Jose Mourinho is that one job applicant who answers “what’s your greatest weakness?” with “I can be too generous at times.”
The Chelsea boss is more than a little confident in himself in his latest interview as he says “I have a problem, which is I’m getting better at everything related to my job since I started.”
The Special One was speaking to The Telegraph’s Mick Brown and revealed how much he feels he is improving with all the modesty of a cartwheeling nudist.
“There has been evolution in many different areas – the way I read the game; the way I prepare the game; the way I train; the methodology… I feel better and better. But there is one point where I cannot change: when I face the media, I am never a hypocrite.”
Mourinho, who has had almost unprecedented success as a manager, opened up about his morning routine at Chelsea’s training ground at which he arrives at 7.30am and locks himself in his office for two hours.
“You know, in football, I’m not so old. At 52 maybe I have 20 years in front of me to coach. But I feel myself as… you might say an ‘old fox’. Nothing scares me, nothing worries me too much; it looks like nothing new can happen for me. I am very, very stable in the control of these emotions but I need my time to think.”
The interview is a fantastic insight into the psyche of the man who has won league titles in England, Spain, Italy and Portugal; as well as two Champions League titles.
The Portuguese discusses the basis of his footballing philosophy, his life prior to management and the importance of religion. He even has time to shock us all by agreeing with long-time rival Arsene Wenger on one element of football, the Ballon d’Or.
“I think Wenger said something that is interesting; he is against the Ballon d’Or, and I think he’s right, because in this moment football is losing a little bit the concept of the team to focus more on the individual. We are always looking at the individual performance, the individual stat, the player that runs more. Because you run 11km in a game and I run nine you did a better job than I did? Maybe not! Maybe my 9km were more important than your 11.”
Love him or hate him, you have to admit that football would be a lot less entertaining without Mourinho around to throw out a soundbite.
H/t to The Telegraph
