Zimpapers Logo

LONDON. — The best quotes of the past season from Jose Mourinho manager of new English Premier League soccer champions Chelsea:

Chelsea fans

“At this moment it’s difficult to play at home because playing here is like playing in an empty stadium. When we scored was when I realised, ‘Woah, the stadium is full. Good.’” — Criticising Chelsea’s supporters for the lack of atmosphere during a 2-1 home win over Queens Park Rangers in November

Pressure on referees

“That’s a campaign, that’s a clear campaign. People, pundits, commentators, coaches from other teams, they react with Chelsea in a way they don’t react to other teams. They put lots of pressure on the referee and the referee makes a mistake like this. We lose two points, Fabregas earns a yellow card. In other countries where I worked before, tomorrow in the sports papers it would be a front-page scandal. Because it is a scandal.” — Mourinho hits out after Cesc Fabregas was booked for diving during a 1-1 draw at Southampton in December, for which he was fined £25 000 ($38 310) by the Football Association

52-year-old kid

“For me, it’s very important to feel that I’m a kid. Before the game I had the same feelings as my first final, I don’t know how many years ago. It’s important for me to feel the same happiness after the victory. It’s important for me to feel that I am a kid at 52 years old.” — After Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the League Cup final, ending Mourinho’s 914-day wait for silverware – the longest of his career

The price for Hazard

“Plus one of their three best players. £100 million for each leg, because he’s very young.” — In response to a question about whether £100 million would be enough for Real Madrid to sign their reported transfer target Eden Hazard

Arsenal rivalry

“Boring I think is 10 years without a title. That’s very boring. You support the club and you’re waiting, waiting, waiting for so many years without a Premier League title, so that’s very boring.” — Responding to chants of “Boring, boring Chelsea!” during a 0-0 draw at Arsenal – who last won the league in 2004 – in April

Keeping the ball

“I ask myself if in the future, when I am a granddad and I am at home with my grandsons, and maybe the future of football is a beautiful green grass carpet without goals. And in that beautiful grass pitch the team with more ball possession wins the game. Because everybody says, ‘Oh, my team plays fantastically well, we had great ball possession.’ Good. ‘Oh, we build very well.’ Good. It looks like the goals are not there . . . Football started a few centuries ago and the objective was one, but now it looks like the objective is another one. For me, I am very simple in my analysis. Football is about putting the ball in the net of your opponent and stopping your opponent.”

After winning the title

“Dogs bark as the caravan goes by. I am very happy and proud. I need a rest, I am tired. Finally, though, we can breathe, relax and enjoy. We can look back and see how much we deserve to be champions.

“Everybody knows that. The people who have the big face to say we don’t deserve it are the ones of whom, in my country, we say, ‘the dogs bark and the caravan goes by’.’

“It is easy to be a pundit. As a pundit, you win every game. You don’t lose matches. It’s a fantastic job, really – maybe in 10 years’ time, it will be my job. Now, as a manager, I lose sometimes and it’s a much more difficult job.”

On his future

“I’m in the right place. I will stay here until Roman Abramovich wants me to leave. The day he tells me to go, I go. He is the man who won every title at Chelsea – some players won some titles, others did others. Same with managers. Mr Abramovich won it all. If he has replicas of them all, he needs a big house.” — AFP.