Mata: Jose one of the best

Juan Mata would welcome the appointment of Jose Mourinho as Chelsea's new manager and says they must aspire to win the Premier League.



Mourinho is to leave Real Madrid at the end of the Spanish league season and is expected to return to Stamford Bridge, where the managerial post is vacant following the end of Rafa Benitez's interim spell in charge.



Mata arrived at the club after Mourinho's departure but is well aware of everything the Portuguese has achieved and would be happy to see him handed the reins.

"Jose is one of the best," Mata said. "He won everything in every country he was - in Portugal, in Italy, in London with Chelsea, and in Spain as well.



"We don't know really what is going to happen but if he comes he is welcome because he is one of the best and Chelsea always want to be a top side.



"If he comes we are going to be happy to have him."



He said: "What I know is that Madrid is a massive club with a lot of pressure on them, and it shouldn't be easy to be manager of Real Madrid.



"If he comes we will try and do our best with him, or whoever, to win the title, because one challenge for me will be to win the Premier League."

Mourinho has faced criticism during his time at Real Madrid and will finish this season without a major trophy, but Mata believes he could help Chelsea challenge for major honours next year.

Jose: Worst ever season

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho remained non-committal about where he will be next term after his side lost 2-1 in the Copa del Rey final against local rivals Atletico Madrid to round off the "worst season" of his life.



Diego Costa's first-half equaliser cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo's early header at the Bernabeu, before Miranda's extra-time goal delivered Atletico's first victory over Real for 14 years.

Madrid's frustration told and, with Mourinho having been sent from the technical area during normal time, Ronaldo saw red in the 114th minute for kicking out at Atletico captain Gabi - who was himself dismissed in the frantic final minutes for a second bookable offence.

The defeat rounded off a trophyless campaign for Real and Mourinho, disregarding the Spanish Supercopa, prompting the Portuguese to declare: "This is the worst season of my life."

Mourinho has been widely tipped to return to Chelsea but reiterated that he would not make any announcement about his future until he has a meeting with the club president Florentino Perez at the end of the season.

He said: "I have a contract here for three more years. I still haven't sat down with the president to talk about the future."

On rumours touting Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti as his potential replacement, he continued: "I think it's normal that they talk about Ancelotti. That's normal, if I go to Chelsea, or here or there... that's normal for people to talk abut that. We will make it official when me and the president sit down and decide what to do.

"That's the way it should be. There are still two games in the league to play. We have to play the league and respect the other teams we are playing - Real Sociedad and Osasuna - who still have objectives, like qualifying for the Champions League and avoiding relegation."

If Mourinho does leave the Spanish capital this summer, he will have won just three trophies in his three-year tenure at the club: the 2011 Copa del Rey, the 2011/12 Primera Division title and the Spanish Supercopa - traditional season curtain raiser - this term.

He defended his record in his first two years in charge of Los Blancos, but admitted he had "failed" this year.

"I failed this season," he said. "I think it's normal in my first season that we won the cup - a cup the club had not won in 20 years - reached the semi-final of the Champions League, fought virtually to the end for a league that they (Barcelona) won year after year... the team everyone said was the best in the world.

"My second season was not a failure because we won the league against the best team in the world and got to the Champions League semi-final and lost on penalties, and I'm sorry, because I can't take penalties.



"The third season is a failure. This is the worst season of my life. For many coaches it would be good, but for me it's terrible. I had never finished a season without one of the important trophies. The Supercopa does not satisfy me."


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Terry: Jose is special

John Terry has paid tribute to Jose Mourinho and revealed that he is still in contact with the former Chelsea manager.

Real Madrid boss Mourinho has been heavily linked with a move back to Stamford Bridge in the summer after recently hinting that he wanted to return to the club, although no decision on his future has yet been made.

It has been almost six years since Mourinho's hugely successful spell at Chelsea came to an end, but Terry says many of the players have remained friends with the Portuguese.

"We send each other text messages and wish each other good luck," said Terry.

"He's interested in our results and in everything that happens at the club. And he's not only in contact with me but also with Frank Lampard and other players.

"Jose has a great relationship with our fans as we won the Premier League and other titles with him. They have clearly shown he is the man they want after everything he won and, for them, he is still the Special One.

"I can't say too much because he is still under contract with Real Madrid, where he's been winning trophies and now has the chance to win the Copa del Rey this season.

"But he's a top manager who I really enjoyed working under.

"He always thought about the whole squad, not just the starting 11. He explained things to you and demanded everything from you even when you weren't playing.

"We worked hard and you could also talk to him about personal problems. He was a friend and we were all sad when he left."

Chelsea receive transfer boost

Chelsea fans are getting more and more giddy as the end of the season approaches and the latest claim from the Daily Star is not going to change this mood.



The club are already preparing for not only the departure of the interim one Rafael Benitez but the long awaited return of their Special One Jose Mourinho and now have been placed at the front of the cue to sign sensational Borussia Dortmund forward Robert Lewandowski.



With all the talk about Radamel Falcao and Edinson Cavani, we let Lewandowski slip under the radar – that is until he made what Gareth Bale did to Maicon look positively like child’s play in his destruction of Real Madrid scoring four goals and becoming the first player since Lionel Messi scored five against Bayer Leverkusen to get a 10/10 in L’Equipe’s player ratings – no wonder Jose Mourinho wants the Pole!



Now it is claimed that the forward’s current club Borussia Dortmund are desperate to stop him joining rivals Bayern Munich after relations considerably soured after their ill-timed purchase of Mario Gotze and now will try to push through a move to Chelsea just to spite Bayern.



Given Chelsea are willing to offer Kevin de Bruyne as part of the deal that should act as something of a sweetener given how well the player has done on loan at Werder Bremen this term this could well push the Blues ahead of Manchester United in the transfer race to land the former Lech Poznan star.

Mourinho believes in Real comeback

Jose Mourinho believes Real Madrid's naivety lead to them losing so heavily against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-final first leg last week, but has backed his side to turn the tie around at the Bernabeu.



Real head into tomorrow's match 4-1 down after they were outplayed by Jurgen Klopp's side at the Westfalenstadion.



Robert Lewandowski scored all of Dortmund's goals and Mourinho felt his players did not mark him properly, and even complained they did not commit fouls against the Polish striker.

"My team only does legal things and only can do legal things," he said.



"We are so pure and so naive that Lewandowski scored four goals and we didn't foul him even once. They (Dortmund) fouled Cristiano (Ronaldo) five times as soon as the game began.



"How can you play 90 minutes and not commit a foul on a player who scored four goals?"



Mourinho expressed reservations about the team's chances of qualifying for the final, but still believes it is possible if they learn from their mistakes.



"I respect the history of this club but I never like to be in this situation, especially with a scoreline like that, when you start 1-4 behind. It's difficult to mathematically justify that we have a chance," he said.



"If we play like we did in Dortmund then it's difficult to see us doing it, but if we play the same way we have played in many games and we have the spirit to win a great game we will do it.



"We are an excellent team and we have excellent players.We are going to play to try and go through. We have to go for it right until the end of the game. Football is football and everything is possible."



Los Blancos beat rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1 at the weekend and Mourinho would like to see that performance replicated against Dortmund.



"I want my team to play with mental strength," he said.



"I have read that Saturday's game was boring but for me it was an example of how to be a compact, united and an aggressive team all working together for one objective."

Defender Sergio Ramos declared that the team were motivated to make amends for their disappointing performance in Dortmund.

"We can't wait for the game to arrive," he said.



"There is a desire in the dressing room to get revenge and stay in the competition."

Ramos, who will be the team's captain tomorrow, called on the fans that will be in the Bernabeu to make an extra effort but emphasised that ultimately it is down to the players to reverse their fortunes.

"You have to do your talking on the pitch," he said.



"Of course it is a boost to be able to play at home and have the fans roaring us on till the death. They can lift us, but that'll be no use if we aren't concentrated. It's up to us."

Jose ready for Dortmund

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho hopes this is the year his star-studded side finally get their hands on the Champions League trophy after coming up agonisingly short in the last two seasons.

Madrid's desire to claim a record 10th European Cup crown was floundering badly prior to Mourinho's arrival in 2010, with the Spanish giants suffering six successive exits at the last-16 stage.

However, since the Portuguese took charge Madrid have re-established themselves as a force to be reckoned with on the continent with three successive semi-final appearances.

The first two ended in disappointment with defeats to Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but Mourinho hopes it will be third time lucky when they take on Borussia Dortmund and that his team can then go on to lift the trophy he believes they deserve to win.

"We have a way of playing which is well-known, we've been on the brink for three years and we have s style of the play that guarantees quality," he said.

"I would like football to do justice to our players because with a few exceptions, none of them have won this competition so far and we've never won it as a team, and they deserve to do so."

"We've fallen in two semi-finals, one is best forgotten (against Barcelona) and the other on penalties (against Bayern) in a very tough manner.

"Hopefully football will now be fair with my players."

He added: "At this club to finish second is not enough, nor is it to reach the semi-finals. We need to give our maximum to reach the final."

Madrid met Dortmund in the 1998 Champions League semi-finals and knocked the then holders out 2-0 aggregate defeat before going on to lift the trophy themselves.

Dortmund have had the better of the meetings between two in the season's competition though, winning 2-1 at home in the group stages before drawing 2-2 at the Bernabeu in a match which saw Madrid net an 89th-minute equaliser through Mesut Ozil.

Mourinho concedes his side will need to defend better than in those games, saying: "All the goals they scored against us in the group stages were our own mistakes. We could have avoided them.

"In this tie we will have to be much better focused defensively. We will be more solid. If they score against us they need to be fantastic goals or because we haven't been able to do anything about them."

Mourinho, whose side could lose their Primera Division title to Barcelona this weekend if results go against them, opted to reveal at Tuesday's pre-match press conference what his side will be for the first leg, with the only question mark being winger Angel Di Maria who is set to travel to Germany on Wednesday following the birth of his child on Monday.

Mourinho has again preferred Diego Lopez to Iker Casillas in goal, while Sergio Ramos will line up at right-back, Fabio Coentrao will play at left-back with Marcelo out injured and Gonzalo Higuain will start up front ahead of Karim Benzema.

Dortmund have a pretty healthy squad, with Mats Hummels set to return to the starting line-up following his long lay-off. Midfielder Sebastian Kehl, though, is a doubt through injury.


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Salgado: Mourinho heading back to England

Former Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado believes Jose Mourinho has already made a decision about his future and will return to England.



The Portuguese coach said earlier this week he will sit down with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez at the end of the 2012/13 campaign to discuss his future at the club.



But Salgado has little doubt Mourinho will soon return to the Premier League.



"It would be no surprise if he returns to the Premier League," Salgado told Sport 360.



"I think he has made a decision and it will have nothing to do with whether he wins the Champions League this season or not.



"I can see Mourinho returning to England because he loves England, he loves the atmosphere of English football, and the respect English football has for him."



Mourinho previously worked in England at Chelsea from 2004 until 2007.

'I'm committed to Real Madrid for now'

Jose Mourinho has insisted that he is currently fully committed to Spanish outfit Real Madrid.

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The former Chelsea manager has been heavily linked with a return to the Premier League at the end of the current campaign, with his services having been paired with the Blues as well as Manchester City and Manchester United.



However, when asked by Sky Sports News about his future, the 50-year-old replied: "I am in Madrid and I am very, very committed to the club's ambitions for the remainder of the season. People know that I am professional and for the moment I only think about my job in Real."



The Portuguese boss did go on to confess, though, that he had been partly responsible for the speculation.



"There is a lot of talk but people need to understand that I can be in London very often. We have a house here and we love it here. Being in London is a very normal thing for us," he added.



"Every time I come people start immediately making connections to a return. I feed it because I say every day that I love it and will return one day. To be fair I give a little contribution to speculation."



Mourinho spent three years at Stamford Bridge, where he won six major honours.

Mourinho : I may comeback

Jose Mourinho has told Sky Sports he loves London, he will return to the Premier League and, most intriguingly, he will not rule out a return to Chelsea.

The Real Madrid boss was in the capital after having attended Brazil's game with Russia at Stamford Bridge on Monday evening.



Mourinho is widely expected to leave Real this summer, and suggested last week that he was ready to return to one of his former jobs, which many people took as a hint he would be back at Chelsea.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports News, he admitted he still loves English football and confirmed his passion for Chelsea remains.

"In this moment, I am completely independent of talks and speculations, and people who know me, know me well enough that I think about my job at Real Madrid," Mourinho said.

He joked that the current freezing weather conditions in England was not enough to put him off.

"I cannot deny that, despite this weather, I love it here, and as I said I have a house and I have big emotional connections with Chelsea and one day I think naturally I will have to be back to English football, or to Chelsea or to another club.

"Of course, Chelsea means to me differently than other clubs. Chelsea is in my heart as Inter is for example.

"One day I have to be back but again it is normal that I am in London. The same way I walk in my home city in Portugal, people see that as normal and this is normal, the same thing is normal when I am in London."

Also linked with the Manchester United and Manchester City roles, Mourinho does not expect either of those jobs to be available any time soon.



"I think Manchester is Sir Alex's kingdom and I would love that job to be his job forever, and for many more years and the other chair is Roberto with a contract," he added.

"He was champion two years ago so I don't think there is a move over there and I hope everything goes well for everyone. Even Benitez, I hope it goes well for him and I wish the same for them as me for it to go well."

Jose Mourinho drops hint

Jose Mourinho has hinted he may return to one of his former clubs, claiming his next move could be to "somewhere I've already been."

The Portuguese's future has been the subject of speculation despite leading Real Madrid to the Primera Division title last term and the fact they are still going strong in the Champions League this season.



Mourinho won two Premier League crowns in three years with Chelsea before leaving in 2007 and has often been linked with a return to Stamford Bridge, where there will be a vacancy in the summer when interim boss Rafael Benitez departs.



And, speaking at the opening of an exhibition in Setubal, Mourinho did little to dampen such talk.



The former Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan coach was quoted by Football Italia as saying: "I have an adventurous spirit and do not know what will happen next season.



"It's not easy to choose a new destination after working in England, Portugal, Italy and Spain. Maybe I could return to somewhere I've already been. Watch out for surprises."



The 50-year-old, who won an historic treble of Serie A, Champions League and Coppa Italia titles with Inter before leaving for Real in 2010, added: "If God keeps me healthy, then I am only halfway through my management career."

Mourinho: 'Don't compare me to Andre Villas-Boas"

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has said that he sees no similarities between himself and Andre Villas-Boas.

Despite both Portuguese coaches working for Porto at a young age and managing Chelsea in the Premier League, los Blancos boss believes that Villas-Boas's career does not have any resemblance to his own.



"I don't see anything of myself in Andre Villas-Boas," Mourinho told RTP1.



"He has accessed places others couldn't. I follow his career regularly. I know there is a Jose Mourinho effect in the young Portuguese.



"There is a lot of young people who dream about being a coach. Twenty years ago the youngsters wanted to be players, not coaches."



Mourinho looks set to leave Madrid in the summer after all but conceding La Liga to bitter arch-rivals Barcelona.

Mourinho: I spent two fantastic years

Real Madrid manager, Jose Mourinho recently admitted that he has found memories of managing Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A and if he did go back at some point, with would be with “great pleasure and excitement.”

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In a recent interview with Coordown.it (a National Coordinator for people with Down Syndrome), Mourinho revealed that he holds a special place in his heart for the Nerazzurri, and would be delighted to return at some point.



“I spent two fantastic years in Italy, at Inter.



“I do not know if I will go back someday, but if I do it will be with great pleasure and excitement.”



Coordown.it has organised 50 videos from celebrities to show their support for people with Down Syndrome, with 21 celebrities already supporting the cause, such as; Antonio Cassano, Francesco Totti, Andrea Ranocchia, Javier Zanetti, Marco Materazzi and singers, Tiziano Ferro and Jovanotti.

Mourinho: Ronaldo is the best

Cristiano Ronaldo netted the winner to boot Manchester United out of the Champions League, but Jose Mourinho says he is nothing without the team.



Real Madrid beat United 2-1 in the second leg of their round of 16 fixture, for a 3-2 aggregate win, with Ronaldo bagging his 40th goal in 41 official appearances this term.



Mourinho says Ronaldo is “the best”, but insists that does not mean he wins matches on his own.

"We never say that Cristiano is responsible when we lose a game, and we can’t think that he is the only one who wins it. Without the team he isn’t anything, but the team without him isn’t the same," the Madrid coach told ITV Sport.

"Cristiano is the best in the world. I saw [Diego] Maradona a couple times and I’ve never seen Pele, but Cristiano is incredible. This man is the best.

"But even he can’t win on his own. The key is in the team."

Mourinho and his players celebrating

Mourinho and his players celebrating at the final whistle! Some great moves on display! xDDDDDDD

Mourinho 'happiest at Inter'

Jose Mourinho has revealed that Inter Milan was the place that made him the happiest, but says his career would not have been complete without Real Madrid.

The Portuguese manager, 49, left Inter after his side famously defeated Spanish giants Barcelona on their way to their first European Cup title for 45 years.



Despite great success at Porto, Chelsea and Madrid, the man known as 'the Special One' says Inter is the place that gave him the most pleasure.



Since joining Madrid he has guided Los Blancos to their first domestic title since 2008, as well as success in the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana.



"Inter is the club where I liked most to stay, no one else gave me the same happiness. When I left, I cried more than once, I will belong to the Nerazzurri family forever," said Mourinho.



"I wondered why I left, and now I try to explain it. Friends told me that I could be a great coach, but without working for Real Madrid there would be a hole (in my career).



"It's why I got busy with Florentino Perez, but I always miss Inter."

Di Maria: I’ll play wherever Mourinho wants

Real Madrid midfielder, Angel di Maria stated that should the need arise, he would fill in at left-back, in place of the injured duo of Marcelo and Coentrao, while insisting that he hopes to remain an important player for the squad.

In his pre-match press conference before Real Madrid`s Champions League clash against reigning German Bundesliga champions, Borussia Dortmund, the Argentine international insisted that he would play left-back, if manager Jose Mourinho asked.



“The truth is that I haven’t spoken with Mourinho about playing at left-back but I always want to play, I love playing and I’ll play wherever he asks me to play and I’ll do everything I can to help the team.”



Di Maria then stated that he wants to continue being an important player with the club, in any capacity.



“It’s important to score goals but I prefer creating goals for others. I’m happy with how I’ve been playing and with how many assists I’ve provided. If I get a chance to score, I’ll try and take it, but if not, I also love providing assists.”

Di Maria concluded by discussing the challenge his side faces against their German opponents on Wednesday evening.



“We know it’s not going to be easy, but we just need to play our football, keeping doing what we’ve been doing until now and I hope we’ll be able to get the victory. We go into the game in good form and playing well. We made a bad start to the season but now we’re doing well. We are happy with how we’ve been playing and we aspire to win every game.”

Mourinho: I wanted to sub seven players

Jose Mourinho slammed his Real Madrid side today after their 1-0 loss at Sevilla condemned them to their worst La Liga start in a decade, claiming he wanted to replace seven players at half-time.



Piotr Trochowski's second-minute goal gave Sevilla victory as Real's haul of just four points from four games represented the Spanish giants' most damaging opening since the 2001/02 season.



Real are also eight points behind rivals Barcelona who won 4-1 at Getafe to retain their 100 per cent record. "I changed only two players at half-time, I wanted to change seven of them," said Mourinho. "What worries me more than the eight-point difference between us and Barça is that I don't have a team at the moment."



Cristiano Ronaldo was the centre of attention in the build-up to the game after he had claimed he was unhappy in the Spanish capital. But Mourinho insisted that the turmoil surrounding the Portuguese star was not a factor in Saturday's defeat, his team's second of the season.



"I don't think it has affected us. We played a similar game at Getafe and against Granada," said the manager. "It is more to do with a lack of concentration as a team. I think football is not the top priority for some in their heads at the moment, but I am the coach and so that is my fault."



Real face another test of their resilience on Tuesday when English champions Manchester City visit the Bernabeu in their opening UEFA Champions League fixture of the season.