Milan, Real Madrid, I've won titles. The only
thing that affects me is the glasses, man. After that,
I'm happier than ever."
That was one of the 18 times the soft-focus, best-
behaviour Mourinho used the word "stable" or
"stability". And if you didn't know the man, you
might have wondered why Chelsea had received
more press applications than for a single match at
Stamford Bridge last season . It might have passed
you by that, a couple of months before Roman
Abramovich moved him out in 2007, Mourinho had
gone for the same line about "mellow Mourinho". Or
that the reason Manchester United and Manchester
City overlooked him was because he could not
guarantee the one thing he now promised: stability.
The only flicker of irritation came afterwards, having
left the bedlam of the Harris Suite, when it was
pointed out to him that the man he had just
described was not the guy we had seen at Madrid.
You remember the one: the manager who poked Tito
Vilanova in the eye , the acrimony with the Spanish
media, the breakdown in his relations with all those
modern-day galacticos and, finally, the long, drawn-
out break-up.
Mourinho took that to mean a specific reference to
Iker Casillas. "A football decision, nothing else," he
said. "The same decision Sir Alex [Ferguson] made
by leaving Wayne Rooney on the bench when they
played Madrid in the Champions League. The same
thing for me to leave [Marco] Materazzi on the
bench when he was a God at Inter – decisions that
every manager makes around the world, based on
meritocracy. After that, I can sleep at night.
"But the Real Madrid captain … that was a problem
for the media. For them, a meritocracy doesn't exist.
Some guys are untouchable. They can be injured for
three months but, when they're back, there's no
respect for the other guy who has come in. The
goalkeeper [Diego López] played more than 20
matches in three months. Real won at Old Trafford
because that goalkeeper was man of the match. But
people wanted Casillas back after three months out,
with two training sessions. That was it. They wanted
him back. Like that [swats his hand]."
Point made. The Happy One, as he wanted to be
known, glossed over the fact his fallouts at the
Bernabéu were not just restricted to Casillas. But he
still had that disarming knack, as implausible as
some of it was (there was never a fallout with
Abramovich, apparently), of sounding like he
believed every word.
He mentioned being "happy" that Arsène Wenger
was still around, but it did not carry the read-
between-the-lines mischief of old. As for David Moyes
and Manuel Pellegrini, there were kind, supportive
words – "good decisions, good decisions" – and only a
passing reference to the fact Moyes had never
managed in the Champions League "so people can't
expect him to be a fish in water". Mourinho, of
course, has managed "I think, 108 matches" at that
level.
On Chelsea, he said he would not talk about Rafael
Benítez's time in charge. That, too, wavered a little
with his assessment of the squad. "Europa League
winners can be analysed in two ways. One way: you
won it. The other way: why did you win it? You won
it because you didn't get through the group phase of
the Champions League. You don't have teams like
Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League …"
What is clear is that he fits more snugly into English
football than its Spanish counterpart. "I don't enjoy
too much winning 6-0. I don't enjoy a league where
you are against one team and it is about 90 points,
92 points, 96 points, 100 points; 100 goals, 110 goals,
120 goals. The number of points Barcelona got last
season, finishing second, they would win every other
league with this number. The same with Real this
season.
"It's a two-horse race, and that is a big difference
with English football. But also, I missed the
mentality of the 90 minutes in England, pushing
everybody to the maximum, playing the extra
competition [the Capital One Cup], 60 matches, 70
matches, three matches in a row, the Christmas
period, the Easter period. Fantastic.
"I'm not saying it's right, I just love it. Sometimes
you love things that aren't right. But would I prefer
to have a week's holiday in Christmas? I went to
New York two years ago, last year Brazil. But I'd
prefer to play. I was envious at home, watching the
Premier League. Envy. Total envy. Is it right playing
four consecutive matches? Probably not. But I love
it."
This was the point at which he was asked how the
Premier League compared now to his previous stint.
"In terms of quality, I don't think it's better. In terms
of quality, we all have to work together to raise the
level. But in terms of competitiveness, it's harder.
"Last time, everyone knew it would be between
Chelsea, United and Arsenal. Now City have appeared
with this fantastic economical power. Tottenham had
a very good period with Harry [Redknapp], reaching
fourth spot, playing Champions League, going up and
up and up. André [Villas-Boas] did a good job and
they have conditions to fight for the Premier League,
not just a Champions League spot. And Liverpool. I
know Brendan [Rodgers] and I know he can do it. I
know his ideas, his project, and Liverpool will go up,
too. So there are six teams. Who's going to be first,
who's going to be sixth? I don't know."
And therein lies the problem. What happens if
Chelsea finish second or worse when, historically,
that tends to mean one thing with Abramovich: the
sack? "I don't need anybody to push me to have that
ambition [winning the title]. I've enough motivation
and self-esteem myself, enough desire to do it. But if
we don't do it, yet show we're moving in the right
direction, I think we'll be champions in the second
season. I don't think it's a drama. I'd expect to be
here to win it in that second season. Of course."
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