January 18 – Jose Mourinho has broken his silence since being sacked by Manchester United last month after the club’s worst start in decades, saying he will return as a top-flight manager and that his legacy will be defined by his trophies.
In what appeared to be a clear swipe at Tottemham’s Mauricio Pochettino and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, who have been praised for producing attractive football but are still without an English trophy between them, Mourinho told beIN SPORTS where he been a pundit for the Asian Cup: “It’s very easy to ‘play well’ and not win.”
“If you speak about (Pep) Guardiola, if you speak about (Carlo) Ancelotti, about the ones where obviously I belong, who have a career of victories over a long period, where are the young ones with a real impact in terms of results? Where are they?”
“It’s very easy to be behind a certain idea of a certain football without results.”
The fact that interim United manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has won every game since Mourinho departed speaks volumes about how the Portuguese fell out with so many players but he is still clearly clinging to the delusion of being the self-styled Special One.
Those who hadn’t yet won anything, he appeared to suggest, were way below his standard.
“My wish is the ones that are starting, that are the beginning of their career, like I was a few years ago … I hope they transform their image and their reputation in results,” he said. “That’s what stays, that’s what stays forever and makes you belong to a certain level.”
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