Category — Other Leagues
Mourinho joins Real and expect R.Madrid to win Champions League in 2 years
A confident Jose Mourinho said he will need only two years to win the Champions League with Real Madrid after he was officially unveiled as the Spanish giants’ new coach on Monday.
Mourinho joined Real on a four-year deal in the wake of leading Inter Milan to an historic treble of successes in Italy’s Serie A championship, the Italian Cup and Champions League.
And after replacing Manuel Pellegrini, sacked last week after a barren season having spent 250 million euros on new players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso, Mourinho feels he can do far better than the 56-year-old Chilean.
“The second year is key, it is the year when you find the right balance. It was during my second year at Chelsea that we reached the Champions League final. It was during my second year that we won the Champions League at Inter Milan,” he said.
“I want to say that we don’t need much time to build a coherent team, to build a team that meets its objectives,” the 47-year-old Portuguese coach added.
Real have been crowned kings of Europe nine times but their last Champions League triumph came in 2002.
Under Pellegrini this season Real finished runners-up to arch rivals Barcelona in the league, exited the Champions League at the last-16 stage and spectacularly crashed out of the King’s Cup to third division Alcorcon.
Mourinho said little about what changes, if any, he would bring to the squad, placing his focus on the need to forge a winning identity throughout the club.
“It’s too early to speak about changes. I believe it is time to analyse the situation, to get to know my club, ask lots of questions and get answers. I need to realise the direction of my work,” he said.
“The most important thing is not the coach or the players but the club. We are too small compared to the dimension of the club. If we work as a group, it’s not difficult to get results.”
Mourinho made his name when he led FC Porto to the Champions League title in 2004.
A hugely successful spell followed at Chelsea, and despite leaving the club before they went on to lose the 2008 final to Manchester United he resurrected his career with Inter.
His two-year spell at the Serie A side has left him as one of the most in-demand coaches in football.
“The promise I make to Real is that I am Jose Mourinho and Jose Mourinho works hard, works well, is very dedicated and aims to break limits,” the Portuguese coach said.
“I am a coach that has a lot of self-esteem and confidence and I don’t think about the possibility of being sacked,” he added.
“I think four years of contract is enough to win, to build a strong team for the present and the future.
“I have a lot of confidence in my players, I have the hope that my new players have confidence in me.”
Mourinho becomes Real’s 10th coach in as many seasons, during a period when their great rivals Barcelona have had just two with better results and titles.
“I am a coach that has a lot of self-esteem and confidence and I don’t think about the possibility of being sacked,” he said.
“I think four years of contract is enough to win, to build a strong team for the present and the future.
“I have a lot of confidence in my players, I have the hope that my new players have confidence in me.”
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May 31, 2010 No Comments
Inter Milan’s president Massimo Moratti says Mourinho is leaving
Jose Mourinho’s time as Inter Milan coach is over said the Champions League winners’ president Massimo Moratti after having dined with him on Monday according ton the Ansa news agency.
Moratti said that the 47-year-old Portuguese’s attitude had been one that had already made his mind up to leave and take over at Spanish giants Real Madrid, who despite spending hundreds of millions on star players last summer ended up without a trophy.
Mourinho is seen as the obvious coach to turn to to deliver silverware having become the youngest coach to win the Champions League twice – he also won it with Porto in 2004 – and guiding Inter to an unprecedented treble for an Italian club of the Champions League, the league title and the Italian Cup.
“I believe yes,” said Moratti responding to a question as to whether he thought Mourinho’s work was finished at Inter.
“His attitude was that of somebody who believes he is going to Real Madrid,” added Moratti, who said it had been an interesting discussion.
Mourinho’s agent held talks with Real Madrid bosses in the Spanish capital on Monday over the Portuguese coach’s possible move to the club from Inter Milan.
The agent, Jorge Mendes, who also represents Real’s Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, held talks for about 90 minutes with the club’s director general Jorge Valdano and sporting director Miguel Pardeza.
Spanish sports dailies AS and Marca, reported on Sunday that Mourinho will sign a four-year deal with Real Madrid worth 10 million euros (12.5 million dollars) a year.
The stumbling block to the deal remains the talks with Inter Milan, who are demanding 16 million euros to let him leave the Italian side, they said.
His current contract with Inter Milan was due to expire in 2012 but has on several occasions expressed his dislike for Italian football.
Mourinho told Portuguese television station TVI on Sunday that the deal is almost a certainty but he wants to meet with Real officials first to get a clear understanding of what his role at the club would be.
“Things are practically ironed out. I want to meet the people, feel the pulse, know exactly what they want from me and the conditions, not the structures, because these I already know, to avoid any doubts when I begin my work,” he said.
Mourinho, who won the Premier League with Chelsea after leaving Porto, also had a warning for Real’s squad – which is loaded with stars such as Kaka and Gonzalo Higuain, in addition to Ronaldo.
“The stars now are Inter, they are the European champions. My message to the players of Real, if I come to coach them, is that they are not stars, the star is not the coach, the star is the team,” he said.
“If they all accept this like when I was at Porto, Chelsea or Inter, the victories will come.”
Mourinho, who has not lost a home match for the past seven seasons, follows Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld as a member of the select band of coaches to have won the Champions League with two different clubs.
The Portuguese, who joined Inter two years ago, has also won two Serie A titles and an Italian Cup.
Speaking after the Champions League final, he acknowledged to having his eye on making history by becoming the only coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs.
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May 25, 2010 No Comments
Jose Mourinho’s first trophy
Inter Milan secured the first trophy in their historic treble quest as they beat AS Roma 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico here on Wednesday.
Diego Milito scored the only goal of the game while Roma substitute Francesco Totti was dismissed late on in an often bad-tempered and fractious affair.
It was Inter’s third cup triumph in the last six seasons — in the fifth final between the two teams in that same period — and their sixth in all.
Now Jose Mourinho’s men have two more league games to hold onto their Serie A lead — they head Roma by two points — and a Champions League final against Bayern Munich in Madrid on May 22 as they aim to become the first ever Italian team to win the treble.
The game got off to a dreadful start for the nerazzurri as Wesley Sniejder went down under a heavy challenge by on loan Inter defender Nicolas Burdisso and after hobbling around for a minute he had to be replaced.
Mourinho decided to throw on forward Mario Balotelli, changing his formation in the process to a 4-3-3 from a 4-3-1-2.
Despite the change Inter were very much in the ascendancy in the first half as Esteban Cambiasso dispossessed Mirko Vucinic in midfield and spread the ball wide to Samuel Eto’o, who slipped it inside for the charging Maicon but Julio Sergio blocked his near post shot.
Moments later Maicon crossed and Thiago Motta rose highest in box but couldn’t keep his header down.
On 16 minutes Eto’o played in Milito but his clinical finish was disallowed for a marginal offside.
Eto’o turned provider again on 21 minutes, clipping the ball over the top for Balotelli whose control was exquisite before Burdisso slid in to block his left foot volley.
Roma finally came to life on 25 minutes with a rapid break as Marco Materazzi got caught out of position but Julio Cesar came out to get a vital touch on Rodrigo Taddei’s cross and deny Luca Toni an easy tap-in.
Roma came close again as Simone Perrotta played it wide to Taddei and then met his return cross with a bullet header that flew just off target.
Inter then lost Ivan Cordoba to injury, replaced by Walter Samuel but they took the lead on 39 minutes.
Thiago Motta played Milito in down the inside right channel and despite having three defenders converging on him, the Argentine scampered into the box and buried a shot into the top left corner.
Roma should have drawn level on 53 minutes as Julio Cesar spilled a Totti free-kick from 30 yards but centre-back Juan somehow contrived to head over an open goal from six yards.
Minutes later Balotelli forced Julio Sergio into a sprawling save down to his right.
With a quarter of an hour left Roma had a free-kick from 25 yards but John Arne Riise blazed it high and wide.
Julio Cesar then had to punch away a dipping Riise volley while Vucinic screwed a shot horribly wide after a lucky deflection played him in.
Then three minutes from time Totti lost his head and deliberately hoofed Balotelli, earning a straight red card which he didn’t contest.
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May 6, 2010 No Comments
Bayern title defence in trouble
Having shipped nine goals in two games, Bayern Munich have little time to wallow in self-pity when they host Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
After a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of league leaders VfL Wolfsburg last week, Bayern were thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
With their leaky defence a shadow of last season’s solid backline and defender Lucio as well as striker Miroslav Klose injured, coach Juergen Klinsmann needs a quick fix.
Defending champions Bayern are three points off the top in third place with 48 points with eight games remaining this term.
Klinsmann must also deal with mounting criticism that his first season in charge of Bayern has been a flop, despite vocal backing from the club board.
Bayern playmaker Franck Ribery admitted they needed to win against Eintracht to keep any title hopes alive.
“We are under pressure now. We absolutely must win against Frankfurt.” the Frenchman said after Bayern’s mauling in Spain. “We have to be present at the weekend.”
However, catching Wolfsburg, especially given Bayern’s erratic recent performances, is no easy task, with Felix Magath’s team having won their last eight league matches.
Wolfsburg, who lead Hamburg on goal difference in the Bundesliga, travel to lowly Borussia Moenchengladbach with two of the league’s most dangerous strikers in Grafite and Edin Dzeko.
The pair have been superb throughout the season, with the Brazilian topping the scorers’ list with 20 goals and the Bosnian 15.
While Magath has banned any title talk, insisting their aim was to finish in the top five, the players know the championship is only a few more wins away.
“Glabach will fight against relegation in this match and they will need every point they can get,” Wolfsburg midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic said. “But if we keep a cool head we can get something out of this match as well.”
Hamburg, also on 51 points, travel to resurgent Stuttgart, who are in fifth place.
Hamburg’s midweek UEFA Cup clash against Manchester City could leave Martin Jol’s side drained, however, the team having played virtually non-stop since the end of the winter break in the league, UEFA Cup and German Cup. – Reuters
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April 9, 2009 No Comments
Toluca stays unbeaten in Mexican Clausura Championship
Defending champions Toluca continued their unbeaten run in the Mexican Clausura championship with a 3-1 win over struggling Cruz Azul on Sunday.
Nestor Calderon opened the scoring for the Red Devils on the stroke of halftime when he beat Yosgart Gutierrez with a shot from outside the area.
Chilean Hector Mancilla added the second in the 58th minute with his eighth goal of the competition, making him joint top scorer with his compatriot Humberto Suazo of Monterrey.
Luis Angel Landin pulled one back for the Blue Machine one minute later but Edgar Duenas added Toluca’s third in the 76th minute after running onto Antonio Naelson’s pass and placing his shot past Gutierrez from the edge of the area.
Toluca, unbeaten after 11 games, top Group Three with 23 points while Cruz Azul are bottom of Group Two with 11.
America and Pumas UNAM disappointed a 70,000 crowd at the Azteca by drawing their derby 0-0, a result which kept Pumas top of Group Two.
Guadalajara, Mexico’s most popular club, dropped to fifth in Group Two with 12 points after losing 1-0 at Tigres UANL, who ended a five-match winless run.
Tigres, under Argentina’s 2006 World Cup coach Jose Pekerman, stayed fifth in Group Three with 10 points after Paraguay defender Pedro Benitez scored in the 39th minute.
Argentine Christian Gimenez scored a hat-trick to give Group One leaders Pachuca a 3-0 win over Necaxa and keep them on course for a quarter-final place.
The 18 teams meet each other once in the qualifying stage but are divided into three groups. – ESPN
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March 23, 2009 No Comments
