José Mourinho sets his surprising conditions for his future

A Europa Conference League in his baggage with AS Roma and a Europa League final to his credit, José Mourinho left good memories with the Italian club, but the mixed results in Serie A will have got the better of his Roman adventure in mid-January. For his third season with the Giallorossi, the Portuguese coach was pushed towards the exit and logically the exit doors presented themselves to him. Mentioned on the side of Saudi Arabia and more particularly at Al-Shabab, but also at Bayern Munich, at Napoli, José Mourinho is a man who will be sought after on the coaching market. And the 61-year-old is ready to return to service quickly: “I don’t have a club, I’m free, but I want to work, next summer, I want to work. A return to Portugal? Football is my life, I can coach anywhere.” If his career slowly takes him away from the most prestigious clubs, the Portuguese knows that he will still have a choice and has set the conditions for his future.

In a long interview for the English media The Telegraphthe former coach of FC Porto and Chelsea first explained that he still had many years to offer the world of football: “It’s not like I’m 61 and I want to stop at 65. No question at all. There is still a long career to be had.” And José Mourinho is not afraid of challenges, accustomed to the biggest whether Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid or Manchester United, the Portuguese coach will sometimes have divided, but always brought back a trophy. Only at Tottenham – where he was sacked just before a final – was he unable to lift a trophy. José Mourinho is ready to go to less upscale clubs if the project presented to him manages to convince him. : “It’s not like I’m afraid of jobs (in clubs, editor’s note) that aren’t “made to win.” When some have reached a certain level, they may say, “I will only take jobs to earn.” It’s my job to try to transform clubs into clubs that are ‘made to win’ or to achieve certain goals.”

José Mourinho is open to smaller teams

Moreover, the Portuguese coach wanted to reassure himself. Eccentric, charismatic and explosive, the Portuguese is a complete character capable of bringing the best, but also the worst during his appearances. José Mourinho conceded that it would be better for him to go to a club with a clear hierarchy and a separation between the functions of coach and sporting director. “If people fear something, don’t be afraid. Give me a professional structure where I’m just the head coach because that’s what I’m good at. People say I’m good at communication. Very often you say bad things. Especially when we communicate three or four times a week. The structure of a club is pushing me in the wrong direction” he confided.

Opening up the field of possibilities as much as possible on what will be his future project with a club, José Mourinho above all expects good chemistry between him and his future club, that everyone moves in the same direction and that expectations are clear and realistic. José Mourinho clearly wants to be wanted by the next team where he will settle down: “What could really make the difference is how much the club wants me. How much the club needs a person and a coach of my profile. And how much feeling, empathy, I could feel with the structure. The only thing I want is for targets and goals to be set by everyone fairly. I can’t go to a club where, because of my history, the objective is to win the title. No. The only thing I want is for it to be fair.”

Not necessarily wanting the pressure that we find in big clubs, José Mourinho seems to want to find a working environment where the context will be healthy around him and the expectations will not be disproportionate regarding his CV extraordinary. “Do you think if I was at a big Premier League club and we were sixth, seventh, eighth in the table I would still have a job? What I’m saying is that people (should, editor’s note) look at me the way they look at others. What is important for me is if the club has objectives and I can say that I am ready to fight for them. I don’t mean realistic goals, but semi-realistic ones. Because when I went to Rome, no one dreamed of a European Cup final and we did it. It’s not possible if I go to an almost relegated club and the goal is to win the Champions League. It’s good, but it’s not fair.”, he admitted. Ready to take on another challenge for next season, José Mourinho is ready to step out of his comfort zone in order to find the perfect match.