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Tag: Jose Mourinho

  • Some Man Utd players care more than others – Mourinho

    Some Man Utd players care more than others – Mourinho

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says “some [players] care more than others” at the club after their failure to win any of their past three games.

    In their last two league matches United have drawn with Wolves and lost to West Ham, slipping to 10th in the Premier League table as a result.
    They were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Championship side Derby.
    Asked if he was worried about his position if the side’s poor form continued, Mourinho replied: “No.”
    Mourinho was speaking before United play Valencia in a Champions League group match on Tuesday.
    “Every player is different, no player is the same,” he said. “I see different actions but what you see is not really inside.
    “I see upset people, some people that don’t look like they lost a game.
    “I see so-so but in the little two sessions of training we had [since Saturday] everything was normal, desire to work and play.”
    Mourinho added: “What I can do to improve things I do, and I will improve the things that depend on me and my work.”
    BBC

  • Pogba criticises Man Utd attitude in first defeat at Brighton

    Manchester United did not show the right attitude in their surprise Premier League defeat at Brighton, says captain Paul Pogba.

    The Seagulls, who beat Jose Mourinho’s side at the Amex Stadium in May to retain their top-flight status, stunned their visitors by scoring three goals in the first half.

    Glenn Murray flicked in the opener before Shane Duffy stroked home two minutes later.

    Romelu Lukaku halved the deficit 11 minutes before the break, rising unmarked to nod in Luke Shaw’s ball, but Pascal Gross converted a penalty after a foul by Eric Bailly.

    Pogba also scored from the spot – deep in second-half stoppage time – but it was not enough to deny Brighton a famous win.

    “The attitude that we had was not like we wanted to beat them. They had more anger than us and that showed on the pitch,” Pogba told Sky Sports.

    “I put myself first. My attitude wasn’t right enough. We’ll keep trying and keep pushing and obviously it’s a lesson for us.”

    Mourinho said he would not blame individuals, despite admitting his side made “incredible mistakes”.

    The Portuguese has previously singled out players for criticism if he felt they performed below expectations but said his side were not good enough as a collective against Brighton.

    “We were punished by the mistakes we made,” he said. “For me that’s the story of the game.

    “We made incredible mistakes in some crucial moments. Mistakes that killed us.”

    BBC

  • I don’t have problem with Pogba – Jose Mourinho

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he “couldn’t be happier” with Paul Pogba after the France midfielder suggested he was dissatisfied with life at Old Trafford.

    The World Cup winner, 25, fell out of favour last season and this summer has been linked with a move to Barcelona.

    Mourinho said: “He’s playing well, he does for the fans, he does for the team and that’s what I want.

    “I cannot demand more from him, I cannot ask more from him.”

    Pogba started in the season opener against Leicester last Friday, scoring in the 2-1 win.

    The former Juventus player said afterwards: “If you’re not happy, you cannot give your best. There are things I cannot say otherwise I will get fined.”

    But Mourinho said: “The truth is we are together for two years and a couple of weeks, and I’ve never been so happy with him as I am now.

    “We never had a hard – I don’t know how you like to say – exchange of words. Everything is respected. I have no problems at all.”

    Meanwhile, the United manager said Italy full-back Matteo Darmian was likely to remain at Old Trafford. The 28-year-old had been given permission to find a new club, and was a tipped for a return to Serie A.

    The Portuguese manager said: “I don’t think he will go. He cannot have any bad feelings towards us, because we opened the door for him in case his desire was to go, but it looks like it’s not going to end in a transfer and for me it is good news.

    “For me it’s good news that Matteo is staying.”

    BBC

  • EPL: Call me head coach, not a manager – Mourinho

    Jose Mourinho said he should probably be called a “head coach” rather than a “manager” after Manchester United beat Leicester City 2-1 without the playing personnel he expected.

    Mourinho claimed he needed “six changes, not three” in Friday night’s Premier League opener at Old Trafford due to several of his first-team regulars missing much of their pre-season following the World Cup.

    Goals from Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw ensured victory over a team which Mourinho pointed out had “invested more than us”.

    “In the Premier League, we must get used to playing teams with the same quality we have,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “Forget the name, forget the history, forget the shirts. Every team is a good team.”

    Mourinho gave United’s hierarchy a list of players he wanted to sign before the window closed on Thursday, but the deadline passed without any further additions.

    Toby Alderweireld, Harry Maguire, Yerry Mina, Jerome Boateng and Diego Godin were all identified as centre-back targets.

    Asked if there was a problem with United’s board not agreeing with the names put forward, Mourinho said: “That’s football management.

    “Football is changing. Probably football managers should be called more head coaches. We have big multi-functional coaching staffs and I think we are more the head coach than the manager.”

    Mourinho claimed he told his players to “give me what you have” ahead of their first league fixture, with players including Marouane Fellaini saying he could contribute only 10 minutes of game time.

    He added: “I had my plans for many months and I find myself in the beginning of the Premier League, with the market closed, I find myself in a situation which I did not think I was going to be in.

    “I think it will be the last time I speak about it. It’s finished, the market is closed and no more talk about it.”

     

  • If we don’t make our team better, it will be a difficult season – Mourinho

    If we don’t make our team better, it will be a difficult season – Mourinho

    Manchester United face a “difficult season” unless they strengthen their squad before Thursday’s transfer deadline, says manager Jose Mourinho.

    The Red Devils ended their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 defeat at German champions Bayern Munich on Sunday.

    Javi Martinez headed home a second-half winner to give Bayern victory in a match they dominated.

    “My CEO knows what I want and I still have a few days to wait and see what happens,” Mourinho said on MUTV.

    “The other clubs who compete with us are really strong and already have fantastic teams. Or they are investing massively like Liverpool, who are buying everything and everybody.

    “If we don’t make our team better it will be a difficult season for us.”

    United have so far signed three players this summer – Brazil midfielder Fred for £47m, Portuguese defender Diogo Dalot and third-choice goalkeeper Lee Grant.

    They open the Premier League season against Leicester City at Old Trafford on Friday.

    Former chief executive Peter Kenyon said on Sunday he believes Mourinho needs to find a way of “working out” his issues with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

  • Mourinho unsure over Martial return after win over Real Madrid

    Mourinho unsure over Martial return after win over Real Madrid

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said he “doesn’t know” when forward Anthony Martial will link up with the squad after his side beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the International Champions Cup.

    Goals from Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera earned United a first 90-minute win of their United States trip, but they had to do without Martial in Miami after he left the tour last week to be at the birth of his daughter.

    Mourinho questioned why the France international did not return for Saturday’s 4-1 defeat by Liverpool.

    Asked if Martial would be part of his squad for Sunday’s game against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena – five days before the start of the Premier League season – he said: “I don’t know.”

    Martial has been linked with a move from Old Trafford and it is understood the club would be willing to let him leave for a team outside the Premier League.

    Mourinho did confirm attackers Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku and defender Phil Jones had volunteered to return to training three days early in a bid to ensure they are fully fit for the Premier League opener against Leicester on 10 August.

    Chile forward Sanchez impressed against Real in the final match of United’s five-game trip, scoring their first goal and creating the second when he nodded Juan Mata’s cross into the path of Herrera, who finished with a first-time shot.

    Summer signing Fred started in midfield, while goalkeeper David de Gea returned to the team.

    Gareth Bale started for Real but his only chance of note was a curling shot that went wide.

    Karim Benzema, the only player who began the Champions League final win over Liverpool to start in Miami, pulled one back in first-half stoppage time.

    Man Utd: De Gea; Darmian, Bailly, Fosu-Mensah, Shaw; Herrera, Fred (Tuanzebe 68), McTominay (Mitchell 79); Mata (Garner 82), Alexis, A Pereira.

    Subs not used: Grant, J Pereira, Williams, Hamilton, Gomes, Chong, Bohui, Greenwood.

    Real Madrid: Casilla (Lunin 46); Odriozola (Sergio Lopez 62), Vallejo (Nacho 77), Sanchez, Hernandez (Reguilón 46); Llorente (Asensio 77), Valverde (Isco 77); Bale (Odegaard 46, Kroos 77), Ceballos (Raul de Thomas 62), Vinicius Junior (Oscar Rodriguez 62); Benzema (Mayoral 46).

    Subs not used: Navas, Carvajal, Vazquez, Bernal, Zidane, Franchu, Seoane, De la Fuente.

    BBC

  • One of my life goals is to make Mourinho smile – Klopp

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has quipped that one of his “life goals is to make Jose Mourinho smile” after the Manchester United manager suggested Liverpool “had to win the Premier League” this season.

    Mourinho claimed the Anfield club are “big candidates” for the title having spent £170m on four players this summer.

    But Klopp has dismissed those comments before Saturday’s meeting between the two sides in Michigan in the International Champions Cup.

    “It’s a free world and I have no problem with Jose,” said the German.

    “We are responsible for our fans, our owners and nobody else. I am not too interested in Man Utd.”

    Klopp’s response follows Mourinho’s suggestion Liverpool will have set a “Premier League record” this season, after spending nearly £250m in the last 12 months.

    That figure includes world-record fees for £66.8m goalkeeper Alisson from Roma and £75m defender Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in January.

    This summer, Guinea midfielder Naby Keita has arrived from RB Leipzig for about £50m, Brazil midfielder Fabinho has joined from Monaco in a deal that could be worth more than £40m, and Switzerland winger Xherdan Shaqiri has come in from Stoke for £13m.

    However the Reds have also raised significant funds, including through the £142m sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in January.

    When asked about Liverpool’s spending, Mourinho said: “I don’t see another team getting close to that level of investment – a team that was a finalist in the Champions League, you have to say are a big candidate. You have to win.”

    Asked whether he had to win the Premier League this season, Klopp said: “I don’t think so.

    “Do I get the sack if not? Depends on the football we play.

    “A big part of the job is to play football that our people like. It happened last year and the year before but now we want to make the next step.

    “Our opponents have not slept and they too have brought better players in.”

  • Mourinho worried by Man United’s ‘very bad’ pre-season

    Mourinho worried by Man United’s ‘very bad’ pre-season

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is worried by the absence of key players from the club’s pre-season training camp in the United States.

    Mourinho said the situation was “very bad” ahead of the English Premier League (EPL) campaign.

    United are without several World Cup participants, including France’s Paul Pogba, Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini, and England’s Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Ashley Young and Phil Jones among others, as they rest following a gruelling tournament.

    Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez is also absent from the camp due to visa issues.

    “The pre-season is very bad, the positive thing of the pre-season is only for the young boys that have a fantastic opportunity to train with us,” Mourinho told reporters.

    “I’m worried because I’m not training (with everyone) and then I go to the EPL without lots of players.

    “But it is what it is and we have to try and make the best out of it with the players we have here.

    “I’m not worried about playing Liverpool here or Real Madrid or Milan… I’m not worried if we lose badly,” continued Mourinho.

    United will play two friendlies, starting with Club America on Friday, ahead of next week’s International Champions Cup tournament, where they will face domestic rivals Liverpool, Real Madrid and Italy’s AC Milan.

    The Old Trafford side also play a friendly against German champions Bayern Munich on Aug. 5, five days before they kick off their league campaign against Leicester City.

    Reuters/NAN

  • Pogba will stay at Man Utd – Jose Mourinho

    Pogba will stay at Man Utd – Jose Mourinho

    Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho says he has “a feeling” Paul Pogba will still be at Old Trafford next season.

    French midfielder Pogba, 25, had been linked with a move away from the Premier League this season having fallen out of favour at United.

    Mourinho also said there were players in his squad who are not up to United standards, but who he accepted would not be leaving the club.

    “I think he’s going to be here next season,” Mourinho said of Pogba.

    “That’s my feeling.”

    Pogba – who joined United for a then-world record £89m in August 2016 – has scored six goals in 25 Premier League appearances this season, one more than his tally from the 2016-17 campaign.

    But he has been left out of Mourinho’s starting line-up for several key fixtures this season, including both legs of United’s Champions League last-16 defeat by Sevilla.

    “I can give the guarantee that I don’t want him to leave, that the club doesn’t want to sell him, and I can give you the guarantee that we don’t have any approach from him or his agent or from any club,” Mourinho added.

    “In this moment, for me, he’s staying, yes.”

    ‘I trust some more than others’

    With two games remaining of the Premier League season, United are second, 20 points adrift of champions and neighbours Manchester City.

    Mourinho says his players need to be “more consistent” on the pitch, adding he wanted to see “more quality” at the club next season if they are to narrow the deficit.

    “I trust some more than others that can bridge that gap. Some of the players I am totally convinced are going to make it, some others I have good hopes that they are going to make it, and some others I don’t believe they are going to make it,” he said.

    “Unless there is a perfect squad, where if you buy one goalkeeper you don’t like, you buy another one. You buy a central defender you don’t like, you buy another one. Unless you can do that, you have to keep players you don’t love – when I say love, I say it ‘footballistically’ – and players you don’t totally believe have the level of the squad.

    “If you go to the Premier League managers, I don’t say every one, but I say the majority of them will tell you the same. In my squad, I have some players where I would like to have better than what I have. That’s basic.

    BBC

  • Fomer Brazil international is the best Ronaldo – Mourinho

    Fomer Brazil international is the best Ronaldo – Mourinho

    Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho has taken aim at fellow country-man Cristiano Ronaldo by claiming the legendary Brazilian striker is the best player to carry the name.

    The duo had a tempestuous relationship when Mourinho coached his compatriot during his time in the Real Madrid dugout.

    The former Real Madrid manager is in no doubt who is the best Ronaldo when asked about the Brazilian in a documentary about the late former Newcastle and England boss Sir Bobby Robson.

    He said: “Ronaldo Nazario, the best Ronaldo EVER!”

    Robson signed Ronaldo from PSV Eindhoven for Barcelona for £13.2million in 1996 and he went on to win the World Player of the Year three times.

    He said: “Ronaldo Nazario, the best Ronaldo EVER!”

    Robson signed Ronaldo from PSV Eindhoven for Barcelona for £13.2million in 1996 and he went on to win the World Player of the Year three times.

    Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, has won the Ballon d’Or on five occasions, rubber-stamping his reputation as one of the best players of all time.

    On the Brazilian Ronaldo’s incredible 47-goal season for Barca before being sold to Inter, Mourinho said: “I never saw the same, I never saw the same. It was the best year ever for Ronaldo. He [Robson] was like a dad to him.

    “He understood the Brazilian kid personality and at the same time, he gave him the freedom to allow him allowed him to play on the pitch.

    “I remember Bobby every day… A person only dies when the last person who loves him dies.”