Merry Christmas, Jose Mourinho’s Mind Games!

Jose Mourinho took some time out before a Real Madrid training session this week to grant an exclusive, two-part interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport. During the interview, the ever-candid manager touched on a wide array of topics including the possibility of him leading the Portuguese National Team, his time with Inter, and the Ballon d’Or.

A visual representation of Rafa's time with Inter, or a scene from his nightmares?

To be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of Mourinho. His penchant for arrogance coupled with the fact that he has coached three squads in a row that I just can’t stand has never really given me a chance to warm up to a man who is without any shadow of a doubt a world-class manager and tactician. As someone who considers himself a Liverpool fan, Mourinho’s weekly verbal spats with Rafa (in which he usually emerged the stronger) provided a constant source of irritation.

Strange then, that only a few years removed from those oft-petty rows I find myself siding with The Special One in his honest and quite harsh assessment of his former Premiership colleague. Mourinho actually shows a small amount humility in this interview and some respect for foes and former players alike. But when it came to the topic of Benitez’s Inter, the Portuguese manager pulled no punches.

Rafa had yet to be fired when Mourinho sat down with La Gazzetta correspondent Fabio Licari, but the reporter jumped right in to the thick of the controversy brewing in Milan. When asked what he thought of the current situation with his former club and it’s manger, The Special One first appeared to take the high road:

“I don’t know and I don’t want to know. I’m interested in Inter, in my friend the Inter president, the players who are friends to me and the fans who gave me everything in two years. I want them to win everywhere except for the Champions League where Real are also playing. Whoever their coach is.”

But that’s just not the Jose we know and begrudgingly respect. Licari then asked Mourinho what he thought of Rafa’s comments after the Club World Cup final:

“His comments are not worth talking about. I expected at least a “thank you” for the success that I handed to him. Ask Inter fans what they think about me and what they think about him.”

Mourinho then discussed how he handled high expectations after taking over Inter after Roberto Mancini had won two consecutive league championships. Needless to say, he doesn’t feel Rafa handled the expectations he encountered after the transition with similar grace:

“At times like that you have to drop any obsessions, and not try to wipe out what your predecessor achieved. Nor try to blame any problems in the present on things that happened in the past.”

But he must at least admit that Rafa was in a difficult, high-pressure spot after taking over a treble winning side, right?

“He was in the perfect situation! He had the chance of winning three championships in four games. Every coach in the world would like to be in that position. Looking on from afar, it almost seems like Inter is going through a tricky period. I hope it ends in success and that Inter is soon back to what they were last year, under no pressure. The team I left when I went to Real: happy, positive and confident.”

I would have jumped quickly to Rafa’s defense against Mourinho not long ago, but I can’t help but agree with him here. I’m sure it’s not easy taking over a team with such high expectations, but to fall as far off of championship form as Inter has with basically the exact same team (yes, there were some injury problems) is simply inexcusable. The only point I must break from Mourinho on here is the hope that Inter recover and I don’t know who to be most thankful towards for their recent woes: Jose for leaving or Rafa for arriving (and subsequently being thrown out). It’s likely a combination of the two.

The two-part interview is a good, light read and the folks at La Gazzetta were kind enough to translate it into what passes for English. The first and second parts can be found here and here, or in the original Italian for any paesani out there, here and here.