World Cup qual. - Mourinho 'considered England''

Eurosport - Tue, 07 Oct 18:02:00 2008

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted he considered being England coach and also turned down an approach from Portugal to succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari in the summer.

FOOTBALL 2008/09 Serie A Inter Mourinho - 0

The Internazionale boss was one of the bookmakers' favourites to take over after Steve McClaren was sacked following England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

He was out of work at the time having left Chelsea in September last year but decided he wanted to remain in club management.

"In a certain moment I considered being England national manager, first of all because I was in love with the football country and with England - I was also happy there - and secondly because if you have one country where the prestige of the national team manager is huge, it is England," he said.

"But at the same time my passion for the day-by-day work, my passion to train every day, my desire to play every week and if possible more than one game a week, this is my life. That's the life I want to have."

That is one of the reasons why he also turned down his native Portugal when they approached him about succeeding Chelsea-bound Scolari - a job which was later taken by former Manchester United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz.

"I always had in my career project the Portuguese national team job as one of the last moments of my career but they tried to press me to do it early," Mourinho told FeelFootball.

"Sometimes you have to jump out of this road you built - but they understand that I cannot do it now.

"But I want to have the experience of coaching my country one day. I would like to make my family very proud, and I'm sure one day they will be very proud when I become Portuguese national manager.

"I [prefer] club [over country] because at this moment I'm a club manager and it's the kind of job I enjoy.

"The national team job is not the kind of job that motivates me - it's a completely different profile."

Sporting Life / Eurosport

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  1. Sorry Ray s, i've agreed with many of your cricket­ points in the past, (if it's the same Ray s) but­ you're plainly miles off with this­ one....Jose's record is simply impeccable and would­ better ANYBODY currently managing in world football,­ (apart from AF's, obviously) he certainly shot from­ the hip and was arrogant to say the least, but i'd­ much rather that than listen to Benitez or David Moyes­ every week!! He WAS approached about the England job­ but turned it down, rest assured the F.A would have­ bitten his hand off somewhere near his elbow joint if­ he had shown the slightest interest, and rightly so.­ Also (as a Chelsea fan) can i correct you about his­ sacking by Abramovich, he was fired because of his­ side's style of play, NOT because of him speaking­ his mind, which he often did and Abramovich was well­ aware of his arrogance long before he employed­ him....What was it Muhammad Ali once said??­ "There's nothing wrong with having a big­ mouth, so long as you can back it up!!" The­ defence rests......

    From melaniepoynton, on Wed 8 Oct 12:26AM
  2. hey mr tony c, do u know anything about football? i­ dont think so because if u do u wouldnt say Jose­ Mourinho didnt win nothing at chelsea

    From smithr78, on Wed 8 Oct 12:14AM
  3. I respect this fellow for his vision! wish him all the­ best in his future career.

    From mohamed, on Wed 8 Oct 12:06AM
  4. Jose the best.

    From mohamed, on Wed 8 Oct 12:05AM
  5. nowhere does it say he was actually offered it,none­ story from a braggard

    From anthony d, on Wed 8 Oct 12:01AM
  6. No way he would have only put more Chelski muppets in­ the side!!
    And any way what did he win at Chelski­ nothing!!

    From tc, on Tue 7 Oct 11:59PM
  7. Sure, he considered it but then he realized that he­ wouldn't be getting a blanj cheque to sign­ whichever player he wants and manage the team. Mourinho­ can NEVER be a national coach of any country for that­ matter, he can only work with rich clubs.

    From Ranjit, on Tue 7 Oct 11:56PM
  8. Well,jose is a manager to rechon with,at his age,with­ lots of achievement?let count how many manager achieved­ what he had now.He's got the redical approach to­ his ability
    .that is Jose.I need not compare him with­ the great ALEX and others.Am not his fan but i love all­ he brought to football in england.

    From fredeeeej, on Tue 7 Oct 11:51PM
  9. Jose you are a great manager and a great character. one­ thing here is that people here hate the truth and­ challenge. don't mind those fools that don't­ know ur worth. Because of u premier leguea is­ interested, because of u billionairea want to buy club­ in England, because of you CHELSEA is one of the best,­ big and richest club in Europe. Thank God u did not­ take the England job. even though u will surely succeed­ if u had. We "CHelsea" fans are wishing u­ well and we are enjoying our foothball with our new­ coach. he is also great like u. Please do us proud and­ shame the enemies if suceess. Goodluck

    From CHELSONKENNEDY, on Tue 7 Oct 11:51PM
  10. Some people allow emotion or personal prejudice to­ overcome their sense of judgement. One fact still­ remain that Jose is the best irrespective of any­ personal differences anybody may have against him. I­ mean we have to call a spade a spade this guy may talk­ too much but he is good. May be some people should try­ to know that we are interested in results; we are less­ bother by how you get it. Jose has gotten results in­ Portugal and England. Like somebody said only a fool­ will bet against Jose not having results in Italy with­ Inter Milan. Whether he has big mouth or small mouth or­ tiny mouth his results and achievements speak for him.­ I wish him all the best of luck in Inter Milan.

    From akinola, on Tue 7 Oct 11:42PM
  11. Some people allow emotion or personal prejudice to­ overcome their sense of judgement. One fact still­ remain that Jose is the best irrespective of any­ personal differences anybody may have against him. I­ mean we have to call a spade a spade this guy may talk­ too much but he is good. May be some people should try­ to know that we are interested in results; we are less­ bother by how you get it. Jose has gotten results in­ Portugal and England. Like somebody said only a fool­ will bet against Jose not having results in Italy with­ Inter Milan. Whether he has big mouth or small mouth or­ tiny mouth his results and achievements speak for him.­ I wish him all the best of luck in Inter Milan.

    From akinola, on Tue 7 Oct 11:40PM
  12. Thankfully he only thought about it, and thankfully the­ FA did FA to persuade him. Can you imagin the size of­ his head if he had been put in charge, and the absolute­ drivel that would have come out of his mouth,­ constantly.I don't think I could have listened to­ all of his big-headed cenre of attraction rubbish.
    The­ guy is all talk, he has met his match at Inter Milan­ and he can expect little sympathy there if they do not­ win their league.
    If he had just got on with his job at­ Chelski, and kept his big mouth closed there is a­ chance that he might still have been there today, but­ the temptation was too great, motormouth but no brain.­ Still he made a few bob and at the end of the season he­ will retire somewhere for a little while before the big­ mouth opens up again.
    Jose, if you thought a bit less­ of yourself and a bit more about your responsibilities­ you might be tolerated.

    From Ray S, on Tue 7 Oct 11:22PM
  13. Thankfully he only thought about it, and thankfully the­ FA did FA to persuade him. Can you imagin the size of­ his head if he had been put in charge, and the absolute­ drivel that would have come out of his mouth,­ constantly.I don't think I could have listened to­ all of his big-headed cenre of attraction rubbish.
    The­ guy is all talk, he has met his match at Inter Milan­ and he can expect little sympathy there if they do not­ win their league.
    If he had just got on with his job at­ Chelski, and kept his big mouth closed there is a­ chance that he might still have been there today, but­ the temptation was too great, motormouth but no brain.­ Still he made a few bob and at the end of the season he­ will retire somewhere for a little while before the big­ mouth

    From Ray S, on Tue 7 Oct 11:20PM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Thankfully he only thought about it, and thankfully the­ FA did FA to persuade him. Can you imagin the size of­ his head if he had been put in charge, and the absolute­ drivel that would have come out of his mouth,­ constantly.I don't think I could have listened to­ all of his big-headed cenre of attraction rubbish.
    The­ guy is all talk, he has met his match at Inter Milan­ and he can expect little sympathy there if they do not­ win their league.
    If he had just got on with his job at­ Chelski, and kept his big mouth closed there is a­ chance that he might still have been there today, but­ the temptation was too great, motormouth but no brain.­ Still he made a few bob and at the end of the season he­ will retire somewhere for a little while before the big­ mouth

    From Ray S, on Tue 7 Oct 11:20PM
  15. JOS said NO to the ENGLAND job.............thank­ god!!!!

    Ssir Alex would be my choice once he leaves­ UTD!!

    A miserable git but boy is he a hell of a­ MANAGER!!!

    He is what ENGLAND needs!!

    He'd sort­ out the MEN from the BOYS!!!!

    ENGLAND has too many­ players who are soft!!

    Sir Alex can spot players like­ that!!!!

    I'm a LFC fan, so that says ALOT about­ Sir Alex!!!

    HATE his guts but he is the MAN to sort­ ENGLAND out!!!!

    From Richie, on Tue 7 Oct 11:17PM
  16. JOSE WAS COOL

    From jasonbyrne69, on Tue 7 Oct 11:08PM
  17. Oh boy!!3 MONTHS IN ITALY AND IS ALREADY CRYING !!HE­ KEEPS TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF HAS ALWAYS AND IS STARTING­ TO REALIZE IN ITALY YOU HAVE TO WIN AND SHUT UP!!I­ THINK THE LEAGUE IS MUCH BETTER WITHOUT THIS MOANRINHO­ WE JUST WANT TO WATCH GOOD FOOTBALL AND THATS IT!!IS­ PEOPLE LIKE HIM WHO DESTROYED OUR NATIONAL TEAM !!STAY­ THERE AND DONT COME BACK

    From anna, on Tue 7 Oct 11:04PM
  18. He was successful at Porto because of alleged match­ fixing and alleged bribery of referees. He was­ 'successful' at chelsea because he had­ unlimited spending power (although to be honest,­ under-achieved given the limitless money).

    From JellyKnob, on Tue 7 Oct 10:56PM
  19. I miss Jose! He would have been great with England, but­ he made a smart move staying in club football. He had­ some arrogance to him, but was very honest. I miss them­ famous press conferences!

    From Eve, on Tue 7 Oct 10:50PM
  20. Honest man, i like him as a manager...

    From Gregory, on Tue 7 Oct 10:50PM
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