Mourinho out of England running
Posted by kwame on December 10, 2007
Jose Mourinho has ruled himself out of the running to become England coach.
The former Chelsea boss revealed he had held talks with the Football Association following Steve McClaren’s dismissal last month.
But in a statement on his agent’s website, Mourinho said: “After serious thought, I decided to exclude myself despite it being a fantastic position.
“I’m sure the FA will hire a great manager, one able to place the team back where it belongs.”
Mourinho said he had had “useful discussions” with the FA’s chief executive Brian Barwick and director of football Trevor Brooking.
He said: “We exchanged ideas to evaluate the entire situation about the England squad and set the goals in case of a real approach.”
After revealing he had opted against putting himself forward as a candidate, Mourinho said: “I reiterate my respect for English football and, after three good years in England, I firmly believe that the England squad will soon be back to their usual great results.”
Mourinho emerged as the strong favourite for the England post following McClaren’s departure.
BBC Radio 5 Live football correspondent Mike Ingham said: “In many ways he would have been perfect.
“The job is about giving players an extra 10% and I think he would have done that.
“Mourinho ticked all the boxes bar one - I’m not sure how much of a diplomat he would have been.”
The Portuguese coach’s announcement on Monday will be a blow to FA officials, who were turned down by their first-choice candidate the last time they were recruiting an England manager.
On that occasion, Portugal manager Luis Felipe Scolari rejected the chance to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson and the FA instead turned to McClaren.
Italian coaches Fabio Capello and Marcello Lippi now head the list of contenders - although BBC Sport has established that neither man has been contacted by the FA.
Former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann has been tipped as an “ideal” replacement by Franz Beckenbauer, but has so far made no expression of interest in the job.
Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill continues to be linked with the job, despite publicly ruling himself out.
The FA is reported to want to name its new coach by 19 December, although England do not have a fixture until 6 February when they will play Switzerland in a friendly, and the next competitive fixture will be a World Cup qualifier next September.
source:bbcsports
December 10, 2007 at 9:05 pm
I think its a great loss, he would have been such a good england manager. He’s class personified and would have bought the nest out of players like rooney and gerrard, look what he did with cole.
December 10, 2007 at 9:20 pm
This is indeed a huge blow to England. Twice they have been snubbed by their top choices for head coach. I think the FA should look into what it’s doing wrong. Maybe the conditions they are asking for are not conducive to prospective candidates.
December 11, 2007 at 1:02 am
hi k
i think it’s a blessing to be honest.
December 12, 2007 at 12:25 am
This is just going to make England go down even more. Without a god candidate they are not going to be able to work as a cohesive unit. Why do you think that is is a blessing FPB?
December 12, 2007 at 1:30 am
To be honest, i don’t agree with you, FPB. Mourinho would have been the perfect coach for England. Granted, he was a bit cocky, but he knew how to win matches and get desired results.
December 12, 2007 at 5:12 pm
hi r and k
i was anti mourinho because i think as England manager he would have been courted every time one of the major club jobs became or looked like becoming available. it happened to sven with chelsea and man u. and mourinho’s ego’s as such that i doubt he could have resisted the overtures. and that would have been distracting and unsettling for the team.
now we’re going to get a guy (prob capello) who will be at his peak in terms of maturity. he’s managed the big clubs and doesn’t need to again. he is tough and uncompromising and accepts no ego nonsense from his players. he forced beckham to get in shape again and when ronaldo and cassano refused to do likewise he shipped them out. he is without sentiment which is what we need i think to be ruthlessly efficient at qualifying for major tournaments and going a long way in those tournaments. He’s won the lot as a club manager so he knows what it takes to succeed.
it might not always be pretty but i’d settle for qualifying ugly, rather than watching a tournament without England competing. let’s face it mourinho was the master of the ugly 1-0 win. that’s why abramovitch wanted him out - it wasn’t pretty enough for him.
fpb
December 12, 2007 at 5:34 pm
FPB, I must say you raise very important points. I think Mourinho would have definitely been enticed by vacancies in the big clubs that it would have affected his management of England. That said, i hope that Capello becomes the new coach because he is obviously seasoned. Let’s wait and see how everything turns out.