Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho has spoken out about his dislike for Italian football ahead of his team’s Champions League quarter-final tie with CSKA Moscow.
Following a month where he hasn’t spoken to the Italian press, Mourinho has revealed that although he is “very happy at Inter” he is not enjoying Italian football because “I don’t like it and it doesn’t like me”.
The comments are likely to spark speculation about his future at Inter, and it has already been suggested Mourinho is ready for a return to English football. He left Chelsea in 2007, but has always hinted that he will be back as a Premier League manager one day.
It is perhaps no coincidence that Mourinho has spoken out after an indifferent run of results for Inter Milan. They may have knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League, but a healthy lead in Serie A has been cut to just one point after a defeat to Roma at the weekend.
With seven games to go, Inter sit on 63 points, Roma on 62 and Milan on 60. All the indications are that it is going to be a very tense end to the season, meaning Mourinho’s comments about Italian football aren’t timed to perfection and could act as a distraction for his players.
The latest controversy follows a £16,000 fine which was levied on the former Porto boss for speaking out about referees after watching his team lose 2-0 to arch rivals Milan.
Mourinho said “everything was done” for his team not to win and that the officials wouldn’t let his side wrap up the league title. To top it all off, he made a handcuffs gesture shortly afterwards after one of his players was sent off.
Inter’s Champions League online betting suggests they should progress against CSKA Moscow, and Europe is certainly one ray of light for Mourinho.
However, overall it is fair to say that he hasn’t made himself too popular with the Italian officials or media. The World Cup betting' suggests Portugal might struggle at over the summer, and Mourinho might see the role of national manager as a more relaxing alternative to life in Serie A.
Still, with him admitting he “misses English football” perhaps it won’t be too long before he’s back in the Premier League.
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he should coach portsmouth!!
Not even Mourinho could coach that mess back into the Prem…