SUMMARY
- Veteran soccer coach Jose Mourinho has announced his return to the sport after a short break.
- Mourinho came clean on his shocking departure as AS Roma's head coach.
Veteran soccer coach Jose Mourinho has recently announced that he is eager to return to coaching after a brief hiatus. Throughout his career, Mourinho has served as a coach at some of the biggest clubs in the world, like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, and so on. Most recently, Mourinho was working as a head coach at AS Roma before he was sacked at the beginning of this year.
Jose Mourinho recently sat down for an interview with the renowned Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano. During the interview, Mourinho stated that he’s ready to return to coaching. He said, “I’m ready to start again. I don’t need to rest or think as usually happens – I’m ready.” The Portuguese further added that he’s looking to get back to soccer after the end of this season.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE – José Mourinho: “I’m ready to start again. I don’t need to rest or think as usually happens… I’m ready”.
“I feel strong and good, I’m really ready. But I don’t want to make the wrong choice”.
“I have to be patient. My objective is to start again next summer”. pic.twitter.com/NwWQO9J2Gj
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 26, 2024
Mourinho reiterated that while he’s feeling good about returning, he wants to patiently think about which team to join. He further added that he doesn’t want to make mistakes while deciding about his next project. Since Mourinho was fired from AS Roma in January 2024, there have been rumors linking him with several big clubs. Moreover, the ex-Chelsea head coach has also been linked to several international teams.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches of his time and in soccer history, Jose Mourinho has a glittering trophy cabinet. He has won the Champions League twice, with Porto (2004) and Inter Milan (2010). He has also won three Premier League titles with Chelsea, two Serie A titles with Inter Milan, and one La Liga title with Real Madrid. Lastly, he also led Manchester United to the Europa League title back in 2017.
Jose Mourinho vows to never work with former AS Roma general manager
Jose Mourinho also came clean on his AS Roma stint and revealed his point of view after leaving the Italian side. Mourinho joined AS Roma in 2021 and was successful in bringing about a positive change in a struggling AS Roma side. Under Mourinho, AS Roma reached their first European final since 1991 and ended their 11-year-long trophy drought by winning the UEFA Europa Conference League title.
“I don’t waste my team reading Tiago Pinto’s interviews.
Would I work with him again? No, definitely not. It’s not possible.”
🗣 Mourinho on Tiago Pinto to Sky pic.twitter.com/ErINm7Fva9
— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) March 24, 2024
The former Real Madrid coach also managed to lead AS Roma to their second consecutive European final next season in the Europa League final. However, Mourinho’s side was defeated by Sevilla 4-2 on penalties after the game ended 1-1 after extra time. Speaking about his time at Roma, Mourinho said, “It’s difficult to understand how a coach who reaches two European finals in a row gets sacked.”
He also talked about a recent interview given by former AS Roma general manager Tiago Pinto, who also left the club in January of this year. While Mourinho refused to talk about what Pinto said or intended, the former made his feelings clear about the former Roma general manager. Mourinho firmly stated that he has no intention of ever working alongside Pinto in the future.
Jose Mourinho reveals his reason behind refusing to coach Cristiano Ronaldo again
While Jose Mourinho is currently a free agent, he did have the chance last year to become the Portuguese national team’s head coach. After a disappointing World Cup 2022 campaign, the Portuguese FA decided to sack their long-time head coach, Fernando Santos, who spent eight years as Portugal’s coach. While the Portuguese FA was discussing potential replacements, Mourinho’s name popped up.
🚨🇵🇹 EXCLUSIVE – José Mourinho: “I had the door open to be Portugal coach twice”.
“First time when I was at Real Madrid but Florentino told me: no chance”.
“The second time was at Roma, I was sacked few months later… but I don’t regret that because I’m happy with the reason”. pic.twitter.com/hXgtTccuJI
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 26, 2024
Jose Mourinho revealed last year that, despite being offered the job, he decided to continue at AS Roma instead. Mourinho also revealed that he was previously offered the same job but had to decline due to his commitments to Real Madrid. After Mourinho’s refusal, former Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez became Portugal’s new coach.
However, Jose Mourinho might get another chance to reunite with Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese duo played together when Mourinho was Real Madrid‘s head coach from 2010 to 2013. Mourinho also recently spoke about coming to Saudi Arabia, highlighting Ronaldo’s influence in promoting soccer over there. While Jose previously rejected an offer from a Saudi club, the 61-year-old coach is open to a job offer in Saudi Arabia in the future.