Either he is putting on a sensational act to camouflage a deeply sensitive and shrewd mind, or Jose Mourinho really is the most self-adoring person to set foot in the English premiership.
A handful of days into his new job at Stamford Bridge — before he had even met half of his playing staff or polished the composition of his squad with what is expected to be another delve into the transfer market — the Portuguese coach was looking confidently beyond his three-year deal: ‘I think at the end of my contract the club will be interested in giving me a new one.â€
Does he want to stay for the long haul? ‘Sure.â€
The demands of the British game hold no fear. ‘If I lose a lot of matches and don’t reach the objectives we have, there is a risk I won’t finish my contract. Maybe they will sack me. But I don’t believe that will be the case. As for a heart attack? I don’t think so.
‘I am not worried about pressure. If I wanted to have an easy job, working with the big protection of what I have already done before, I would have stayed at Porto — beautiful blue chair, the Uefa Champions League trophy, God, and after God, me. If I stayed there and lost 10 matches and didn’t win another Champions League people would still trust me and think I am the best.â€
Mourinho evidently has no difficulties in convincing himself of his worth. Now the players have to convince him of theirs. Eidur Gudjohnsen is top of the class at the moment — ‘He’s better than I previously thought and I believe that the specifics of our work can improve him a lot,†enthused Mourinho — while Adrian Mutu has emerged from discussions with a new chance to prove himself.
Hernan Crespo, however, is on the move. The Argentine, signed last year for £16,8-million, made a terrible impression by arriving late for the first day of pre-season and is set to be replaced by Marseille’s £26-million rated Didier Drogba.
The Côte d’Ivoire international could play up front alongside the talented young Serb, Mateja Kezman.
‘Drogba is one of the best strikers in Europe,†said Mourinho. ‘Since my team [Porto] played against him I started looking at him with different eyes and I felt he needed a better club and a better league to show how good he really is.†—