Mourinho and his reputation for being defensive: “People put labels without seeing them”

Portuguese coach discussed Fenerbahçe’s time and spoke about… Alex Ferguson

Living his first season in Turkey, in charge of Fenerbahçe , José Mourinho has already admitted that he is really enjoying life in Istanbul.

In an interview with Sky, the coach from Setubal analyzed the Turkish team’s season and recalled the draw against Manchester United (1-1), in the Europa League : “The game against United was a pleasure for me. I saw what all coaches want to see, which is that we prepare. Sometimes we prepare things and we don’t see them, but [in this game] the players played at their maximum level, because there is a difference between the two leagues and the two teams.’

“For me, being in the dressing room and seeing everyone sad about the result was a fantastic feeling, because normally when you get a point from Manchester United you are happy,” said the coach.

With several titles won by the clubs he played for, Mourinho is one of the most titled coaches in the history of football. Even so, he is sometimes accused of having a (too) defensive style of play. However, the coach says he does not agree with this view and argues with the goalscoring streak of Fenerbahçe and… Real Madrid : «Maybe we [Fenerbahçe] surprised some people, because sometimes people put labels without seeing them. At Real Madrid , I scored 105 goals in one season, and we were considered a defensive and counter-attacking team.»

Finally, he spoke about the passion he feels for football, recalling words that Sir Alex Ferguson spoke to him: “I can’t lose that desire and that hunger, because when you lose it’s better to stop. I always remember going with Real Madrid to Old Trafford for a big Champions League game and Sir Alex inviting me into his office before the game. We were looking at each other very relaxed – but we weren’t relaxed – and I said to him, ‘Sir Alex, do you change with age? Does it change over the years? Does the feeling change?’. And he told me: ‘No! It doesn’t change’.

«It doesn’t change. The feelings are exactly the same, and I think that’s a good thing», he concluded.