Jose Mourinho. He is The Special One. He is our Special One.
The man who brought unmatched success to Chelsea Football Club will, in a day, be matched against his former employer. It should be emotional. It should be must-see television. Ahead of this incredible tie, I present 20 of my favorite Chelsea-era Mourinho quotes. What is/are yours?
The quote machine.
- "If I wanted to have an easy job...I would have stayed at Porto - beautiful blue chair, the Uefa Champions League trophy, God, and after God, me."
- "I believe in freedom of speech: you make a speech and I’ll give you your freedom."
- "Everybody was waiting for Chelsea not to win every game and one day when we lose there will be a holiday in the country. But we are ready for that." - Oct. 2005
- "During the afternoon it rained only in this stadium - our kitman saw it. There must be a micro-climate here. The pitch was like a swimming pool." - On the peculiar weather at Ewood Park, Feb. 2005
- "We have top players and, sorry if I’m arrogant, we have a top manager."
- "The moral of the story is not to listen to those who tell you not to play the violin but stick to the tambourine." - March 2005
- "I saw their players and manager go for a lap of honour after losing to us in their last home game. In Portugal if you do this, they throw bottles at you!" - on Manchester United, May 2005
- "Who were (Frank) Lampard, (John) Terry and (Didier) Drogba two years ago? They were certainly not world stars. And in this moment who are they?" - Unknown
- "Pressure? There is no pressure. Bird Flu is pressure.(The Press Laugh) No, you laugh, but I am being serious. I am more worried about the swan then I am about football."
- "It was a goal that came from the moon – from the Anfield stands." – on that CL defeat against Liverpool
- "Maybe when I turn 60 and have been managing in the same league for 20 years and have the respect of everybody I will have the power to speak to people and make them tremble a little bit." - On Sir Alex Ferguson, Jan. 2005
- "I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea." – on you know who
- "Look at the blond boy in midfield, Robbie Savage, who commits 20 fouls during the game and never gets a booking. We came here to play football and it was not a football game, it was a fight and we fought and I think we fought fantastically." - on the Blackburn midfielder, Feb. 2005
- "Barcelona is a cultural city with many great theatres and this boy (Lionel Messi) has learned very well. He’s learned play-acting." – on Asier Del Horno's red card for a tackle on Messi, CL home tie in Feb. 2006
- "This is nothing against Sir Alex whatsoever. After the game on Wednesday we were together in my office and we spoke and drank wine. Unfortunately it was a very bad bottle of wine and he was complaining, so when we go to Old Trafford for the second leg, on my birthday, I will take a beautiful bottle of Portuguese wine." - Jan. 2005
- "Why drive Aston Martin all the time, when i have Ferrari and Porsche as well? That would just be stupid." – When asked about the Joe Cole, Arjen Robben and Damien Duff rotation
- "It is omelettes and eggs. No eggs – no omelettes! It depends on the quality of the eggs. In the supermarket you have class one, two or class three eggs and some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem." – On a perceived lack of funds
- "As we say in Portugal, they brought the bus and they left the bus in front of the goal. I would have been frustrated if I had been a supporter who paid £50 to watch this game because Spurs came to defend. There was only one team looking to win, they only came not to concede - it's not fair for the football we played." - On Tottenham, Sept. 2004
- "Everybody was waiting for Chelsea not to win every game and one day, when we lose, there will be a holiday in the country. But we are ready for that."
- "Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one."