The Portuguese José Mourinho, presented this Thursday as the new coach of Rome, assured that he is a “victim” of what he achieved in his career and that what for him is “a disaster”, for others “is fantastic”, in relation to the criticism received for his latest experiences on the bench in the Premier League.
“I am a victim of what I did, the way people look at me. What for me is a disaster, for others it is fantastic,” said Mourinho, presented on a terrace at the City Hall of Rome before some seventy media of communication and transmitted live in more than fifty countries.
The Portuguese coach asked his new fans for time because there is “a lot of work to do”, but assured that in three years he is sure that the fans will be celebrating “some trophy.”
“My last three clubs: a title with Chelsea, three cups with Manchester United, a final with Tottenham. I came in twelfth and we ended up in Europe. What for me is a disaster, others never did in their lives”, said Mourinho, who was accompanied by the Romanista sports director, his compatriot Thiago Pinto.
Very calm, relaxed, but also ready to make his point of view clear on his critics, Mourinho stressed that “the others” are obsessed with his victories, but he is not.
“It is not an obsession to think about winning. There is something we cannot escape from. It is true that the last nine Roma coaches did not win trophies, it is true that we finished 16 points behind the Champions League. We have to understand why, until we get to what we want, “he said.
“This is arriving, working hard, having time (to succeed). I have a three-year contract, then the club will decide the future. We cannot escape the fact that we have not won for years, because we ended up far from the title. We want to win In football you never say anything, but normally you don’t win immediately, “he warned.
He highlighted the beauty and tradition of the city of Rome, quoted the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, but pointed out that he is not in the capital “on vacation”, but to work to the maximum, because “if we don’t give 100%, it is not enough” .
“There are principles that cannot be negotiated. The players will understand the way of working,” was his warning.
He asked not to speak of the “Rome of Mourinho”, but of the “Rome of the Romanists” and warned that he will do everything possible to “keep what happens in the dressing room in the dressing room.”
For this reason, he rejected questions about the future of Bosnian Edin Dzeko, although he did acknowledge that sports director Thiago Pinto will have to sign a left-back to replace Leonardo Spinazzola, who was seriously injured in the quarterfinals of the European Championship.
He spoke again of the controversies that accompanied his stay in Italy at the helm of Inter Milan, when he sent several messages to his rivals.
“To defend my people I will give everything, but I’m not going to look for problems, I want to have fun, but I don’t have time to look for problems,” he said.
Proud of the triplet won at Inter, Mourinho made it clear that, in his opinion, he cannot be compared to the work of Antonio Conte, Italian champion with the Milanese club in the last campaign.
“There are coaches that you should not compare. Here you speak of (the Swede) Niels Liedholm or Fabio Capello, you must not compare them with anyone. At Inter do not compare anyone with me or (the Argentine) Helenio Herrera” (European champion in the 60s of the last century).
And he also spoke of his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus forward, with a joke.
“Cristiano shouldn’t worry about me, he should if I played central defense, because I would hit him. But he shouldn’t worry because I’m too old and bad,” he said smiling.