Jose Mourinho claims he is a ‘much better’ manager now than when he won the treble with Inter Milan

Jose Mourinho claims he is a ‘much better’ manager now than when he won the treble with Inter Milan as former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss begins new Italian project at Serie A club Roma

  • Jose Mourinho was presented as the new Roma manager on Friday afternoon
  • The Portuguese manager signed a three-year deal at the Serie A club in May
  • Mourinho says he is a better coach now than when he was at Inter Milan in 2010
  • The Special One left Inter as a treble winner, including the Champions League


Jose Mourinho claims he is a ‘much better’ coach now than he was at Inter Milan where he won the treble, as he begins his new Italian adventure at Roma. 

The iconic Portuguese coach began working with the Serie A club on Friday after Paulo Fonseca‘s contract with the Giallorossi ended on June 30.

It is Mourinho’s second managerial venture in Italy after he spent two seasons at Inter where he lifted the Serie A title, Coppa Italia and Champions League trophies in 2010 – but the 58-year-old says his experience in other leagues makes him a better manager now. 

New Roma boss Jose Mourinho says he is a better manager now than when he won the treble with Inter Milan in 2010

The Roma job is Mourinho's first in Italy since he left Champions League winners Inter in 2010

The Roma job is Mourinho’s first in Italy since he left Champions League winners Inter in 2010

The ‘Special One’ also had another dig at former club Tottenham, who sacked him in April just six days before the Carabao Cup final with Manchester City, by saying he could not believe his dismissal coming just before the Wembley showdown. 

He told Roma’s official website: ‘I’m much better now. I’m serious – because I think this is a job where experience means a lot. Experience makes everything look like deja vu because you went through so many experiences since I left Italy. 

‘I went to Real Madrid which was an incredible experience, where I reached my dream of winning in Italy, England and Spain. Then back to England where my family is based and of course I wanted to come. 

Mourinho claims his experience at other clubs, including Tottenham, has made him better

Mourinho claims his experience at other clubs, including Tottenham, has made him better

‘I even have extreme experience of taking a team to a final and not playing the final which is something I thought would never happen in my career and it happened. 

‘So with so many experiences and learning with the good moments and with the bad moments, I am much more prepared now than I was.’ 

Mourinho received a warm welcome from the Roma fans on his first day at the club, with a large collection of supporters chanting his name at their Trigoria training complex. The 58-year-old paid tribute to the fans by waving at them from inside the grounds. 

Despite beginning his managerial career over two decades ago, Mourinho claims he wants another contract at Roma, beyond the three-year deal he signed at the beginning of May. 

Mourinho was given a hero's welcome by Roma fans at their training ground on Friday

Mourinho was given a hero’s welcome by Roma fans at their training ground on Friday 

He added: ‘Hopefully success arrives with me because the contract is a three-year contract – my first with AS Roma. Maybe there is a second one day.  

‘It’s a job where you can only get better until the day where you lose your motivation which I think is the only thing that can make a football coach decide to stop or it’s not enough or to stop learning. That’s not my case. I’m very far from it. 

‘I’m learning every day so I think I’m much better. And it’s one thing to come to a country for the first time where you arrive in level zero and you have everything to learn about it. In my case of course that’s not the case. 

‘I know Italy as a country and as a football culture. I know something about Roma because in my Italian time Roma was the real rival and the team which was close to us fighting for the titles.’