'I'm humble. Sometimes it doesn't look like I am - but I am': The best bits from Jose Mourinho's press conference
The 'Special One' addresses the media for the first time since his reinstatement
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Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho spoke to the press for the first time since his reinstatement at Chelsea on Monday. Here, Sam Wallace picks out some of the best quotes from both his televised press conference and his more intimate talk with journalists...
The "Special One" nickname
"I like it, no problem. There are so many bad nicknames in life and in football. That one was fine."
His rift with Iker Casillas
"The Real Madrid captain? It was a problem for the [Spanish] media. For them, a meritocracy doesn't exist. Some guys are untouchable. They can be injured for three months but, when they're back, there's no respect for the other guy who's come in. Same for supporters. Many have the same mentality. Casillas was injured. We had to buy a goalkeeper because he was injured. The goalkeeper played more than 20 matches in three months. Real won at Old Trafford because that goalkeeper was man of the match. But people wanted Casillas back after three months out, with two training sessions. That was it. They wanted him back. Like that [clicks fingers]."
His power at Chelsea
"I don't believe in any club in the world somebody tells the manager you have to train at 9am and not 10am, or that training has to be two hours and not 1hr 50 mins, or you have to play that guy instead of the other one. Never in my career. I always get respectful owners, presidents. Not one single problem. When it comes to selling and buying, I've never decided by myself. They are decisions that belong to everybody."
The challenge at Chelsea
"It's more difficult to keep trying to win and be successful, while at the same time developing young players while giving an identity to the team. But it's something I want at this stage of my career. Titles I have. Money I have. I need challenges. Nothing motivates me more than challenges. I'm not worried that I've got 21 cups now, or that I have one more pound than I had. I need challenges … it's about changing the club. I think so and the club thinks so too."
What he dislikes in the Spanish league
"I don't enjoy too much winning 6-0. I don't enjoy too much playing in a league where you know you are playing against another team and you know that this is about 90 points, 100 points or 100 goals, 120 goals. If you make a little mistake and you lose a match, you are in big trouble because your direct opponent doesn't lose any matches. The number of points Barcelona got last season, finishing second, they'd win every league with this number of points. The same thing with Real this season. It's a two-horse race."
What he loves about the intensity of English football's Christmas programme
"I'm not saying it's right. I just love it. Sometimes you love things that aren't right. Would I prefer to have a week's holiday in Christmas, like I did in Spain? Where did I go? New York two years ago. Last year, Brazil. That's fantastic. But I prefer to play. I was envious at home watching Premier League. Envy. Total envy. Is it right playing four consecutive matches, probably not. But I love it."
The significance of winning the Europa League
"I think Europa League winners can be analysed in two ways. One way, you won it. The other way, why did you win it? You won it because you didn't get through the group phase of the Champions League."
The players at Chelsea
"I'll only know them when I meet them and work with them. That's the first part of the job. It's not to arrive here and say: 'Mr Abramovich and members of the board, I need some money with a lot of zeros, I need to change half the team, move this one and buy this one'.'"
Humility
"I'm humble. Sometimes it doesn't look like I am - but I am"
Andres Iniesta's claim he "damaged Spanish football"
"I damaged Spanish football by being the manager that broke Barcelona's dominance. They were dominant, dominant and dominant, and it looked like a dominance without an end."
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