Mourinho on 'Guardiola' style: "Possession is for image and PR"
The Portuguese manager, currently out of work, spoke with The Coaches Voice and defended his particular style of football.
José Mourinho remains without a team to manage, although there are many clubs that he is being linked with as he considers the right opportunity to return to dugout pressures. Much of the Portuguese coach's time of late has been spent with the media, and he sat down with The Coaches Voice, a website devoted to the off-field responsibilities, where he reflected on his periods leading Chelsea and Inter Milan, as well as other issues.
Mourinho reveals coaching secrets
The man who has been connected with a controversial return to Real Madrid took the chance to defend his particular vision of football and how success can be achieved, possibly making an indirect comment in the direction of old foe, Pep Guardiola, famed for 'dominating' games with possession football
"Many people believe that the team with more possession is the team that is more dominant," he began. "But that depends on the way you look at it.
"A team without the ball can still have control of the game. For some coaches, that style [possession] I think is more a matter of public relations and image."
Mourinho went on to point out the key statistic to judging football matches saying that "it is the team that scores the most goals that wins. And that is, for me, the fundamental point of the game."
On the secret of winning in Spain, England and Italy, the 56-year old pointed to a "flexibility to adapt" and, above all, to sometimes "go against your own ideas and choose the right way to succeed, based on the reality of the club and the competition."
And what did Mourinho believe were the ingredients to being the best coach? Academic training, an understanding of the game, and talent, to the latter of which he added, "you either have it or you don't. It's in your DNA".