Not only is he one of the most successful coaches in the history of the Champions League, with two titles (Porto, Inter), but he is also one of the most interesting coaches when it comes to media coverage. Jose Mourinho is indeed a ’special one’, which is the nickname he gave to himself, and the press loves it. He always has interesting quotes and statements and has a chance to take a dig at some clubs, managers, players, and even his own executives, and if he gives a big interview, it always has interesting parts.Mourinho takes a cheeky swipe at Roma for not signing a strikerAhead of the new season in Serie A, Roma’s coach spoke to Corriere Dello Sport and talked about Saudi Arabia offers, his status in Rome, his relationship with the management of Roma, but also with Chelsea, young players and the absence of a striker. We are witnessing a strong offence of the Saudi Arabia clubs, who are running around and targeting various players and coaches, and it’s no wonder that Mourinho was one of the contacted persons.“Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli. Yes. Before going to the meeting, I informed the owners, clarifying that I had no intention of accepting. At home I said exactly the same thing. On the one hand, I felt like a prisoner of the word given to the players in Budapest and to the fans after Spezia. But if you ask me if I didn’t accept just for this reason, I’d answer no, not just for this” said the Portuguese, who added that this was not a definitive rejection, which means in future, he could decide to go there, or to another top club, as he looks at Carlo Ancelotti’s example. The Italian was a coach in Everton when he moved to Madrid and won the Champions League.’Mourinho 2026′ project is in the works, Roma wants to keep him long-termSo, since he decided to stay, he has to deal with big issues, like financial problem and FFP rules, which doesn’t allow Roma to spend much in the transfer market. And he is desperately short on one striker since Tammy Abraham is ruled out due to a serious injury. Mourinho joked about this situation by posting a photo where he is hugging the imagined striker, which should have arrived already.“After Tammy’s injury, we are in a situation that no coach in the world would like. It is impossible for me to say that I am happy. But to say that I’m in open war with the club, with Pinto, that I’m not happy, is very wrong. Pinto knows we’re late, even the owners know it. The photo with the imaginary striker was made for laughs. With regard to the imaginary striker, I can tell you that even if Mbappé arrives next week, he will still be late. This is to say that after 28 days of work, 31 training sessions and 6 games, 37 sessions in all, plus tactical analysis meetings and more, not having a striker is a problem. By the way, don’t mess with Belotti, he will stay and have a much more productive season. Twenty years ago, I would have screwed up, twenty years ago I would have been p*ssed off. From my first Chelsea experience, I left because I was really at war with a sports director. I didn’t like it, I had no relationship, the transfer market was a disaster, it was 2008. Today we are in 2023 and I am someone else” explained Mourinho.Mourinho gets a four-match ban for ranting at Taylor after the UEL finalThe former Chelsea coach then explained he had changed as a person and that he took Roma, a team which is a growing project, rather than some big club in which you need to win now, as he used to in the past.“I signed for Roma because when I met the Friedkins I really liked their way of speaking. Those words touched me deeply, I needed this. ‘We think you are the right person to help us make Roma a bigger club,’ they added. I liked the prospect of a different project, a three-year contract, progressive growth, something I had never previously considered. For example, the many young players I gave their debut, young players who have grown up with me in these two years. When you work for a club like Real Madrid, Manchester, Chelsea, if you launch one young player a season you’ve already done your best. At this stage of my career, I needed stability, I felt that something in me had changed. Before I wanted and had to arrive, do, move, I lived in a state of constant restlessness. I was in one place, doing my job, winning and going further, I wanted to go and win somewhere else” admitted Mourinho.Always in conflct with referees (©AFP)The Portuguese have a history of ’contacts’ with the referees, especially in Italy, where he already served bans, since he behaved unproperly and after a loss in the Europa League final against Seville, he got a four-game bane from UEFA for abusive language toward referee Anthony Taylor.“If we do UEFA here and Italy there, I feel much better when I talk about UEFA and less about Italy. In Italy I felt attacked, they violated my freedom as a man, my freedom as a footballer, my freedom not as a great coach, because in these situations there are no big or small coaches, we are all men. I no longer feel comfortable here. I’m afraid of receiving more bans, I’m afraid of having to go back to hearing everything I’ve heard or read in these two years. If you tell me Jose, let’s talk about Budapest, I’m in. But if you ask me to talk about Italy, about political defeats, about the opinions expressed by the people and also about the offenses received, it disturbs me. I said fear, perhaps fear is too much, annoyance is better. I think that, at an institutional level, they should have treated me differently, as a man with great international experience, one who coached in England, in Spain” said Mourinho.##NAJAVA_MECA_7409955##
