Jose Mourinho insists a return to English football is on
his career agenda as he once again set foot inside Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho, sacked by the Blues in September 2007, returned for the
first time to take charge of Inter Milan's pre-match press
conference.
The self-proclaimed 'Special One' won every domestic honour
during his time as manager of the Blues including back-to-back
Barclays Premier League titles.
Mourinho, despite winning the title in his first year with Inter
and sitting one point clear at the top of Serie A, appears to have
a more than frosty relationship with the Italian media. And the
former Chelsea boss made it clear that he plans to return to
English football as part of his future career path.
"I have, as I said before, three things to do in my career - one
is to come back to English football; another thing is to win the
Spanish championship, because no-one has won Italian, English and
Spanish titles; and another one, when I'm old, is to coach my
national team. But, for now, I would like to keep winning with
Inter," said the Portuguese.
Mourinho's relationship with the club's billionaire owner Roman
Abramovich had become so strained that the club opted to axe him
following a 1-1 draw with Rosenborg in the Champions League in
2007.
Asked what he might have achieved had he stayed at the club,
Mourinho retorted: "I feel sorry but I look forward. I feel sorry
because, when I look at the big four teams while I was in England,
they (the managers) are all there.
"Sir Alex Ferguson is here. Arsene Wenger is here. Rafa Benitez
is here. I did more than enough to be here. But the decision was
made.
"Chelsea looked forward. I look forward. They move on. I move
on. I keep winning important things. They keep winning...something.
"They won an FA Cup. The most important thing is the relation we
have. No regrets, no big problems. Just respect.
"In football, coming back to an old team, it's important to feel
like I feel. It's one of the most beautiful things in football.
They move on, I move on."
But Mourinho did have one regret and that was the timing of his
exit because it left him outside of the game he loves. Mourinho
explained: "Change one thing? It would be...I would have left the
day after the FA Cup final after my third season.
"The timing was wrong. I waited three or four more months more
and, after that, I left in September and I didn't enjoy my time
from then to the day I went to Inter.
"For me, being away from football is too painful. If I had left
Chelsea in May, I would have started the next season in a new club
and I would not have been without football for six or seven
months."
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