Jose Mourinho unimpressed by Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chelsea

13 January 2009 08:49
Mourinho, now in charge of Inter Milan, was in Manchester to run the rule over United ahead of a Champions League meeting between the sides on Feb 24, and was disappointed with the showing of his former club.[LNB]'I didn't see Chelsea,' he said. 'I saw people from Chelsea before the match, at half-time and after the match. But I didn't see Chelsea on the pitch. I only saw Manchester United.' [LNB]Scolari will have an opportunity to respond later today when he speaks to the press ahead of Chelsea's FA Cup replay against Southend, a match that is now as much a chance for Chelsea to get back to winning ways as it is an embarrassment to be needed in the first place.[LNB]Mourinho tried to play down the significance of United's emphatic victory in terms of his own attempts to engineer another victory over United in Europe's premier competition.[LNB]The Portuguese announced himself to an English audience with his exuberant run along the Old Trafford touchline when his Porto side, who went on to win the competition that year, pulled off a shock against United in 2004.[LNB]'United won and deservedly so," said Mourinho. "It was an exceptional result but it wasn't an exceptional match. It was low key.' [LNB]Mourinho also described the recent frank exchanges between Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez and Ferguson as 'war'.[LNB]A confrontational figure himself, Mourinho clashed with Ferguson several times whilst he was Chelsea manager but managed to temper their disputes with humour and speedy reconciliation, in stark contrast to Benitez.[LNB]Mourinho said: 'I've had words with him [Ferguson] about different issues in the past but in the end it was OK. The best thing for those looking on from outside is to just shut up and let them get on with it.[LNB]'I didn't bring the wine this time, it was his [Ferguson's]. We had a chat for half an hour. I told him how we are going to play against them [in the Champions League] and he told me what United's line-up would be.'[LNB]Mourinho's relationship with Scolari has been less cordial in the past. The pair were often at odds with each other when Mourinho was in charge of Porto and Scolari the Portuguese national team.[LNB]The Inter manager first clashed with the Brazilian over an accusation from Mourinho that Scolari was biased against his players in his selection policy.[LNB]Scolari is likely to be angered by Mourinho's comments, that the media-savvy Portuguese would have understood would be interpreted as a damning critique of the Brazilian's recent failings at Stamford Bridge.[LNB]

Source: Telegraph