Coach José Mourinho revealed this Wednesday that he regretted staying at Roma, his last club, instead of accepting the Portuguese national team’s offer in January 2023. The coach also said that he hopes to be able to lead his country’s team in the future.
“The most normal thing would be for me to accept the invitation. It’s happened twice, but they didn’t show up at the right time. In this last invitation, I let emotion override reason and decided to stay at Roma. It was a mistake. Portugal has a one of the best teams in the world at the moment, it’s an incredible group, I know that, but I felt a great connection with Roma and the fans, that’s why I rejected it,” he said in an interview with EA Sports Korean.
Mourinho also stated that he would accept being Portugal’s coach, if a new invitation arose.
“If that third opportunity comes, I will accept it and I hope that the next generation of players in the Portuguese national team will be as good as this one.”
At the moment, Roberto Martínez is the coach of the Portuguese national team. The Spaniard took office in January 2023. Since then, he has played 12 matches, won 11 and been defeated in one.
José Mourinho was at Roma from June 2021 until January 2024. During this period, he led the team in 138 games, won 68, drew 30 and lost 40. In addition, he was champion of the Conference League and finalist in the Europa League.
The Portuguese coach reported the difficulty he had in continental tournaments with the Italian team and with Manchester United, where he won the Europa League title in 2017.
“The two European finals were the most difficult of my career. The Europa League final, with Manchester United, was also very complicated, there were two teams that, when I arrived, were in a very complicated situation. Some coaches are smarter than me and choose the ideal challenges, the best conditions to be successful. They protect themselves. I like challenges, even if they are unfair for me because they cannot expect me to win titles when my team is not the strongest”.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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