This write up is one of the most difficult so far because of the personality involved, Jose Mourinho as many know isn't a man of few
words. So far so good, this is his first press conference on his
prodigal return to Stamford Bridge. His interview was on for about
50minutes with his Unveiling such as that of a Box Office Block Buster
Premiere. At Stamford Bridge 250 journalists and 40 TV crew where there
present and he came late.
When asked if he was still the special one, he stated:
I am the happy
one. Time flies, it looks like it was a couple of days ago but it was
nine years ago when I first became manager and since then a lot of
things happened in my professional life. I have the same nature, I am the same person, I have the same heart and
the same kind of emotions related to my passion for football and my
job, but of course I am a different person. If I have to describe myself, I would describe myself as a very happy
person. It is the first time I arrive in a club where I already love the
club, before I had to build an emotional relationship and I only came
to love the club a little later.
When asked on whether he can be more successful, he said:
I want to believe it is possible, I always trust my work. In this case I know many people who belong to the club and I know the type of mentality and ambition people have. My career has been built and raised on success. In every club, I was
able to achieve success and win trophies and leave different types of
legacy. I have to believe in that. The club is more important than ourselves. If we work well, normally success arrives.
When asked about his relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, Mourinho said:
I read that I was fired and we had a complete breakdown in
relationship, that was not true. At the time we thought it was the best
for both of us, one of points for me is my relationship with the owner has to be
private. What is discussed has to be private, That privacy is
crucial. I didn't choose a comfortable position because I'm returning to a
house where I was happy and successful and where fans loved me. I'm
coming from the opposite way. The expectations are higher because people
know what I can deliver. I want to be respected for achievements in the past but I want to respected for what I achieve now.
Mourinho also revealed he'll prefer to be reffered to as 'the
happy one'. He said,
I'm very happy, I spent two years at Inter and three at
Madrid, five years in a managerial career is a long time. Football is an
industry where you learn a lot of yourself and learn a lot every day.
On his plans for the Chelsea squad, he said:
There are still a
few boys from my previous time here, which is always good to go back and
see these people who gave me absolutely everything. There's no privilege for them, they know my nature as a manger and they don't have any advantage over other people. There is a group of boys that Chelsea did very well to get in these
past years and I will be more than happy to work with them and improve
them.
Finally! I return as a Chelsea fan. I now have a reason to compulsorily
watch at least 38 premier league matches every season, he said.
Correspondent: Udom Olusegun ( @Skiigii )