Thursday, April 29, 2010

Mourinho rules out return to Barcelona



Jose Mourinho aka the special one says there he is no chance he would ever take charge of Barcelona because of the hatred he inspires at Camp Nou.
Mourinho worked as a translator at Barca while Sir Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal were in charge during the 1990s, but he has since become an unpopular figure at the club.

His time at Chelsea was marked by a series of fiery encounters with Barca in the Champions League, and Inter Milan's semi-final victory on Wednesday night saw him provoke greater friction as he ran onto the pitch in celebration at the final whistle. The Portuguese had been jeered almost constantly throughout the match.

And while Mourinho had been considered among the contenders to take charge of Barca in 2008 prior to Pep Guardiola's appointment, he now insists there is no possibility he could return.

"I'm not stupid enough to think that this hate can be turned into love," he said. "I respect Barca and I'll never forget what the club gave me in the four years I was here, but something has been created around me that is hard to make positive.

"It is clear that I will end my career without having coached Barca."

Mourinho joked that he is now even more unpopular among fans than Luis Figo. Figo famously left Barca for Real Madrid in 2000, prompting fans to throw objects - including a pig's head - when he returned to Camp Nou for a Liga match.

"Figo (who returned to the Nou Camp last night as an ambassador for Inter) told me he was calm and relaxed because I was the one they hate now, because I was their new enemy," he said.

Mourinho has now eliminated Barca from Europe on two occasions and he added: "If I never beat them, they wouldn't hate me."

Meanwhile, Thiago Motta - sent off in the first half for putting his palm in Sergio Busquets' face - has accused the Barcelona midfielder of feigning injury to ensure his dismissal.

"He always does it," he said. "I have seen it on TV and he is holding his face and then looking at the referee - it is terrible behaviour.

"This final was my dream, which is why I still hope video evidence can clear me. Maybe the referee didn't see, but someone else might've done. It was simply not honest from Barcelona. As the coach said yesterday, if the players help the referee then it is easier for everyone."

He added: "I also saw the replays of the goal, which seemed to be offside, although I can admit that was more difficult to spot."

Maicon says Inter were inspired by Barca's attempts to unsettle the team ahead of the match.

"Absolutely," he said on Football Italia. "It helped. Barcelona's words fired us up even more and we were fortunate really that their attempts to trouble us actually had the opposite effect.

"It is a victory for sacrifice and humility. After the red card, we showed our strength and struggled to the end to reach the final."

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