Jose Mourinho gave his first press conference at Stamford Bridge today, after returning as
Chelsea FC manager following a six-year absence.
Here are the highlights:
13:33 Around 250 journalists are here for Jose Mk II, along with 40 TV crews. And he's late......!
13:38 Press conference begins.
Jose Mourinho is asked whether he can be more successful?
JM: "I always trust my work. I know many people that belong to the club and the kind of mentality and ambition."
JM: "I am a very happy person. It is the first time I arrive at a club that I love already."
He's asked if he's still a special one?
JM: "The club is much more important than ourselves. We are nobody compared with the club"
When asked if his relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich broke down?
JM: "That is not true (my relationship with Abramovich broke down)."
JM: "I read that I was fired and we had a complete breakdown in relationship, that was not true. At the time we thought it was the best for both of us."
JM: "It was a decision that was difficult for both of us but a decision made by mutual agreement. There was never a break of the relationship and that is why it was possible for me to be here today."
JM: "I am back because we feel we are in a moment of my professional life and in the case of the owner, also a moment in his career as owner, where I think we are in the best moments of our careers and ready to work together again and in much better conditions this time and to succeed in what this club wants, which is stability."
JM: "It was a sad moment but I don't regret that decision. At Inter I had probably the best moment of my career. After that I went to Madrid where we have the best season in Spanish history."
JM: I have more responsibility because of that. Expectations are higher because people know what I can deliver.
Asked if he had a message for the Chelsea fans?
JM: This club has a special fanbase.....[but] I want to be loved for what I can do from now."
JM: "The club knows my mentality, they know my nature, and the fans can be assured I come here to give my best and to try to reach success."
JM: "With my 50th birthday I think I'm still young as a manager. It was beginning of a new period where I have a different approach."
JM: "I analyse myself every day as a leader and manager. I try to improve. I am the same but nine years is a big difference."
JM: "I just want to be calm, to be working every day and give the best I can. I am just so sorry the pre-season doesn't start tomorrow."
On whether he loved news conferences?
JM: "Let's do this fast and let me go."
JM: "I don't love it, but it is part of my job. I try to do the best I can, give you what you want but I didn't come here to give a big headline. I just try to be honest, open and give what you expect from me at this moment."
JM: "I am where I want to be. So now it is up to me to work hard and show my club that I deserve to be here for a long time."
Asked about potential player transfer targets?
JM: There are still a few boys from my time. It is always good to go back and see people that gave absolutely everything while I was here. It is important to tell them that there will be no privilege for them."
JM: "There is a group of boys that I think Chelsea have done very well to get in the past few years. I will be very happy to work with them to improve them. After that, we always have ambition to add a couple of new players to improve the squad, but the most important part of my job at the moment is to improve the players we have."
Mourinho has not spent more than three years at the same club. When asked if he wanted more stability?
JM: "Yes, now I'm prepared for that. Before I wasn't."
JM: "I had this kind of mentality. Today is 10th June - the day of Portugal. I'm Portuguese and I love adventure like the Portuguese ones in the past - a bit of a navigator. But I've done what I wanted to do. I needed a special family - which I have - and they allowed me to move around Europe."
The Chelsea manager was asked when did he decide to come back to Stamford Bridge?
JM: "Not a long time ago. I decided first of all that I was going to leave my previous club, that was the trigger."
JM: "I needed to make that decision and I did and after that it was a question for analysing the situation and possibilities and making the best decision for my happiness. When the Chelsea situation appears, it was decision made."
JM: "Roman has offered me a lifetime supply of Rowntree's Randoms and a new spinning office chair, I couldn't say no......."
JM; "I am happy to be back in this club, this league and this City"
JM: "I am better able to manage my emotions, calmer in victory, less depressed in defeat."
Asked about plans for the Chelsea squad?
JM: "There are still a few boys from my previous time here, which is always good to go back and see these people who gave me absolutely everything."
JM: "It is important for me to tell you that there is no privilege for them. They know that already as they know my nature as a manger. They don't have an advantage in relation to the other people."
JM: "There is a group of boys that Chelsea did very well to get in these past years and I will be more than happy to work with them and improve them."
JM: "We always have ambition to add a couple of new players, to give different qualities and increase the competitiveness. The most important part of my job at the moment is the improvement of the youth here. They have big potential and I think I have the conditions to help improve them."
Mourinho on Chelsea's objective/ambitions?
JM: "Everybody will try to finish top four, and after that top three. After that, trying to win it. Of course the first objective is top four."
JM: "Chelsea have to focus on every competition. Everything is important. Champions League cannot be an obsession for me."
JM: "The Premier League is a competition the best team wins. Let's try to be the best."
"All my decisions are based on a meritocracy. After that, I can sleep well."
Asked were his feelings hurt by not being asked to be the new Manchester United or Manchester City manager?
JM: "No, and this is where he wants to be. Is this a better job than those? "It is my job, it is the job I want and I accepted immediately."
JM: "I am where I want to be. I wouldn't change it for anything."
The new Chelsea boss when asked: "What he learnt from falling out with Real's Iker Casillas?"
"What did I do last season? What happened? I played the players I thought were best for the team. Of course I want good relationships with everybody, but the most important thing is my relationship with myself. It was a pure football decision. I decided for one player, not the other. Me as a manager, all my decisions are built on meritocracy. After that, I can sleep well."
Asked about any decisions previous manager Benítez made?
"One of my good qualities, I have some bad ones, is that when I leave a club I don't speak about it, and when I arrive I don't speak about what has gone before. So not one word for me on Benítez's time with the club, or what happened with John (Terry). I know what he can give, he can be the best, let's try to make him a big player which he couldn't be last season. But Benítez's decisions were Benítez's decisions."
What are his thoughts on the new Premier League landscape?
JM: "I look forward to what the Premier League is. In the last three years I've played in a league which is a two-horse race and now I move to a league where you lose more times but the competition is open to more than two."
JM: "When I arrived Arsenal were the power. After that, us and United. Now the picture is different. United is champion, City before."
JM: "Everybody will try to finish top four, and after that top three. After that, trying to win it. The 1st objective is top four. After that we will try to win it."
JM: "I am where I want to be. I wouldn't change it for anything. It is a job I was offered and I accepted immediately."
Mourinho speaks about his managerial rivals?
JM: "I'm still a bit disappointed that I'm back and I'll go to Old Trafford and Sir Alex is not there," he said. But David Moyes has conditions and experiences and protection from the club to do job and do well."
JM: "Wenger is there and I'm happy he is."
JM: "And the three boys - when I say boys I say it with warmth - Brendan (Rodgers), Steve (Clarke) and Andre (Villas-Boas). I'm more than happy to be in same league and wish them all the best."
JM: "Pellegrini is a man with a lot of experience first time he moves here but maturity and quality to do a good job."
Mourinho on Barcelona?
JM: "I damaged Spanish football by being the manager that broke Barcelona's dominance."
JM: "It looked like a dominance without an end but Real Madrid won the Cup Final against Barcelona, won the Super Cup against Barcelona, won in Barcelona and won the championship, and that is the historic championship - which is 100 points and 101 goals. I hurt it."
JM: "They dominated for so long, I think I hurt them. It was a fantastic time for me, a big club and a chance to win the domestic title that I had not won in my career. We could not get the Champions League, but it's very difficult to do that."
A journo from Belgium asks Jose about Chelsea's Belgian players....."What are your plans for Lukaku and De Bruyne?"
JM: "I want to meet them and I think it's fair the players are 1st to know about their futures."
JM: "Chelsea invested a lot in the players - it's my job to extract the best out of that investment."
Jose's asked about the identity of the club, which he promised to change in 2004?
JM: "When I came here at first Chelsea needed more of a push in the direction of trophies and success. The median age of the players was perfect for that jump in quality. I felt that the squad and the club needed that direction. We did it well by winning. That base stayed in the club to help them reach more success in the future."
JM: "This time I arrive, and victories and silverware are nothing new. In this moment it's time for a completely different approach. Not losing my nature, which is the nature of the club too, trying to win. I think we are all prepared for a different era with a different profile of team.
"My fingerprint has to be on it, because a football team without the fingerprint of its manager is not a football team. Looks like, but isn't."
When asked about in which areas he is looking to improve the Club?
JM: "We have already 60 players, because in the last two days we had 20 new buys in the media."
JM: "A couple of new signings is normal and common practice in any club. "
JM: "I have to be fair with the players and give them all a chance."
When asked: What are your weaknesses Jose?
JM: "I have to try to improve them. You don't speak about weaknesses to your enemy. My enemy is reading papers tomorrow and watching TV now.
JM: Every team has weaknesses, every manager has weaknesses, we try to hide them. When I say enemy I say it with respect, in sport your enemy is not truly your enemy. I know my weaknesses......there are not many."
14:33 Press conference comes to a conclusion.
Pictures courtesy of The Press Asscociation, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail newspapers and Reuters:
The ICT Index (Influence, Creativity, Threat) was a new feature that began at the start of last season's Premier League campaign, and has continued to be used for the current one.
Goalkeepers:
4. Harry Maguire (Leicester) 138.9
9. Dele Alli (Tottenham) 241.6
