José Mourinho

José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho (born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese football manager.

Mourinho in 2009

2003

• The only thing that is fuck you
  • [1]

2004

• If I wanted to have an easy job I would have stayed at Porto. Beautiful blue chair, the UEFA Champions League trophy, God, and after God, me.
  • [2]

• Please do not call me arrogant because what I'm saying is true: I’m European champion, so I’m not one out of the bottle; I think I’m a special one.
  • [3]

• I told Mr Ferguson that United didn't deserve to leave Stamford Bridge with nothing.
  • [4]

2005

• I understand why he [Alex Ferguson] is a bit emotional. He has some top players in the world and they should be doing a lot better than that... You would be sad if your team gets as clearly dominated by opponents who have been built on 10% of the budget.
  • [5]

2006

• For me, pressure is bird flu. I'm feeling a lot of pressure with the problem in Scotland. It's not fun and I'm more scared of it than football.
  • [6]

2008

• I am no longer Chelsea coach and I do not have to defend them any more, so I think it is correct if I say Drogba is a diver.
  • [7]

2010

• “It’s not important how we play. If you have a Ferrari and I have a small car, to beat you in a race I have to break your wheel or put sugar in your tank.”
  • [8]

• "We won the tie in Barcelona but everyone talks about Barcelona winning and says we parked the bus in front of the goal. We didn't park the bus, we parked the plane and we did it for two reasons. One, because we only had 10 men and two, because we beat them 3-1 at San Siro, not by parking the bus, or the boat or the airplane but by smashing them."
  • [9]

• What position is my wife in? Eighth, at least.
  • [10]

• Luis Fernández has made this shock [defeat of Barcelona] a war of dogs. I only talk about men, not of rude children.
  • [11]

• It is clear that I will end my career without having coached Barça.
  • [12]
• I am Jose Mourinho and I don't change. I arrive with all my qualities and my defects.
  • [13]

• If I am hated at Barcelona, it is their problem but not mine. Fear is not a word in my football dictionary.
  • [14]

• I am prepared. The more pressure there is, the stronger I am. In Portugal, we say the bigger the ship, the stronger the storm. Fortunately for me, I have always been in big ships. FC Porto was a very big ship in Portugal, Chelsea was also a big ship in England and Inter was a great ship in Italy. Now I'm at Real Madrid, which is considered the biggest ship on the planet.
  • [15]

• I know Madrid is a special club. Madrid is politics. Madrid is not about football, Madrid is not about sport, is about many things around.
  • [16]

2011

• He must really think I'm a great guy. He must think that, because otherwise He would not have given me so much. I have a great family. I work in a place where I've always dreamt of working. He has helped me out so much that He must have a very high opinion of me. [When asked by the Spanish radio network Cope what he believed God thought about him].
  • [17]
• We would have only lost if there were six Inter players left on the pitch.

• • [18]

2013

• I had just one problem with Cristiano, very simple, very basic and it's from a tactical aspect that I noticed, which I brought up in order to improve upon and make him better. And at that moment he didn't take it very well because maybe he thinks he knows everything and the coach cannot help him to develop more.
  • [19]

2018

• I read something, some quote from the worst manager in the history of the Premier League – Frank de Boer. What he was saying was not good for Marcus Rashford to have a coach like me, because the most important thing for me is to win. If he was coached by Frank he would lose because he lost every game. I try to give the best to the kid.
  • Mourinho hit back at Frank de Boer who criticised his handling of young striker Marcus Rashford. De Boer managed Crystal Palace in four Premier League games and lost them all.
  • Source: The Guardian, 12 March 2018

Manchester United

“Did you read any philosopher? Or in your formation did you never spend time reading, for example, Hegel? As an example, Hegel says, ‘The truth is in the whole’, it’s always in the whole that you find the truth.” [Having declared himself still one of the greatest managers in the world, Mourinho was asked if he could still lay claim to that title if he did not win the Premier League with United.]

• • [20]

Chelsea FC

• If they made a film of my life, I think they should get George Clooney to play me. He's a fantastic actor and my wife thinks he would be ideal.
  • [21]

• I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea. [about Arsene Wenger]
  • [22]

• I would say if all the names you wrote in the last few days are correct we would have a 50-player squad and I hate to work with big squads.
  • [23]

• It will be the strongest Champions League ever. Every shark will be there.
  • [24]

• As we say in Portugal, they brought the bus and they left the bus in front of the goal.
  • [25]

• It's like having a blanket that is too small for the bed. You pull the blanket up to keep your chest warm and your feet stick out. I cannot buy a bigger blanket because the supermarket is closed. But the blanket is made of cashmere! [During a Chelsea injury crisis].
  • [26]

• Young players are a little bit like melons. Only when you open and taste the melon are you 100% sure that the melon is good.[27]

• The style of how we play is very important. But it is omelettes and eggs. No eggs - no omelettes! It depends on the quality of the eggs. In the supermarket you have class one, two or class three eggs and some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem.
  • [28]

• Sometimes you see beautiful people with no brains. Sometimes you have ugly people who are intelligent, like scientists. Our pitch is a bit like that. From the top it's a disgrace but the ball rolls at normal speed.
  • [29]

• Maybe the guy drank red wine or beer with breakfast instead of milk. [After a Sheffield United fan threw a bottle at Frank Lampard]
  • [30]

• A player from Man City showed half of his ass for two seconds and it was a big nightmare. But this is a real nightmare.[Comparing Petr Cech's nasty injury with Joey Barton's bottom-baring antics.]
  • [31]

• My wife is in Portugal with the dog. The dog is with my wife so the city of London is safe, the big threat is away. [After his Yorkshire Terrier had issues with customs.]
  • [32]

• A brilliant reaction. I hate it when players just walk off. [Following Arjen Robben's sharp exit down the tunnel after being substituted against Aston Villa.]
  • [33]

• As you know Gallas had an unbelievable holiday. I hope he enjoyed it very much in Guadeloupe, which I think is a fantastic place to be on holiday, so he wanted to stay there for a long time."[On William Gallas missing the first team's trip to the United States because he was on holiday.]
  • [34]

• Look at my haircut. I am ready for the war.
  • [35]

• I did it because I want to push my son to do the same. I also did it because I want to push the young players on my team to have a proper haircut, not the Rastafarian or the others they have.
  • [36]

• When I saw Rijkaard entering the referee's dressing room I couldn't believe it. When Drogba was sent off I didn't get surprised.
  • [37]

• During the afternoon it rained only in this stadium - our kitman saw it. There must be a micro-climate here. The pitch was like a swimming pool. **[38]

• Zeru tituli
  • [39]

• I studied Italian five hours a day for many months to ensure I could communicate with the players, media and fans. [Claudio] Ranieri had been in England for five years and still struggled to say ‘good morning’ and ‘good afternoon.'
  • [40]

• As for Lo Monaco I do not know who he is. With the name Monaco I have heard of Bayern Monaco (Munich) and the Monaco GP, the Tibetan Monaco (Monk), and the Principality of Monaco. I have never heard of any others.
  • [41]

• The style of how we play is very important. But it is omelettes and eggs. No eggs - no omelettes! It depends on the quality of the eggs. In the supermarket you have class one, two or class three eggs and some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem.
  • [42]

• This is nothing against Sir Alex whatsoever. After the game on Wednesday we were together in my office and we spoke and drank wine. Unfortunately it was a very bad bottle of wine and he was complaining, so when we go to Old Trafford for the second leg, on my birthday, I will take a beautiful bottle of Portuguese wine.
  • [43]

Doctorate Honoris Causa degree award (23 March 2009)

Translated from Portuguese quotations in "FC Porto foi a melhor equipa que já treinei", expresso.sapo.pt, 23 March 2009

• "If FC Porto was a club of a country with another economical power, it could have done a striking season in Europe. That team was the best I have ever coached. It was destroyed due to economical factors."
• "I was more influenced by Barça's philosophy than by any other coach. They were four years of my life absolutely fundamental."
• "I went out with frustration, it was the beginning of my career and it was a great opportunity. It was a marking point because I showed to myself that I wasn't afraid of the risks. I sent a message to myself for not having fear of the future and for not losing my identity."
• "I don't want to be, and it isn't part of my personality. I'm still going to be the same until I was today but with more responsibilities."
• "I confess that it isn't easy to enter on football with the name of someone who is already in football. I feel that with my own son. He already lives under the pressure of being a son of mine. For that I admire Rui Águas and Maldini, who managed to live with the weight of that pressure, and already did a lot."
• "The world is so competitive, aggressive, consumive, selfish and during the time we spend here we must be all but that."
• "We want to follow a dream, yes it's true, but it's one thing to follow a dream and another to follow an obsession...A dream is more pure than obsession. A dream is about pride."