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Tag: Mourinho

  • EPL: Mourinho explains why Klopp is not his friend

    EPL: Mourinho explains why Klopp is not his friend

    Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho says that he is “not a friend” of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp ahead of his side’s clash with the Reds on Thursday night.

    Mourinho said that he’s not Klopp’s friend – but that isn’t to say he dislikes the Liverpool boss.

    “I’m not a friend of Jurgen because I never had time with Jurgen,” the 58-year-old is quoted as saying by GOAL.

    “When you know the person well you can say, ‘I like him, he’s my friend’ or ‘I don’t like him, he’s not my friend‘.

    “With Jurgen it’s five minutes before a match and five minutes after a match. What I can say about Jurgen is that he’s a colleague that I respect, that I don’t have any problem with.

    “And I believe that he is the same way with me. No problems at all.”

  • Under-fire Lampard not my problem – Mourinho

    Under-fire Lampard not my problem – Mourinho

    Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho won’t offer any public support to underfire Chelsea counterpart Frank Lampard.

    Mourinho refused to offer any backing to under-pressure Chelsea boss Lampard.

    The Spurs chief knows all too well what it’s like to be axed at Stamford Bridge having been twice dismissed under Roman Abramovich.

    Yet when asked whether he’d like to offer any encouragement to his former midfielder Lampard, the Special One’s response was brutal.

    Mourinho responded: “No, that’s not my problem at all.”

  • Rashford reveals how Mourinho taught him to win penalties

    Rashford reveals how Mourinho taught him to win penalties

    Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford says former manager Jose Mourinho made him more “savvy” in the penalty area.

    It follows recent debates over United’s penalty count with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp suggesting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side had won more than his over a far shorter period.

    The England striker, 23, said Mourinho changed his attitude in the box.

    He added: “Jose said, ‘if you’re not savvy about the way you do it, then you are not going to get given it’.”

    Mourinho left United in 2018 after two years in charge, and since Solskjaer’s first league match in December of that year, the side have been awarded the most Premier League penalties (27).

    Last season United broke the record for the most spot-kicks awarded in a single Premier League season (14) and this campaign they have won 11 in all competitions.

    “When you are making runs in behind or you are dribbling with the ball and you see a challenge coming, you don’t want to get tackled because you are looking at an opportunity to score a goal,” said Rashford, who won the Football Writers’ Association 2021 Tribute Award on Thursday.

    “But there have been times when we have probably not got penalties.

    “When Jose was manager, there were five or six times I can remember where I should have had a penalty.”

    Upon being given the advice, Rashford said: “It was something in terms of development you have to learn and understand.”

    The forward has won 11 penalties for United at domestic league and European level, although eight of those have come under the management of Solskjaer.

  • Mourinho hits back at Ozil after Tottenham dig

    Mourinho hits back at Ozil after Tottenham dig

    Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has snapped back at Mesut Ozil after the Arsenal midfielder’s dig at the club.

    Mourinho delivered a typically cutting comeback in response to Ozil’s jibe that he’d rather retire than play for Tottenham.

    He made the claim in a social media Q&A yesterday.

    The Arsenal midfielder, who has been exiled by the Gunners but maintains club loyalties in north London, but the Spurs boss put him in his place.

    When told about Ozil’s remarks at a press conference, Mourinho hit back, saying: “Who told him that Tottenham were interested in signing him?”

    Mourinho and Ozil previously worked together at Real Madrid.

  • Kane, Son doing ‘special things’ – Mourinho

    Kane, Son doing ‘special things’ – Mourinho

    Harry Kane and Son Heung-min are doing “special things” for Tottenham Hotspur this season, manager Jose Mourinho said.

    This was following the dynamic duo both scoring in a 3-0 win over Leeds United that lifted Spurs to third in the Premier League on Saturday.

    Kane gave his side the lead from the penalty spot — his 10th league goal of the season — then combined with Son who doubled Tottenham’s tally just before halftime.

    It was Son’s 100th goal for Tottenham and the 13th time this season that the pair had combined for a league goal, equalling the whole season record set by Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton for Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95.

    “I think in the Premier League there are many good players everywhere even in clubs where you don’t believe they can have great players,” Mourinho said.

    “But I have to say that Sonny and Harry are doing special things this season.

    “They are very good players as you know for many years.

    “I want more goals, especially from other players but today the second goal is great, is also great because it was something we spoke about against a team that defends the way Leeds does.”

    While the scoreline rather flattered Tottenham against a Leeds side who enjoyed 64% possession, it snapped a four-game winless sequence in the Premier League and sent Mourinho’s side back into the top four of the table.

    They are in third spot with 29 points from 16 games, four behind joint-leaders Liverpool and Manchester United.

    “Of course the result is important.

    ”We didn’t play the last match and the run of results in the least few weeks was not good so we needed these three points so we go up a little bit in the table,” Mourinho said.

    Tottenham’s game in midweek was postponed after Fulham players tested positive for COVID-19.

    This is a decision that Mourinho still find puzzling on the day that three of his own players were condemned for breaking the rules to attend a party.

    “I go back to the initial rules of if you have 14 players available you have to play,” Mourinho said.

    “I don’t see another reason for not doing it. I think every club does the best for their players to keep them all safe but then there are moments in private lives which you cannot control.

    “Not everyone can be blamed so we have to carry on. If somebody has some positives, we have to play.”

  • Mourinho’s Tottenham knocks Leeds 3-0

    Mourinho’s Tottenham knocks Leeds 3-0

    Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were again Tottenham’s talismen in a 3-0 win over Leeds to kickstart their title challenge on Saturday but a third Premier League game this week was postponed due to coronavirus outbreaks.

    Burnley’s clash with Fulham, scheduled for Sunday, was called off due to a number of positive cases among the Fulham squad.

    Fulham’s trip to Tottenham was also postponed just hours before kick-off on Wednesday, to the frustration of Spurs boss Jose Mourinho.

    But even as his side ended a four-game winless run with a return to form against Leeds, Mourinho also lambasted three of his players for breaking coronavirus restrictions.

    Giovani Lo Celso, Erik Lamela and Sergio Reguilon were pictured attending a large party with family and friends over Christmas along with West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini.

    “We are extremely disappointed and strongly condemn this image showing some of our players with family and friends together at Christmas, particularly as we know the sacrifices everybody around the country made to stay safe over the festive period,” a Tottenham statement said. “The matter will be dealt with internally.”

    The latest breach by players will do little to ease the pressure on the Premier League to halt the season as a “circuit-breaking” measure to cope with the soaring infection rates across England.

    Despite the latest postponement, the Premier League again insisted there were no plans for a pause.

    “With low numbers of positive tests across the overwhelming majority of clubs, the League continues to have confidence in its COVID-19 protocols, fully backed by the Government, to enable fixtures to be played as scheduled,” the league said in a statement.

  • Mourinho fumes over Tottenham, Fulham postponement

    Mourinho fumes over Tottenham, Fulham postponement

    Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho says the way Wednesday’s match against Fulham was called off was “unprofessional”

    The Premier League game was postponed fewer than three hours before the kick-off after Fulham reported a number of positive Covid-19 cases.

    “I don’t want to speak too much about it. I felt unprofessional, but that is the way it was,” said Mourinho.

    “We were preparing ourselves for that match and that is disruptive of what is a week of work.”

    Mourinho posted a video on Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, showing his players and staff at the club’s training ground waiting for a decision on whether the match would proceed.

    He captioned the video with a comment saying “best league in the world.”

    The match was the third to be postponed because of Covid outbreaks among players and club staff, with Aston Villa v Newcastle and Everton v Manchester City also rolled over to undetermined future dates.

    The Premier League fixture list is under unprecedented pressure after the season got off to a later-than-usual start and with the delayed 2020 European Championship re-scheduled for June.

  • Mourinho goes through fire for Tottenham’s players – Bergwijn

    Mourinho goes through fire for Tottenham’s players – Bergwijn

    Tottenham midfielder Steven Bergwijn says he’s not scoring this season because of a change of role.

    Bergwijn hit three goals last season after arriving in January from PSV Eindhoven.

    He explained to Ziggo Sport: “I have been given other assignments this season.

    “I have to go with the opponent going back more often, so it is more difficult to get into scoring positions. I was also unlucky. A chance against Liverpool went against the post. Nine times out of ten that would hit the mark. If I come across such situations more often, I will automatically finish one.”

    After his switch from PSV, Bergwijn could immediately count on manager Jose Mourinho’s confidence. The winger quickly secured a starting place, but suffered an ankle injury in March.

    “He is very honest with me. We talk a lot, he is a good person who wants the best for his players. He’s going through fire for us. You could see him as a father figure. I have a good relationship with him,” added the Holland midfielder.

  • Mourinho ‘angry’ with Dele Alli for creating problems

    Mourinho ‘angry’ with Dele Alli for creating problems

    Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has hit out at Dele Alli, accusing the midfielder of creating “problems for his own team” in his side’s 3-1 win over Stoke in the Carabao Cup.

    Alli was handed a rare start at Stoke on Wednesday and looked dangerous on occasions in attack, seeing a goal-bound strike saved by Andy Lonergan in the first half.

    However, he was at fault for Stoke’s goal when a flick gifted possession to the home side – and it was an action that angered his coach.

    “For me a player who plays in that position is a player that has to link and create and not create problems for his own team,” Mourinho said in his post-match press conference. “They got us on the counterattack, so yes I was angry.

    “First half we were solid. They didn’t touch the ball, have a shot, have a corner. Instead of killing the game we kill ourselves. After that was a moment we needed stability and attitude.”

     

  • Tottenham will ‘try to win’ at Liverpool – Mourinho

    Tottenham will ‘try to win’ at Liverpool – Mourinho

    Jose Mourinho says Tottenham will be going to Anfield to beat Liverpool on Wednesday.

    The Portuguese has employed a pragmatic approach when coming up against the bigger English clubs this season.

    It has proved an effective strategy as Spurs currently lead Liverpool on goal difference at the top of the Premier League table.

    The Reds have not lost at Anfield in a record 64-game stretch.

    But Mourinho insists Spurs have no intention of settling for a point on Merseyside.