José talks to JOE

Ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final, JOE caught up with Inter boss José Mourinho to talk arrogance, abusing Didier Drogba and quitting the San Siro for Real Madrid.

If we told you that José Mourinho is totally confident that Inter will cuff Bayern Munich aside and become champions of Europe for the first time in over 40 years on Saturday then you probably wouldn’t be surprised.

And even on learning that Mourinho believes the crucial detail will be his superiority over Louis Van Gaal it might not shock.

But perhaps it will raise an eyebrow to learn that the Inter coach, the Special One who is on the verge of taking over at Real Madrid following this final, doesn’t for a minute believe that he is arrogant in saying so. Not at all.

“I learned under Van Gaal at Barcelona and I’m grateful for the chance he gave me but I’ve already cleared my debt to him in blood, sweat and tears,” claims the Special One. “I worked harder and better than anyone else could have done as Van Gaal’s assistant and we won trophies. So the big advantage I have this weekend is that he only knows Mourinho the assistant while I know everything about Van Gaal the coach.”

JOE: Do the accusations of arrogance ever trouble you?

José Mourinho: Arrogance is a tricky word which many people interpret as a lack of breeding – bad manners. I like the type of arrogance where a player knows he’s the best and goes out to show it by winning every game. On the other hand there is the arrogance of a player who goes out on the pitch thinking he’s the best thing and he’s more worried about the quality of his earrings or he price of his car than about winning all the time. If a coach is arrogant but also has breeding that seems fine to me. It’s about having the belief that you can always say what you feel without any fear. That’s positive. The problem is that you cannot control reactions to what you say or how it gets reported.

But I won’t change. I will always say what I think and I’ll believe in what I say. If people don’t like it then that’s not my problem. For example last year we were knocked out of Europe by Manchester United. I said that we’d never get out of the last sixteen in the Champions League with a club structure like we had. I pointed out that United had the set up we needed. The Inter directors were mad at me – they told me that it was a moment when they needed me to be ‘with’ them. But it sparked the debate I needed to make changes and now we are on the verge of winning all three of our major trophies this season.

JOE: And some of what you say is specifically designed to influence all the various audiences who are listening, too?

JM: I know that some people have specific images of me because they only ever see the Mourinho who is in their house because one of my press conferences is on the television. But that’s a very important moment for me. The game kicks off with the press conference for me. I push the message that I want to transmit to my players, the opposition, the fans and so on. And the way in which your declarations can take pressure away from the players you are counting on to go out and win the match is a quality that no leader should ever lose.

In any team there will always be six or seven players who perform better without pressure. I’ll give you an example. If I tell Drogba that he’s played like a piece of shit after a game then I know that he’ll score everything the next game just to stick it to me. But use the same words and tone to another guy and it’s equally sure that he’ll not even get at kick the next game because you’ve destroyed him.

JOE: You have already won the Champions League but there is an extra pressure because Inter crave this tournament and this trophy so much – do you feel it?

JM: Well we have already done something extraordinary by getting here and winning the domestic double at the same time. Remember Inter have had to play the reigning champions [Barcelona] four times in this route to the final plus beat Chelsea with each of the knockout games away from home second. We are in a magical moment and I think that Inter are in a new dimension. It is a special club where loads of money has been invested over years without winning very much of importance. Now the club has changed so whether it continues with or without José Mourinho, Inter is equipped to keep winning.

JOE: And win or lose on Saturday will Inter have to continue without José Mourinho?

JM: My only options are Inter or Madrid next season. To leave this club after two years of fantastic work and success could only be for a challenge like Madrid. Any great player or coach who doesn’t work at the Bernabéu at some stage in his career will leave a gaping hole in his CV. I want to train Real Madrid and it will happen sooner or later but now is not the time to talk about how soon that will be. All I know is that if I were to leave now I could leave with a clear conscience.