Mourinho: "I'm the happiest coach in the world"
Tuesday, 16 March 2010 23:39:34
LONDON - José Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia of his delight at seeing Inter go through to the last eight of the Champions League. "I am the happiest coach in the world in this moment," he said. "It's a great moment for the team, a great moment for Inter, for all the players who year after year had problems overcoming this barrier of the last sixteen, and now they have done it. This is a qualification to the quarter-finals earned not with luck, but with merit, thanks to the team, which was perfect, and all the players who did a perfect job from start to finish."
When asked if Inter's two-legged victory over Chelsea marks a turning point for the Milan outfit, Mourinho responded: "We are talking about a game which sees Inter reach the quarter-finals, a stage at which they hadn't arrived for a few years. We twice beat Chelsea, who are a great team. We deserve this quarter-final."
On his team's performance at Stamford Bridge, the Portuguese added: "I said I knew this stadium, the atmosphere, the players and for this reason I always thought it would be impossible to draw 0-0 by playing defensively, so we played offensively. We were faster and more dynamic, and Eto'o's goal is the example of what we wanted to do and what we did do after going close in the first half."
Mourinho admitted: "I celebrated like never before, really like never before. It is a fantastic victory for my team, which is Inter, just like my fans are those of Inter.
This victory is confirmation that Stamford Bridge is my home and that I always win here, with Chelsea or without Chelsea, like this evening."
The Inter coach also mentioned his relationship with Carlo Ancelotti: "With Carlo there have sometimes been a few words too many, but there's no realtion between the respect and the few exchanges of words that there have been between us. He gave me some Italian wine today and I brought him the wine of my country. He invited me to his office after the game, there's a good relationship. I hope he wins the Premier League, I don't want to remain the only coach who has won it with Chelsea."
