Title joy will be over in a flash, says Jose
JOSE MOURINHO will allow himself five minutes but no more to savour the triumph if Chelsea beat Crystal Palace and become champions tomorrow.
It will be an eighth title in four different countries for Mourinho and he revealed he has replica trophies made to commemorate his achievements, dispelling the idea that he rejects trinkets of success.
He threw his medal to Chelsea fans after winning the Barclays Premier League in 2006 but, last night, offered a rare glimpse of his softer side as he recalled his past glories.
‘If we win, normally it’s a flash,’ said Mourinho. ‘It’s a flash of the people you love most, the people who are with you, a few of the most important moments leading to that trophy. It’s like a quick flash. And, with me, five minutes later, move on. I have to think about next season.
‘I have replicas of every cup I’ve won in my houses, some in Portugal, some in my son’s room. But I don’t care about the replicas — or the medals. What stays is the feeling, the emotion, the memory of the moment. I have clear in my head every one of these moments.
‘If we win the title it will be a different night at home. Not just one more day at home. And we will have the player of the season, a club dinner when we are all together. But we need to prepare for next season. We need to think about that.’
No trophies will be presented tomorrow as the Premier League prefer to make the presentation after the champions’ last home game.
‘What motivate me are the basic things of football,’ said Mourinho. ‘Like when you’re a kid you play in the street with your neighbours, three against three, four against four. You want to win. The most pure feeling in football is that you go out there and you want to win.
‘It doesn’t depend on the level. To be champions in the Premier League is not a different feeling to being champions in the Championship, League One, League Two or the Conference. The happiness, also the frustrations, everyone has his level, but the human feelings are exactly the same.’
Mourinho won two league titles with Porto, two in his first spell at Chelsea, two at Inter Milan and one at Real Madrid. ‘It isn’t normal to win a title every season,’ he said. ‘ Unless you choose the countries and clubs where even the kit-man as manager wins it. Here, I choose a difficult one.’
Chelsea have made it look easy, leading from the front. They have lost only twice and are 13 points clear, having refused to blink in the run-in.
‘I like the feeling when it goes into the countdown and we have to force it,’ said Mourinho. ‘Come on, let’s go, we need four victories, three, two. I like this feeling of being almost there but not there. I like this last push.
‘People sometimes say it’s yours to lose, you’re under pressure, but the pressure is on the teams who have to win and wait for us to lose. Some had fantastic runs, but they couldn’t close the gap. ‘For us, it was just about us. Nothing else mattered. This weekend we don’t care about anyone else. Just us.’
They face Palace without Diego Costa, who is still out with a hamstring injury and may not play again this season if the title is wrapped up. ‘ If we don’t need him, he probably doesn’t play,’ said Mourinho. ‘He needs a good period of work rather than a long break and we are preparing that situation for him during the holiday period where he can mix the holiday with the work without fear.’