Mourinho vents his ire on Martinez
LONDON: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho swore at Everton boss Roberto Martinez after being made to wait for his post-match news conference following the champions’ 3-1 loss at Goodison Park on Saturday, according to British media reports.
A furious Mourinho decided to interrupt Martinez while he was speaking with a group of journalists near the pitch.
As manager of the away team, Mourinho had expected to be allowed to address the media first so that his team could set off on their journey back to West London, reports said.
“Roberto, next time tell me go before you because we have to travel,” Mourinho was quoted as saying in the reports.
“We don’t control that, Jose. I don’t control that,” Martinez said in reply.
To which Mourinho responded with an expletive.
“When he beat us 6-3 [last season], he was such a nice man. I prefer him like that,” Martinez said after the Chelsea boss stormed away.
The loss to Everton, courtesy of a Steven Naismith hat-trick, was Chelsea’s third defeat in five Premier League games and they now sit fourth from bottom in the table.
The relationship between the clubs was already strained after Chelsea’s public pursuit of defender John Stones, who had his transfer request rejected by the Merseyside club.
Chelsea will host London rivals Arsenal, who beat Stoke City 2-0 during the weekend, on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Rafael Benitez was the best tactical manager Steven Gerrard ever played under but the former Liverpool captain said he felt the Spaniard did not like him as a person, according to an extract from his autobiography being serialised in the Daily Mail.
Gerrard left Anfield to join LA Galaxy after 17 years at his boyhood club and has already gone on record to say he might have stayed had he been offered a role within current manager Brendan Rodgers’ backroom staff.
“I don’t think Rafa Benitez liked me as a person. I’m not sure why, but that’s the feeling I got from him,” the 35-year-old said.
“I can pick up the phone and speak to all of my previous Liverpool managers. Except for Rafa.
“It’s a shame because we probably shared the biggest night of both our careers — the 2005 Champions League victory in Istanbul — and yet there is no bond between us,” the midfielder added.