Mourinho launches stunning attack at critics
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Mourinho defends his record in bizarre press conference
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JOSE Mourinho has defended his comments after United were eliminated from the Champions League by La Liga’s fifth-placed side Sevilla – and claims Pep Guardiola inherited a better set-up at City than he did at Old Trafford.
United lost 2-1 to the Spanish side on Tuesday night and supporters were incensed by Mourinho’s insistence their exit was ‘nothing new,’ having gone out at the same stage to his Porto in 2004 and Mourinho’s Real Madrid in 2013.
An impassioned Reds boss reminded United fans of the team’s Champions League performances since they last reached a final in 2011 and their Premier League finishes following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
While clutching a piece of paper to consult United’s domestic and European record during a remarkable press conference, Mourinho said: “The fans are the fans and have the right to their opinions and reactions. But there is something that I used to call football heritage.
“I don’t know if, I try to translate from my Portuguese, which is almost perfect, to my English, which is far from perfect, football heritage.
“And what a manager inherits is something like the last time Manchester United were in the Champions League final which didn’t happen a lot of times, was in 2011.
“Since 2011, 2012: Out in the group phase, the group was almost the same group we had this season. Benfica, Basel and Galati from Romania. Out in the group phase.
“In 2013 out at Old Trafford in the last 16, I was on the other bench. In 2014, out in the quarter-finals.
“In 2015, no European football.
“In 2016, comes back to European football, out in the group phase, goes to Europa League and on the second knockout out of the Europa League.
“In 2017, play Europa League, win Europa League with me and goes back to Champions League. In 2018, win the group phase with 15 points out of a possible 18 and loses at home in the last 16. “So in seven years with four different managers, once not qualify for Europe, twice out in the group phase and the best was the quarter-final, this is football heritage. And if you want to go to the Premier League, the last victory was 12-13 and in the four consecutive seasons United finish seventh, fourth, fifth and sixth. So in the last four years the best was fourth. “This is football heritage. “And if the fans that I will always respect, always respect, if the fans and many of them are the ones you speak with, many of them are the ones I speak with and I am very lucky, but the ones who speak with you are very disappointed and the ones I speak with know what is football heritage. “When I arrived in Real
I am here and I am going to be here and no way am I going to change my mentality Jose Mourinho
Madrid, do you know how many players had played in the quarter-finals of the Champions League? Xabi Alonso with Liverpool, Iker Casillas with Real Madrid and Ronaldo with Manchester United.
“All the others not even a quarter-finals, that’s football heritage.”
Mourinho continued his rant by cutting off a journalist who was about to ask about statistics.
“Those stats are real,” he added. “I give you a couple more: In the last seven years the worst position of Manchester City in the Premier League was fourth, in the last seven years Manchester City was champions twice and if you want to say three times, they were second twice. That’s heritage.
“Do you know what is also heritage? Is that Otamendi, Kevin de Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva, Sterling, Aguero, they are investments from the past, not from the last two years.
“Do you know how many of United players that left the club last season?
“See where they play, how they play, if they play.
“That’s football heritage and one day when I leave, the next Manchester United manager will find here Lukaku, Matic, of course De Gea from many years ago, they will find players with a different mentality, a different quality, a different background, with a different status, with a different knowhow.
“And for some reason you go to the Champions League quarter-final like today and there are four clubs that are always there, always there. Barcelona is always there in the past seven, eight years, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich and then of course appear now and again, another club like my Inter, like some other clubs like Monaco last season.
“But the ones that are always there is for some reason, and the good thing for me and the amazing feeling for me is that I am exactly on the same page as the owners, as Mr Woodward, Mr Arnold, we are on exactly the same page, we agree on everything, on the investments, that we have what we have, the investments that we are going to do will be season after season. We are exactly on the same page, so life is good. “I have an amazing job to do. I could be in another country with the league in the pocket, I am here and I am going to be here and no way am I going to change my mentality. “I am not going to run away or disappear or to cry because I heard a few boos, I’m not going to disappear from the tunnel, running immediately, the next match I will be the first to go out. “I am not afraid of my responsibilities. “I understand that for many, many, many, years was really, really hard for the people who doesn’t like me, here he is again, here he wins again. “For 10 months I win nothing, the last title that I won was 10 months ago, I beat Liverpool, Chelsea, I lose against Sevilla and now is their moment to be happy.”
I beat Liverpool, Chelsea, I lose against Sevilla and now is their moment to be happy Jose Mourinho