DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
wapnadforum
HTML https://wapnadforum.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: SPORT NEW'S
*****************************************************
#Post#: 1086--------------------------------------------------
MOURINHO: THAT WINNING FEELING
DIR By: mr nad
Date: December 10, 2013, 10:31 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Jose Mourinho says changes will be made for tomorrow's final
Champions League group game, at home to Steaua Bucharest.
The manager was in jovial mood as he spoke to an assortment of
domestic and travelling Romanian journalists at his pre-match
press conference. He answered questions on a variety of topics,
including tomorrow's opponents, his favourites for the Champions
League and the imminent return of Ashley Cole to the starting
11.
The Portuguese began, though, by confirming that he would change
the side that lost 3-2 at Stoke on Saturday, with Oscar , David
Luiz and Willian all in contention, having trained with the
squad today.
'I'm not going to play the same team as I did in the last
match,' reported Mourinho.
'I'm going to give a little rest to a couple of players, or
three players. We have an important match on Saturday and we
play a quarter-final next Tuesday.
'I don't want to call it rotation because normally when you say
rotate it comes with an idea that the team is weak but that's
not the case.'
One man who Mourinho confirmed will start is Ashley Cole , after
a spell out of the side, and the manager insisted the left-back
is as committed to the cause as ever.
'I know Ashley well. It's easy to feel that he is not happy or
not comfortable with his situation, but the way he trains and
the way he behaves is super professional, as always.
'When he is on the bench behind me I can feel he is there to
win, even if he is not on the pitch. He is fine, and tomorrow he
will show that. He will always be a good player and with the
evolution of our season he will play matches.'
The travelling press were keen to find out what our manager made
of the Romanian champions, who travel to London knowing they
cannot finish anywhere but bottom in Group E.
'I read some words from the Steaua coach a couple of days ago,'
Mourinho said. 'He was saying he was coming here with his best
team and his best players to try to finish the group in the best
possible way. I would do the same in his position.
'Steaua have been very important in the group phase. They took
four points away from Basel because they drew twice against
them. They also drew against Schalke. They have got three draws
in the Champions League and they are going to try again to not
lose tomorrow.'
Our manager is adamant nothing less than a victory would please
him, and not simply because three points would guarantee us top
spot in the group.
'We have to win not just to finish first, but also to have the
good feeling of winning at home and finishing with 12 points,'
Mourinho explained.
'I don't want to get a point tomorrow which, because of the
other result, means we are first. I want to have the feeling of
winning the game.'
With UEFA providing a translator for all press conferences in
European competition, the man charged with replicating
Mourinho's words in Romanian was occasionally given a tricky
task by the length of our manager's responses. To reward the
translator's persistence, Mourinho gave him his training top at
the end of the conference, but not before he had given his
verdict on the favourites for this year's competition.
'I think our chances this season, which is my first season, are
not comparable with the chances other clubs have,' reckoned
Mourinho.
'We have reached the last 16, and if we reach the
quarter-finals, which is the next step, every team has a chance
to win it. But in my analysis I think we are not one of the
favourites to win the competition.
'Bayern, Barcelona and Real Madrid are the three teams that are
clearly, in terms of potential and responsibilities, in front.
'We are still in the first phase. In the last 16 we will find
some difficult match-ups because some important teams will
finish second, such as Man City, Dortmund and Juventus. They can
beat any of the first teams. As always, it's an interesting
competition.'
- Don't forget to make your prediction for tomorrow's game on
the Chelsea Score Predictor , and you could win a Samung Galaxy
Tab 3!
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 1