Roma boss Jose Mourinho left ‘bubbling’ after box-office confrontation
Jose Mourinho was involved in a box-office confrontation with a Dutch journalist after Feyenoord beat Roma on Thursday night in the Europa League at De Kuip. There was already tension between the two sides following last season’s Europa Conference League final in Tirana where the Italian giants ran out 1-0 victors over the current Eredivisie leaders courtesy of Nicolo Zaniolo’s winner.
And Feyenoord carried out revenge in Rotterdam as they take a 1-0 lead into next week’s quarter-final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
After the game, Mourinho became embroiled in an awkward spat with a reporter and tensions threatened to boil over at the end of the fiery exchange during The Special One’s press conference.
“Your team disappointed but you say ‘I sleep good’ – we’ll see in one week,” the Dutch reporter said.
“What is necessary to win over Feyenoord in seven days? What do you need?”
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To which Mourinho replied: “To score goals, to put the ball in the net. It’s as simple as that.”
The Dutch journalist replied: “Is that what today you didn’t do?”
It didn’t impress Mourinho, who added: “You watched the game, huh?”
The Dutchman added: “I watched the game. You had your chances. No? You had your chances.”
Mourinho then hit back with: “Of course but football is not about chances, it’s about scoring goals.”
The reporter then replied with: “Like in Tirana? [Conference League final] You have to be efficient. So we agree?”
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Mourinho was keen to have the last word, adding: “Today you agree? But for the past 10 months you were crying.”
The Dutch journalist then admitted those around Feyenoord are yet to get over the Europa Conference League defeat to Roma.
He added: “We cried a lot here. We’ll see each other in seven days.”
Mourinho continued: “No but you shouldn’t cry. Do you know why? Because you cannot win the match that you lost. You lost the game, you cannot win that one.
“The only problem today is that the game didn’t finish. It’s half-time.”
The reporter wouldn’t let it go: “We will see each other in seven days.”
Mourinho concluded with: “And I promise you that if I lose, I will sleep. I don’t spend 10 months having nightmares.”
Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer was working as a pundit for beIN SPORTS and he is adamant Mourinho will use the exchange to fire up his team next week as they bid to turn around the deficit.
“What you don’t want to do is give him motivation,” McAteer said of Mourinho.
“Give any motivation to Jose. Secretly he will be bubbling about that. That will get into him but in a way where he will harness the positivity and take that into the dressing room.
“He will probably show everyone and say ‘listen, they think they’re coming for us’ and will probably play it in the dressing room.”
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