Mourinho: I battle the egos
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says dealing with players' egos is tough.
Jose Mourinho has admitted that dealing with players' egos is the hardest thing about being manager of Chelsea.Mourinho explains that his attack on Joe Cole after he scored the winner against Liverpool was his attempt to keep the player grounded, and admitted he would be pleased to see other English teams go far in Europe - and pick up injuries along the way.
"Life is often difficult for a coach due to the players' egos," Mourinho told L'Equipe.
"It is true that I have warned my players that I have a much more inflated ego then they have.
"Some of them realised what I meant straight away.
"Recently I have criticised Joe Cole for his defensive lapses after he scored the only goal of the game against Liverpool.
"The next day, the English press just talked about the goal but that day we played with ten men because Cole didn't defend.
"We must defend with 11 players. I had to give that message to Cole.
"So I thought this was the way to put him back on the ground - to kick his ass.
"I am not arrogant - it's just the image I give not my deep reality.
"I want to transform Chelsea into a club that wins.
"But I am realistic - there are ten great teams that could win the UEFA Champions League - Real [Madrid] Barcelona, Milan Internazionale, Juventus, Bayern [Munich], Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Porto.
"Therefore not every great team can win.
"Moreover there is an internal problem in England.
"Here we must think a little more when we play football. We must not only bet on instinct.
"The passion, the players the fans and the media have made English football passionate, loving and instinctive.
"Between English teams it is fine and the best win, but against other teams it is more complex.
"When the English meet teams that think and adapt it becomes a big trouble.
"That is how football is played in Spain, Italy and Portugal. I'm not saying it's perfect but English football has to learn from these countries.
"Now I want English teams to pay a lot more matches in Europe - to get tired and pick up injuries.
"Not major injuries - just little ones."
