Eto'o hits out at 'puppet' Mourinho

Samuel Eto’o has reignited his war of words with Jose Mourinho, branding the Chelsea manager a “puppet” while insisting he remains capable of performing at the highest level.

Mourinho was caught on camera making disparaging remarks about the quality of the club's strikers at a sponsors' event in Switzerland in February, and suggested that Eto'o could be older than he claims to be.

The 33-year-old Cameroon international, who scored 14 times during what is likely to be a single season at Stamford Bridge, broke his silence on the matter last week - branding Mourinho a “fool” - and is refusing to let the matter lie.

Asked about the nature of his relationship with the Portuguese coach, Eto’o told Cafonline: "Contrary to what a puppet says about my age, I am still physically fit. At 33, I feel really good. I have proven that I can do better than the younger players.

"And I wish to also say that I am not going to the United States or to the Middle East. I will continue at the top level. I will continue to play the Champions League. My romance with this competition is far from over.

"I will not tell you where, but I will be at the top level. I am 33 and I have two World Cups to play. There are other players who went on until the age of 41 so there is no reason why I cannot continue."

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Van Gaal : Mourinho is jealous of my CV

Louis van Gaal has revealed that Jose Mourinho texted him on his appointment as Manchester United manager to reveal his jealousy at the list of clubs the Dutchman has managed.

Van Gaal's imminent move to Old Trafford will provide the latest chapter in an illustrious career which also includes spells in charge of Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Mourinho was interviewed by the Catalan giants prior to the appointment of Pep Guardiola in the summer of 2008, and was widely reported to be keen on succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson as United boss before David Moyes was chosen.

And speaking to Dutch television channel RTL, Van Gaal claimed that Mourinho - his former assistant and long-time friend - had been in touch to reveal his awe at his mentor's CV.

"Jose Mourinho was one of the first people that texted me when I got the job. He said that he was jealous of my resume of clubs," Van Gaal said with a smirk.

The 62-year-old also insisted he does not foresee any problems with Ferguson, who remains on the board of directors at United and previously endorsed Ryan Giggs for the manager's job.

"I will probably have a drink with Sir Alex Ferguson, but we've done that a couple of times before," he added. "We get along quite fine.
"I don't think his pressure will be a big problem. I put a lot of pressure on myself. We need to get United back to the summit, as soon as possible.

"Maybe people will think that this will happen in the first seeason, but we'll have to see. In the end, there's only one team that becomes champions."

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Mourinho: We don't need many new signings

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said his team don't require too many new additions this summer and suggests they will wait until after the World Cup before making any moves.

But with many transfer targets pre-occupied with this summer's tournament in Brazil, Mourinho admits it could be some time before Chelsea have any new faces to unveil, but said there won't be too many brought in.
"Since the market will be open until August 31, like it is, I think it will be more of the same," he told Sky Sports News.

"I think people [will] wait for the World Cup, wait for the first reaction of the first team, wait until after something happens.

"At Chelsea, the manager is the same, the basic structure of the team is the same, we don't need the season to finish and the results of the season [to] make the decisions about what we need and what we don't need," he added.

"Everything was done during the season. We knew perfectly what we wanted and I don't think we have huge work to do during the summer really."

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Eto'o: Mourinho is a fool for calling me old

Samuel Eto'o has labelled Jose Mourinho a "fool" after the Chelsea boss questioned the veracity of his official age earlier in the season.

Mourinho was unwittingly caught on camera lamenting the quality of the strikers at his disposal at a sponsors' event in Switzerland in February, and jokingly suggested that Eto'o could be older than he claims to be.

The now-33-year-old appeared to react in jest by celebrating his next Chelsea goal by holding his back in false pain, aping the manner of a geriatric.

However, Eto'o - who is now out of contract at Stamford Bridge - has blasted Mourinho for his comments, while also insisting that he can continue playing at the highest level for the foreseeable future.

"Today, I am 33-years-old - and it is not because a fool called me an old man that you must believe it," the Cameroonian told africanfootball.com.

"And you may have noticed that the old man was better than the youngsters. Some believe I am going to retire in the United States or in the Middle East, but I have regained the joy of the Champions League and I am going to carry on playing in the Champions League.

"Where? I am not going to tell you."

Eto'o is set to feature at his fourth World Cup for Cameroon next month, and the four-time African Player of the Year feels he could go on and break Lothar Matthaus' and Antonio Carbajal's record of playing at five World Cups.

"I am going to carry on playing because physically and mentally I feel great," he added.

"So I am going to go to this World Cup and to the next one when I will be 37. Some did it at 42, so I can still play at two more World Cups."

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Mourinho : I want to stay at Chelsea forever

Jose Mourinho insists that he wants to stay at Chelsea "forever" after returning for the club for a second spell.

The Portuguese came back to Stamford Bridge in the summer after a turbulent three-year spell at Real Madrid, having won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups during his first tenure at Stamford Bridge from 2004 to 2007.

Mourinho originally left Chelsea by mutual consent but is now adamant that he wants to see out his managerial career in west London.

"My future is Chelsea and if Chelsea decides it's time to stop our relationship, it's Chelsea that decides," he told reporters. "Not me. I want to stay forever.

"When Chelsea decides it's time to stop, it's then time for me to think about my future."

Chelsea are currently second in the Premier League, having defeated Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday, but third-placed Manchester City lie a point behind with a game in hand.

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Mourinho a defensive master , or just lucky?

This is probably what they mean by the business end of the season. Pragmatism. Cynicism. Getting the job done, by any means possible. Chelsea did exactly that.

Liverpool have lost at home 2-0 and the direction of this title, yet again, is anybody's guess. The air of invincibility at Anfield smoked out by Jose Mourinho and an away performance built on brutal discipline, both brilliant and ill.

Chelsea came for a war of attrition and the battle lines were drawn from the start. Luis Garcia, scorer of the so-called 'ghost goal' against Mourinho's side in the 2005 Champions League semi-final that ended with glory in Istanbul for Liverpool, was brought onto the pitch as a gentle reminder of conflicts past.

Outside the ground, flares and flags met the team buses on arrival at Anfield and Breck Road, where the fans march towards the ground down from Everton Valley. If Chelsea wanted to stop the Liverpool behemoth, they were going to have to put in one hell of a shift.

They did. Of course they did. Mourinho may have taken issue with the performance being called a "defensive display" in his post-match press conference, but this was a game played his way, unbreakable in front of their own goal. "Two buses at the back", as Rodgers described it.

The temptation to criticise is strong, but there were outstanding performances in a Chelsea defence that was makeshift at best. Ashley Cole and Cesar Azpillicueta were impenetrable in the channels. Branislav Ivanovic a rock yet again. Round, through, over or under, Liverpool simply would not pass.

Not that it was quite as simple as that. The Chelsea manager claimed to have never heard of time-wasting. It must have a different name in Portugal.

Every possible second was sucked away from Liverpool, every disruption and delay exploited. The more the hosts were made to wait, the more Anfield, a stadium of unshakeable confidence in 2014, grew nervy.

Steven Gerrard snatched the ball from Mourinho on the touchline and Luis Suarez sarcastically applauded Mark Schwarzer as the Australian stood over the ball. There was little more Liverpool could do.

And typically irony struck at its cruellest, as Gerrard slipped in the first half injury time the home side so craved. Demba Ba took advantage and broke the deadlock. Willian repeated the trick on the break late on, working with of all people Fernando Torres to twist the knife and make the victory look far more comfortable than it was.

As such, the advantage is Manchester City's, for whom Chelsea's three points may prove invaluable. It is now in Manuel Pellegrini's hands. Liverpool can merely watch on, left in no doubt as to how near impossibly difficult this league is to win.

For Chelsea and Mourinho, it was simply business as usual.

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Mourinho: Torres still has a future at Chelsea

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres still has a future at Stamford Bridge, insists manager Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese boss opted to start without a recognised striker against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, while the Spaniard failed to make an impact off the bench.

But, despite Torres' struggles this season, Mourinho is adamant he will stand by the much-maligned forward.

"Yes, he has a future here," Mourinho told reporters. "If you want to improve ... I think that's normal and basic.

"Does he have future [at Chelsea]? Yes."

"He works hard, he brings things to the team, but we want him to score more goals. He wants that too.

"He's the kind of player I respect, he deserves to be respected, and there's nothing more I can say about it. I think people who give everything they have, you never can complain. [Torres] gives everything. Obviously we want more.

"I think during his period in the club he had moments [of his best] and some of them important."

Samuel Eto'o is still out with the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the Champions League trip to Paris, meaning Torres is likely to feature for the Blues in Saturday's Premier League clash with Stoke as they bid to recover from two defeats in five days.

Speculation is rife over the future of striker Romelu Lukaku, who is enjoying a fruitful season-long loan spell at Everton, but Mourinho believes the current arrangement is working well for both clubs and confirmed no bids have been made for the Belgium international.

The Blues take on Stoke at 17:30 BST on Saturday afternoon, and will also be without John Obi Mikel, but Ashley Cole returns to the squad after a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.

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Mourinho takes pride in Chelsea's defence

Jose Mourinho lauded Chelsea’s defensive resilience after his side moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.

With their 4-0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday Chelsea claimed a seventh clean sheet in their past 10 league matches and extended their advantage over Mourinho’s title pick Manchester City to nine points, although the 2012 champions have three games in hand.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill and captain John Terry are established as Mourinho’s favoured back four, much to the Portuguese’s satisfaction. Azpilicueta, who has displaced Ashley Cole at left-back, received particular praise.

“We know that to win matches you need to score more goals than the opponent, but one of the ways you have to score more is if you don’t concede,” said Mourinho, whose strikers have been much derided this term. “We work, we prepare matches, we analyse opponents. You try to find the best balance.

“Defensively you try to make a shape, you try to find a balance. I like Ivanovic playing right-back more than as a central defender. I like a lot the stability of Cahill and the understanding of Cahill with John. And I think at this moment Azpilicueta is unbeatable. For many, many matches I haven’t seen one player beat Azpilicueta in an individual duel.

“The team is compact, we have a good balance, we are playing well defensively.”

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Mourinho : Varane is the best defender in the world

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho believes that Real Madrid youngster Raphael Varane is arguably the best defender in the world.

The Portuguese, who left the Santiago Bernabeu for Stamford Bridge last summer, made the French youngster a regular in his starting XI last term.

Varane earned widespread praise for his composed defensive performances and Mourinho has nothing but good memories of the centre-back.

Indeed, after being asked who were the young players to watch at the World Cup after being unveiled as Yahoo's global ambassador for football 2014, the Blues boss stated: "I would say [Eden] Hazard for sure, Neymar and Varane.

"I think Varane is the best central defender in the world. He is still young, but I think he's the best. Already, yes. I think he's the best defender."

Varane has made just six La Liga appearances so far this term as a knee injury kept him sidelined for the majority of the first half of the season but is expected to be named in France's squad for Brazil 2014.

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Mourinho: Wenger is a specialist in failure

Jose Mourinho has further ignited his war of words with Arsene Wenger by labelling the Arsenal boss "a specialist in failure".

Mourinho, unbeaten in 10 games against Wenger, was responding to comments from the Frenchman that the Premier League title was now Chelsea's to lose after they went top of the table in midweek.

After Mourinho's repeated assertion that his side are not favourites for the title this season, Wenger suggested that managers who play down their team's chances have a "fear to fail".

But when presented with the latest comments from the Gunners boss, the Portuguese replied: "He's a specialist in failure. I'm not.

"The reality is he's a specialist because eight years without a piece of silverware, that is failure."

Chelsea currently lead the Premier League by a point from Arsenal after 26 matches, with Manchester City and Liverpool two and three further points back respectively.

But Mourinho has been at pains to stress that his side should not be considered the front-runners in this season's title race, labelling them a "little horse" and City a "Jaguar".

Arsenal, meanwhile, are mounting their most concerted challenge in years as Wenger bids to end a trophy drought which stretches back to 2005.

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Leboeuf: Mourinho was right to sell Mata

Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf believes Jose Mourinho was right to sell Juan Mata, revealing that he was not "a big fan" of the Spaniard.

The Spain international was a popular figure with Blues supporters during his near three-year stint at Stamford Bridge, but failed to nail down a regular first-team following the return of 'The Special One' last summer.

Mata duly completed a switch to reigning Premier League champions Manchester United in a €45 million deal during the January transfer window and while Mourinho's decision to part company with such an asset may have raised eyebrows among some supporters, Leboeuf believes it was the right call.

"I've never been a big fan of Juan Mata," the Frenchman told Perform. "I think he's a fantastic player [but] I think he doesn't suit English football.

"I guess Chelsea tried to find the new [Gianfranco] Zola. But Zola was much more powerful than Mata, and Mata is a little bit light.

"I think Mourinho realised that and that is why he bought Willian, because he has a little bit of Zola, not as big as Zola but strong, skilful and works really hard for the team and can defend.

"With [Eden] Hazard, Oscar and Willian, it is an armada. You don't know where to look, because you know you are going to struggle at some point."

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Mourinho: No bids for Chelsea duo, not interested in Guarin

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho gave an update about transfer dealings during his press conference ahead of the Blues’ Premier League clash against Hull City.

The Blues are linked with players like Fredy Guarin and Jackson Martinez, while media speculated that players like Juan Mata and Michael Essien could leave the club. Further, speculations were rife about a possible transfer of midfielder Kevin De Bruyne while French media reported that star midfielder Eden Hazard might leave the club as well to join PSG.

The reports about Guarin has been doing the rounds for a while, with Inter Milan reportedly are holding out for a fee in the region of £15-18m. When asked about it, Mourinho replied that he is NOT interested in players like Guarin and Martinez.

Regarding De Bruyne’s future, Chelsea boss said that the club has received few proposals for the young Belgian and they’re analyzing it at the moment.

Juan Mata’s future has been speculated in the media as well. Mourinho said few days back that the door is open for Mata, though later reiterated that he doesn’t want the Spaniard to leave. Likewise, the Italian press reported in the morning that Essien is a target of AC Milan. The Serie A giants are looking to sign him on loan, and could enter into negotiations within few weeks. The Portuguese confirmed that no official bids have been received for both the players. Plus, he would not loan them either.

Hazard was linked with PSG in the morning, but Mourinho feels his value in the market would be crazy having signed the Belgian for around £40million.

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Mourinho: Chelsea will not sign a striker

Chelsea will not sign a new striker in the January transfer window, according to their manager Jose Mourinho.

The club have been heavily linked with a number of Europe's top strikers over recent weeks, most notably Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain. But Mourinho said Napoli could not be persuaded to sell Higuain, and said that his current front three of Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba was adequate.

"A striker, 100 per cent no," Mourinho replied on Friday when asked if Chelsea would be active in the transfer market this month. "It is not a priority, it is not an option. We have three. The market is open, but for us, it is almost closed."

"We are happy with the squad we have," he said. "This squad is good enough for my first season. If we can improve the squad to prepare the next season, we will do that. But we know where we are, we know what we need for the future."

On Higuain, Mourinho said: "He's a player that I know we cannot get. He's a player that moved from Real Madrid to Napoli six months ago. He's adapting very well to Italy, and Napoli is a club that normally doesn't sell. They want to win the Scudetto and the Europa League. I don't believe they are interested in selling Higuain."

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Chelsea’s €60m Higuain bid rejected

Chelsea have had a £50 million bid for Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuaín rejected as Jose Mourinho tries to add some much-needed firepower to his attack.

Napoli have not given any encouragement to Chelsea in their efforts to land Higuaín and insist the Argentine, who played under Mourinho at Real Madrid, is not for sale.

Higuaín has scored nine goals in 16 league games since moving from Spain to Italy in the summer.

That may not deter Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who agrees the lack of goals from strikers is the major weakness in the side.

He is willing to back Mourinho in the transfer market, even though the club posted losses of almost £50 million last season.

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Mourinho : Juan Mata can leave if he wants

Jose Mourinho said that the door was “open” if Juan Mata wanted to discuss leaving, though he stressed his desire for the Spain winger not to walk through it.

With the January transfer window now open, Mata’s future at Chelsea was thrust back under the spotlight after he displayed frustration at being substituted 53 minutes into the eventual 3-0 win over Southampton.
Mata pushed the chair in the dugout and then appeared to be gesticulating angrily about the situation to André Schürrle, who was also taken off just eight minutes into the second half.

Mourinho claimed that Mata’s frustration would have been caused by the difficulty of breaking down a stubborn Southampton team.

He was then asked what he would do if the 25-year-old wanted to leave.

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Terry: Mourinho has brought the magic back to Chelsea

John Terry claims that Chelsea have got their old identity back since Jose Mourinho returned to the club in the summer.

The Portuguese left Stamford Bridge in September 2007 after winning two Premier League titles and three domestic cups in his three full seasons at the club.

After coming back in July, the Blues have won twelve of their opening 19 games and lie just two points behind table-toppers Arsenal.

Consequently, Terry believes the club has its mojo back.

"The last couple of years we've lost our identity a little bit," the veteran centre-half told the club's official website.

"There's some good teams in the league and when you go 3-2 up it's important you get men behind the ball and dig in deep and not give them opportunities to really feed on.

"I think we're doing that really well at the moment. At times when we're looking really solid, getting the wide men in and then when we do break it's important for them to then go again and show their fresh legs going forward."

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last four league games, beating fellow title challengers Liverpool 2-1 last time out thanks to strikes from Samuel Eto’o and Eden Hazard.

And Terry says those type of attacking players are key for the side’s silverware ambitions.

"It's important you keep it tight at the back and you look for those type of players to create something or do something out of nothing," the Blues captain added.

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Mourinho: Manchester City still title favourites

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho feels Manchester City are still favourites for the Premier League title despite his side's win over Liverpool.

Mourinho saw his team overcome Martin Skrtel's third-minute opener at Stamford Bridge, as Eden Hazard's curling strike and Samuel Eto'o's finish from six yards secured all three points with a 2-1 victory.

Chelsea have now recorded four consecutive home victories in the Premier League and head into 2014 just two points adrift of leaders Arsenal in third place, but Mourinho believes second-placed City remain the team to beat.

"I keep saying there is a big difference between Manchester City and the other teams," he told reporters. "It's not just about quality, other teams have quality, us too. But [it is about] maturity, the number of players, the group of strikers, physicality, experience.

"They [City] are the favourites, for us, for Arsenal, for Liverpool, to be around [the top] is a good achievement. In our case it's important people learn how to play these matches [against the top sides]."

Mourinho felt his side were good value for their victory on Sunday and was particularly happy with the way they bounced back from an early setback.

He added: "I think we deserved to win because they did nothing to score the first goal, it was circumstantial. After that our reaction in the first half was a fantastic reaction. We scored, we could have scored before.

"In the second half we defended well, they hit the post with [Mamadou] Sakho, we had some counter-attack situations where we could have killed the game. We didn't and until the last minute it was hard, but we deserved [to win]."

Mourinho also confirmed midfielder Frank Lampard is set for a spell on the sidelines with a muscular injury, but is hopeful the lateral ligament issue picked up by Branislav Ivanovic is not serious.

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Ronaldo: I'd play for Mourinho again

Real Madrid's superstar said that he would be happy to work with his former coach , Jose Mourinho in the future.

The relationship between the pair was reportedly a distant one by the time Mourinho left the Santiago Bernabeu for Chelsea at the end of last season.

But anyway Ronaldo insists that he was happy to have been coached by a such great manager and the 28-year-old revealed he is open to a reunion one day.

"Forgive Mourinho? I forgive everyone. We never had a confrontation and I have never spoken ill about anyone," he told A Bola TV.

"I would work with Mourinho again and with other coaches I have had, like [Sir Alex] Ferguson, [Manuel] Pellegrini, and [Laszlo] Boloni. I learned a lot from them."

Ronaldo has been named on the final three-man shortlist of contenders for the Ballon d'Or and admitted he would love to win the award.

"Like last year and the year before, I always think I deserve the Ballon d'Or. I'd like to win it every year."

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Mourinho : Liverpool can win the Premier League this season

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes Liverpool can win the Premier League this season.

Brendan Rodgers’ men sit current sit fourth in the table, three points behind leaders Arsenal, but Mourinho, whose side host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, claims the club’s lack of European football is a significant advantage in the title race.

“I know Brendan has said they can’t win the title, that seventh to first has never happened, but I think they can,” Mourinho told reporters.

Because they are good; because Brendan is good; because they have time to prepare the team tactically; because they are not involved in the heat of the knock-out situation in the Champions League or even the Europa League.

“My players are going to play 60 matches. Liverpool will play 40 matches. It’s a big difference. When you add quality plus ambition plus this advantage, yes, they can win it.”

Mourinho backs Manchester City as favourites for the title this term and has played down the chances of Chelsea and Arsenal finishing ahead of Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

“At this moment, everybody’s there. It’s Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and City in the top four,” Mourinho added.

“This year the pressure will be not just to win the title, but to get top four. I think it’ll be hard.

“If I have to say, and I know you’d like me to say, Manchester City are the big, big, big favourites.

“Liverpool are on holidays for the whole season, one week to prepare a match, play the match, one more week to prepare the next match, which is an unbelievable advantage.

“And Manchester United, in spite of being a few points behind, are the reality of the last years.

“Leave us there, behind them. We’ll try and do our job and finish top four.

“Arsenal are like us. They play in the Champions League. They are trying to improve from the last few years. For many years they’ve not been at the top of the league.

“Chelsea were 25 and 14 points off the leaders in the last two years. For us and Arsenal we have to try and do our best.”

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Mourinho hits out at 'crying' Arsenal

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has accused Arsenal of overreacting during the two sides' feisty 0-0 draw on Monday.

During a full-blooded contest that saw a number of physical challenges, the Gunners' staff and fans made their feelings clear over what they perceived to be an over-the-top approach from Mourinho's men.

This largely centred on a forceful tackle by John Obi Mikel, which went unpunished, and Mike Dean's decision not to award a penalty when Theo Walcott went down in the box. However, the Portuguese claims that Arsenal have a history of moaning - adding that players from overseas lack the qualities of "English blood in football".

"They like to cry - that's tradition. I prefer to say that English people - and I give one example, Frank Lampard - would never provoke a situation like that," Mourinho told reporters.

"Players from other countries, especially some countries, they have that in their blood. Foreign players are bringing lots of good things but I prefer English blood in football and English blood in these situations is 'come on, let's go'."

Mourinho has now avoided defeat against Arsenal in 10 meetings, with the point moving Chelsea back into the top four and Arsenal level on points with leaders Liverpool.

After chants from the stand suggested that Chelsea had been boring, the former Real Madrid boss was unfazed.

"I'd agree [with the chants]," he remarked. "I played against them 10 times and I never lost. Ten times, they don't win once. What do you want to call me?"

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