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Part of an exclusive series of articles from José Mourinho, brought to you by Football.com
There are those who need a break after a few seasons working for their clubs. There are even those who opt for a sabbatical away from the pitch. I'm not like that: I prefer the experience of a changing room, the emotions of a game. I was born in football, I've lived in football and I have no hobbies outside of sport.
Jose Mourinho is the ambassador for Football.com.
I don't like anything outside of sport, that’s why it is very easy to see me at Formula 1 or MotoGP races, and sometimes at tennis tournaments, at Roland Garros or Wimbledon, but mostly you see me watching football matches. And the two places I can get to most easily are, in London, Stamford Bridge, which is two minutes away from my home, and, in Lisbon, Estádio da Luz, which also takes me no more than 20 minutes from my home.
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But when there are rumors and the possibility that my presence may become the subject of speculation, I run away, take refuge in my ethics, and unlike others, because I'm different, I refuse to go to stadiums. That's why, the first time I heard the fans chanting my name at Chelsea's stadium, I immediately made up my mind: I can't go to Stamford Bridge. And in Portugal, the first time I heard and read news linking me to Benfica, I’ve also decided not to go to the stadium.
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20:30 - 12.02.2024
‘I’ll be back’ - José Mourinho
'I won't be there for these final stages, not because I've been eliminated before, but because I've been "eliminated" by someone who has little knowledge of football'.
I'll probably go to other stadiums, as in London, where I'll be able to watch Fulham, as their head coach, Marco Silva, knows perfectly well that I'm only there to support him. In my country, I'll be able to go back to Alvalade, because Sporting's coach, Rúben Amorim, is another friend who knows perfectly well that I'm not going there with any kind of hidden agenda. And back home, I'll go to see Vitória de Setúbal again, even though they're sadly in a very low division of national football.
Part of an exclusive series of articles from José Mourinho, brought to you by Football.com
Unlike players who depend a lot on their physical condition, I'm one of those who thinks that a coach, whenever he wants to, always has work to do and that he can become better and better, especially if he recognises that he doesn't know everything and that he always has things to learn. That's why I study, I talk to my assistants, and sometimes I meet with them, preparing for the future even though it's still an unknown future.
Congratulations Xabi Alonso
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and acknowledge how happy I was to see Xabi Alonso, a friend, a former player of mine, a fantastic young man, succeeding in Germany. And unlike a lot of coaches of the new generations, who are considered great without having done anything special, this one can be classed as a great coach because he has done something extraordinary. By the way, when Roma eliminated Bayer Leverkusen last season with a win and a draw, without conceding a goal, and qualified for the Europa League final, this was indeed a great achievement because, if I'm not mistaken, this may have been Leverkusen's last defeat.
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Of course, apart from football, there are other activities that take up a lot of my time. For example, I had the opportunity to participate in a fantastic interview with Rio Ferdinand for Football.com and FIVE in Lisbon, which went viral worldwide.
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15:41 - 24.12.2023
My saddest Boxing Day, by José Mourinho
Part of an exclusive series of articles from José Mourinho, brought to you by Football.com
And I'm very busy with the series that Netflix is making about my career, which requires me to be available a lot of hours for filming and to travel a lot. It's really a demanding and tough kind of job, especially for someone like me who isn't used to being a “film star", but it's also been fun. I'm just a little worried about what the final product will be, as I have no control over it, but what we've been doing has been very interesting.
I've also been traveling because of advertising commitments, such as the one I’ve recently made with Adidas, perhaps my oldest sponsor, who took advantage of my availability to make a film promoting the launch of their new products. And my last trip will be to Istanbul to record a spot for Turkish Airlines. I hope they don't immediately connect me with any clubs because my trip is exclusively due to the work I'm doing for this airline.
Jose Mourinho is the ambassador for Football.com.
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