Liverpool FC Forum

[LFC #1]

he's getting very cocky b4 the draw today.

From Soccernet.com


Mourinho: Bring on Barca


Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, never one to shy away from a challenge, declared this evening he wants to face his old club Barcelona in the Champions League.

Mourinho: Wants Barcelona clash. (ChristopherLee/GettyImages)

Barcelona top the Spanish league and with Ronaldinho weaving his magic at the Nou Camp, they are one of the sides most teams would want to avoid when the draw is made tomorrow lunchtime.


But not Mourinho. For the Portuguese coach, who won the Champions League with Porto last season before moving to Chelsea, it is against the biggest names that reputations are made and points proven.

Mourinho was an assistant coach at Barcelona before beginning his rise to the top of the tree and it is almost as if he cannot bear his old club, rather than Chelsea, being considered the best in Europe.

'For emotional reasons and because everyone says they are the best in Europe at the moment, I would like to play Barcelona,' said Mourinho.

'In football, top people are never scared. We always want to play against the big teams, the big managers, players always want to play big players. We always want these things for our careers.'

Chelsea will avoid all fellow group winners including the likes of Juventus - 'I don't like to play Italians,' he said - and will be drawn against one of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, PSV Eindhoven.

'There are a group of five fantastic teams. All five will be difficult,' he said at the launch of his autobiography, `Jose Mourinho - Made in Portugal'.

In it, Mourinho describes how Liverpool missed out signing him last season because they failed to make a direct approach.

He was approached by an agent and a secret meeting had been set up that Mourinho rejected to concentrate on Porto's Champions League game against Manchester United.

'I went to Manchester to play a game, not to think about the future. The second part is that at that time I was surrounded by dozens of agents. I didn't know who was speaking truth. I was very confused,' he said tonight.

'The reason Chelsea jumped in front of everybody was because they were open and direct and went directly to me. My passion, my heart spoke well. I couldn't be happier than at Chelsea. If my future can be in England and Chelsea after my current contract I will be very happy.'

Mourinho sensed ahead of that Champions League tie against Manchester United that Sir Alex Ferguson felt his side would be beaten - and so it proved, sparking Mourinho's famous touchline celebration.

The Chelsea boss has detected a similar nervousness emanating from Old Trafford this season as United struggle nine points off the top of the table.

Mourinho believes his new side, sitting proudly on top of the table and with a home game against struggling Norwich at the weekend, have cast the same spell over Ferguson.

'At that time, because he is a top manager in the world and intelligent, experienced, he felt and he smelt that `Porto can beat us',' recalled Mourinho.

'Today I think he understands he has a great team, great players, and he can still fight for the championship because nine points in the Premiership is not too much.

'But at the same time he knows we are strong, we play well, we have ambition and we have attitude and it will be difficult to catch us.'

All Mourinho's earnings from sales of his book in Britain will be sent to a charitable foundation in Portugal.

'When I thought about the book in Portugal it was to try and show people what I was. I am a different person and a different manager,' he said.

'After reading this book people who like me, will like me even more. But the people who don't like me will hate me'.

[Ciggy]

Hes a very good manager but he would have been no use to Liverpool had he signed, he would have resigned already with our current form, cause his ego is bigger than chelseas bank account, he thinks hes gorgeus and I hate that attitude from him and the likes of Drogba they think they are Jesus christ himself

[andy_g]

mourinho rejected liverpool?

GOOD!

[azriahmad]

He appears as an arrogant person but Sir Bobby Robson does not think so but rather he is a direct person.

Whatever - the fact remains that he is a very intelligent coach/manager and has achieved a lot for a 41-year old coach with the CL and the UEFA Cup back to back. His Chelsea is a very hard team to score against. They are outwardly defensive as this is his preferred style of play.

I hope we get to beat his Chelski to a major honour in the neat future. We can't match Chelsea at the moment, but hopefully, this day will come.

[stmichael]

I hope we get to beat his Chelski to a major honour in the neat future.

the likelihood is we'll be playing them in the carling cup final. and forget all this talk of it "only being the carling cup". mourihno's taking it dead seriously and they'll be no chance of either team playing a weakened team if the game came about.

it'll be interesting to see what happens what happens if chelsea somehow win nothing this season. judging by how they treated ranieiri, mourihno should be sacked.

[azriahmad]

St. Mick, as much as most of us don't like Maurinho, you can't deny that he has actually strengthen them since arriving. They are now tactically better not to mention appear to have a great team spirit with all of them trying very hard in games. Maurinho is not an easy one to please. Remember his criticism of Joe Cole who scored the winning goal (against Liverpool if I am not mistaken) when he said that Cole showed his pterry side when he scored but then showed his ugly side when he did not do enough to help in the defending chores.

This is the thing about these young coaches like Maurinho and also Benithez - they expect their player to play to the system and also do their bit to defend. Very sophisticated, methodical and intelligent.

Some of us haven't taken to Benithez but I really admire him for his achievements in La Liga and I believe we have progressed with a team that is passing much better. We lack the killer touch and our many of the players do not have the quality on the ball like all of the Chelski. This is the main difference. I think Benithez will simillarly improve Chelsea if he were their coach compared to Raneiri.

If I were Abrahomovic, I won't sack him if he fails to win anything in his first year as long as his team show improvements on the playing side, which they have compared to last season.