Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho caused a stir at the press conference following his side’s friendly match against Barcelona (2-2). The Portuguese coach offered a harsh response to the wife of Rafa Benítez, who joked a few days ago in La Region that her husband always goes to manage the teams that Mourinho has left (this is the third time after Inter Milan and Chelsea): “We’re going to tidy up his messes,” said Montserrat Seara.
Mourinho was direct in his response: “The lady is a bit confused. I’m not laughing. Her husband went to Chelsea to replace Roberto Di Matteo and he went to Real Madrid to replace Carlo Ancelotti. The only club where he husband replaced me was at Inter Milan, where in six months he destroyed the best team in Europe at the time. To speak about me...I think the lady needs to occupy her time and if she takes care of her husband’s diet she will have less time to speak about me.”
His comments on the match: “I liked that there was a lot of colour in the stands. Barcelona were not interested in the result. It was not a tactical match, they were training, the same as us. It was good promotion for soccer in the U.S. and good for the promotion of our clubs.”
Relationship with the board: “We gave a list of possible signings and sales of players. I am only involved in the technical side, not in the money. We are waiting calmly in that the people will do their job very well. We can defend the title and also do well in the Champions League.”
Barça: “Barça are a top team. The result was not important for them. At the moment they do not have the number one, but the team played well. I thanked Luis Enrique a lot for what they gave us. They are the champions of Europe and we want to fight for that trophy now. We will not be favourites, but sometimes they are the ones that win.”