Mourinho: “I never found me genius – at the beginning of my career I was more self -centered”

THE José Mourinho She is ready to return to the Champions League, having taken over her technical leadership Benficaeven facing his beloved Chelsea, in his first match in the event with the Lisbon team.

In an interview, “Special One” talked about his glittering career, the motivation he continues to have, but also about his development as a coach, stating that he was self -centered some years ago, but now he is a more altruist, putting his “ego” in second.

In detail what he said:



For his return to the Champions League with Benfica: “Those years when I didn’t play in the Champions League it was not bad, because I played in the Europa League and Conference League finals. Obviously, the Champions League is the biggest event, the organization with the most important clubs in Europe and, for me, it obviously means a lot, because if you win one is a dream for everyone, winning two is even better.

I was lucky in my career to train many giants. Real Madrid, Inter, Manchester United, Chelsea. Benfica is a giant. And in this sense, a giant club implies giant responsibilities, giant expectations. But it’s the kind of challenge I need ».

For his confrontation against Chelsea: “When I left Porto, my first European race as a coach in Chelsea was against Porto. While I trained Inter, I played thousands of times against Barcelona [όπου ήμουν βοηθός προπονητή]. As a coach of Fenerbahce I played with Manchester United, played with Benfica.

Stamford Bridge is a stadium where I won three championships. I wrote a story with Chelsea. Chelsea belongs to my story, I belong to Chelsea’s history. But this is football. They want to win, I want to win. I will realize where I am before the race, I will realize where I am after the race. During the race, I think I have the ability to forget and just fight ».

About the motivation it has: “If one day I feel less happy, when I wake up early in the morning to get to work, if one day I feel less happy about winning a game, if one day I feel less sad for a defeat, if something changes, then it will be like a red light that lights up.

I remember a Champions League game, Manchester United against Real Madrid, where I was in Real Madrid and Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. I was in his office before the game and asked him, “Sir Alex, does he ever change that – in terms of the tension and adrenaline we feel before such an important game?” He said: “No, it never changes. The same is up to the end.” It’s been more than ten years since then and my feelings don’t change »

For his development as a coach: “Today I am better than before. I think a coach is better after many experiences. The main difference I recognize in myself is the fact that maybe at first I was more self -centered and changed in a way that, I don’t know … I feel like I’m a more altruistic. I feel like I’m in football to help others rather than to help myself. I am here to help my players more than to think about what will happen in my life. I think more about the club, I think more of the joy of fans, more than me ».

For his reputation: “I never considered me a genius. A provocateur, maybe a little, but never the devil. Genius; When. Of course, I always felt that I had skills I developed to become a good coach, as many great players do.

There are struggles in my career that I felt I won, that it was because of me, because there are moments, decisions and strategies before or during the race that changed everything. But I never saw myself as a genius. I always felt part of the team and that players are more important than me, that I was there to help them. “.