“People change a lot in 15 years”: Mourinho about Villas-Boas and comments on rumors linking him with Benfica

Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho said this Wednesday that he has no invitations to coach Portuguese football clubs, but assured that he intends to return to active work soon.

“I want to train, this is a fundamental part of my life. Without training there is no happiness. Where? In any club where there is a good training center. But I did not have invitations from Portuguese clubs,” said the coach. , on the sidelines of a ceremony dedicated to Rio Ave by the team that reached the Portuguese Cup final in 1984 under the leadership of Felix Mourinho, father of Jose Mourinho.

The coach, who has been without a club since leaving Italian side Roma in January this year, said he still has no projects and admitted there are expectations regarding his next call-up.

“Whatever needs to happen will happen. I know the weight of my story. Even when I coach teams that aren’t built to win, people always expect me to win. I’ve played in two European finals in the last two seasons and I want to play more,” he said.

Asked whether the fact that Andre Villas-Boas is now Porto’s president might make him want to coach Benfica, Jose Mourinho felt uncomfortable.

“Don’t ask me such questions. I don’t go to football driven by these feelings. Don’t ask me questions about clubs that have a coach. I have always stayed away from any unethical behavior,” the coach said. who was already coaching the Eagles.

The coach also spoke about the elections at Porto, but chose to keep his distance, although he believed in the competence of Andre Villas-Boas.

“We haven’t worked together for 15 years, and in 15 years people change a lot, for better and for worse. He prepared himself for this challenge in his life, and if he applied, it was because he felt capable of it. . That’s the most important thing, not what people think about it,” he said.

The coach stated that “he went down in Porto history as a coach, not as an assistant”, preferring not to comment on Pinto da Costa’s defeat in the elections.

“I have remained aloof from the elections and will continue to remain aloof from the ongoing affairs of the club. Obviously this is an important club in my history, but who am I to say anything more than history says about President Pinto da Costa. As for Villas…Boas, I lived nearby for five or six years and obviously have nothing bad to say about him,” he added.

Jose Mourinho was one of the guests at the celebrations organized by Rio Ave to mark 40 years since the club’s team reached the final of the Portuguese Cup for the first time under the leadership of his father Felix Mourinho in a game in which the team is huddled. lost to Porto 4–1.

“I experienced it all here before I went to college, and as you can imagine, at 18, it was a year full of memories. My father inspires me. It has always been difficult to bear the burden of being the son of the one he is. It is a burden that I bear with pride,” concluded the coach.