Football News: Real Madrid's Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho torn over Portugal job
Jose Mourinho, the Real Madrid coach, has not yet made up his mind about the
Portugal job. He admitted that it was highly unlikely that he would take up the post while managing Real Madrid, but did not completely rule out the possibility.
Portugal had a disappointing World Cup campaign and even afterwards there were problems in the camp which were affecting the team’s performance on the pitch. These worries along with allegations that Queiroz
had tampered with the sport’s anti-doping agency’s investigations resulted in his sacking last week.
Portugal are now in a race against time to find a manager because of October’s matches against
Denmark and Iceland.
The clash against Denmark is on the 8th of October and even though
Portugal are hosting the Danes, they will have to travel to
Iceland for the next fixture only four days later. The Portuguese Football Federation revealed that they were only looking for an interim manager to replace Queiroz. They feel Jose Mourinho is suitable for the role until they find
someone to hire permanently.
For Portugal, the World Cup itself was seen as a failure because the team was seen as having considerable potential and they failed to deliver on that potential. This series of events left
Portugal in a tight spot, especially since the side had only managed a single point from their first two opening fixtures in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.
The Portuguese Football Federation feels that if things continue like this and
Portugal fail to qualify it will severely damage their bid for the rights to host the 2018 World Cup. The situation requires the managerial skills of someone like Jose Mourinho and the FPF are desperate to acquire his services - at
least till Mourinho can guide the Portuguese team past these two tricky games.
Mourinho has a habit of winning and rightly proclaimed himself ‘the Special One’ upon his arrival at
Stamford Bridge. He has won the Champions League twice; once with FC Porto and last season with Inter Milan. He has also won countless domestic titles, most notably back to back titles with Chelsea FC in his
first two seasons there. He seems like the best man for the job, but the Portuguese manager revealed he was torn over the decision.
He said in a statement, “If it were not for Real Madrid I would do it for free. But if you ask me right now if I can go, I think not. I have a contract with Real Madrid. I do not say no, but in the natural way of things,
I do not think this is the time.”
He added, “Real Madrid have every right in the world to put an obstacle in the way." He said, "And if you put the slightest obstacle there, I can't go. To say no to
Portugal is impossible because of my personal pride and my passion for
Portugal, but at the moment I cannot say yes.”
Gilberto Madail, the Portuguese Football Federation chief said that the search for a new coach for the national team was wide open and that there were other candidates they were considering. It was widely reported that
the FPF had decided on Mourinho and were waiting on his decision, but Madail said otherwise. Mourinho met with the FPF in
Spain, but no details of the meeting have been disclosed.
Madail told reporters, “Various things are being considered and that doesn't mean Jose Mourinho is the only one. There may be some news shortly, if everything goes according to plan next week.”
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