In summary
So there is no new self-imposed title from Mourinho, but several decent lines and a couple of snipes at other managers …
- He had an obvious dig at Louis van Gaal by saying “I was never good at hiding behind words and philosophies” and when asked about pressure said he does not feel it because “some managers – the last time they won a title was 10 years ago.” A pop at Arsène Wenger, maybe?
- Mourinho also said Ryan Giggs would be welcomed back at the club and admired his bravery for leaving but said it was “not my fault” Giggs wanted the manager’s job only for Ed Woodward and the Glazers preferring him instead.
- The aim this season is to win trophies and not merely compete, but the Portuguese did admit it is “frustrating” not to be in the Champions League.
- In terms of a squad overhaul, he said the initial target was four players. Three have already been moved in, and the fourth will be a holding midfielder (possibly Blaise Matuidi). It should be agreed soonish and after that Mourinho will “breathe … the market will be open” and other business may follow.
- Oh and Wayne Rooney is unlikely to play in midfield. “Yes, his passing is amazing but mine is also amazing without pressure. He will be a No9, a No10, a No9.5, but never a No6 or a No8.”
And on that note, I am off. Thanks for reading. Bye!
At Inter he gave debuts to five players – the most notable being Davide Santon, who spent a brief spell at Newcastle before returning to San Siro – though Mourinho’s side, which also included Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the first season, was packed full of older, wiser heads.
There were, however, more notable names at Real Madrid where debutants included Álvaro Morata, Casemiro, Jesé Rodriguez and Nacho – among numerous duds.
Updated
Working through Mourinho’s career, it would seem the figure of 49 is near correct in terms of debuts. But how many of them have really developed? Take his first spell at Chelsea, where he gave debuts to Lenny Pidgeley, Ben Sahar and Steven Watt among others. Pidgeley was last seen at Leatherhead, Sahar is playing in Israel, and Watt is player coach at Hastings.
Perhaps the best line of all came at the very end when asked about Wayne Rooney’s role in the team, saying the captain would not be playing as a midfielder. “You can tell me his pass is amazing but my pass is amazing too without pressure.”
As for what to expect in the transfer market. Mourinho says the target was four key positions – and he has signed three of those (though Mkhitaryan has not yet been confirmed. The other, it appears, is a holding midfielder – possibly Blaise Matuidi – and Mourinho’s expectation is that it will be completed sooner rather than later. “When we have the fourth we will breathe,” he said. “The market will be open. We will get the fourth before 31 August, and we will be stable but the market will be open.”
José shows his delight at the unveiling of his dream job.
So there is no new self-imposed title from Mourinho, but several decent lines and a couple of snipes at other managers – including Louis van Gaal and Arsène Wenger. There was no early pop at Pep Guardiola, though.
What did we make of it all? He was cold and cutting at times, to the surprise of nobody, and had anticipated a question about young players so brought a list of 49 players he has brought through from the academies at Porto, Chelsea, Real and Inter. He didn’t read them out, though … so if anybody wants to go the trouble of listing all 49 feel free.
Updated
And with that ends José Mourinho’s first press conference as Manchester United manager.
On where Wayne Rooney will fit in his team: “There are many jobs on the field. The most difficult to find is one to put the ball in the net. It is normal that a player at his age will change a little bit. One thing that will never change is his natural appetite to put the ball in the net. Maybe he is not a striker, not a No9 anymore. But with me he will never be a No6, playing 50m from goal. Yes, his passing is amazing but mine is also amazing without pressure. Many players have a great pass, but to put the ball in the net is the most difficult. He will be a No9, a No10, a No9.5 but never a No6 or a No8.”
On Ferguson giving him advice: “Bring the umbrella. Yesterday it was raining at the training ground – good advice. The second was for me to bring my typical bottle of wine because there will be many more opportunities to drink it together. We will have lots of time to meet each other. He will always be welcome to the training ground obviously. We will have a lot of time to share our personal stuff – friends, family and life. His opinion is an important opinion for me. So many legends at this club love it. So many are in the punditry business at the moment – every one will be important whether I agree or not agree. I will always give a look to learn from what they give to me.”
On Ryan Giggs and young players at United: “How many minutes do we have left … I have not time to answer it. It would take 10 minutes to answer it. I knew this question was coming.” Mourinho brings out a list. “Do you want to know how many players I have promoted from academies? Forty nine. Do you want me to list them out? I promoted 49 from the academies at clubs and two factors that are important for these records. Sometimes you have no other choice but to promote them because you have injured. That is one factor. The second is when you are not playing for big targets it is easier to bring them up, outside the pressure of the big moments. My record with injuries is very low – even from the Uefa studies, there were many times the team with the least injuries in the whole of Europe was mine. Last year the only season of my only career that I was not fighting for the title – every other season I was winning or finishing second, or finish third once but still fighting for the title. I still did 49 and some of them we are speaking about big names – players that today are Champions League winners, playing for national teams. Forty nine is a lot. Once more – it’s one lie repeated many times. Some times it looks like it might be true but it is always true. Many of you … the names. If you want them, I’ll give them to you.
“As for Ryan: it’s not my responsibility that Ryan is not in the club. The job Ryan wanted was the Manchester United manager. That’s not my fault – the owners and Mr Woodward wanted me. Ryan, for the moment, wants to be a manager. I decided years ago I wanted to be a manager. Many of us start as assistant coaches and a moment arrives to making a decision. Ryan could have been what he wanted – any important job but he made a decision where you need to be brave. It’s not easy – I had a contract at Barcelona in 2000 to be assistant for two more years. It was not easy for me. And for Ryan it’s not just the step of going from assistant manager to manager. It is also the challenge of leaving his house – it was 29 years, not 29 days. If I am hear and he wants to come back, I will never stop him. If one day the club wants him to be manager it will be the consequence of his achievements as a manager.”
On his rivals this season: “With all the respect to the other clubs in the country, especially one that was my house for seven years where I shared incredible moments, I have to say now I am the manager of the biggest club in the UK. I don’t have to look at the others as much. I have the same respect for every club, every manager.”
How many more changes will he make to the squad? “I don’t know, yet. The third player [Mkhitarayn] will be official soon – I can try to make you understand the profile. We made a nucleus of four priorities, four positions, to give a certain balance to the squad. To give a certain push in terms of the qualities I need and want. As you know, the ones with more vision. I am more a manager that likes specialists rather than multi-functional players because I am clear in my approach. Multi-functional players – you need one or two if you have three central defenders injured. But, basically, I want specialists. We decided four targets. We have three at the moment. Until we don’t have the fourth, we are still working hard. Myself, the structure, Mr Woodward, the owners. When we have the fourth we will breathe. The market will be open. We will get the fourth before 31 August, and we will be stable but the market will be open.”
Does he have a point to prove after last season? “Some managers – the last time they won a title was 10 years ago. Some of them – never. The last time I won a title was a year ago. So if I have a lot to prove, imagine the others. The reality is it was never important for me. I play against myself. I have to prove not to the others but to myself – that’s my nature. I would never be able to work without success. I have to always find the reasons why I have as many questions towards myself and the people working with me – that’s my nature. I could approach this job in a defensive point of view by saying ‘the last three years the best we did was fourth and an FA Cup’. I could go into that side but I can’t. Manchester United is a different dimension [to other clubs] but when person have the same menu year after year, it has to change for the better than worse. For United fans for many years, success was just routine – but the last three years are years to forget. I don’t want the players to start thinking we have to do better. To finish fourth is not the aim. This is what I do with myself. I am 53, not 63 or 73. I am a very young manager. If I have this approach of not trying to prove to myself or others, not go for big challenges – then I’m in trouble. The reality is I was in trouble the past five months.”
“I want everything. I want to win matches, I want to play well, I want to play young players. I want our fans to cheer us defending a lead rather than chasing a lead.”
Mourinho says he was "never good at hiding behind words and philosophies." Van Gaal, take note . .
— Daniel Taylor (@DTguardian) July 5, 2016
Updated
What is the aim this season? To compete or to win trophies? “It depends on the way you want to face it. I was never very good playing with words and hiding behind words and hiding behind philosophies. I was never good with that. I never tried to be. I was almost much more aggressive in my approach with the risks that can bring. It would be easy, honest and pragmatic from my side to focus on the last three years and focus on the fact that we don’t qualify for the Champions League and so on. It would be pragmatic to say let’s work and try to get back to the top four and do well in Europa League. I’m not good on that – I don’t want to be, I want to be more aggressive. And to be more aggressive is to say we want to win. I can anticipate that any of you that come with a question about the style of play and what is before is the result … I can imagine one of those questions is around the corner. I can anticipate by saying you can win a short competition, a couple of matches without playing well. But you can’t win competitions by not playing well. What is playing well? To score more than your opponent; to make your fans proud because you win.”
“The club is much more important than myself – Man United is a Champions League club and in July 2017 instead of waiting for the Europa League, we have to make sure this club is where it has to be. That is obviously in the Champions League.”
How much of a blow is it not to be in the Champions League? “I feel a bit frustrated I’m not playing Champions League. I don’t hide that I chase Sir Alex’s record in the CL. Hopefully it’s only one season I’m – we – are not there.”
Updated
Is he nervous about the job? “It doesn’t make me nervous. My history in the last 10 years or more was to live with big club’s expectations. It comes at a right moment my career. I have great motivation. I am where I want to be. I want to be in this club, this country, in the Premier League.”
Updated
Mourinho has arrived. And first up he is asked about what this job means to him: “It’s difficult to find the right words to describe this club. I don’t like ‘the Dream Job’ this is reality. I know the expectation. At the same time I know the legacy. I know what’s behind me. It is a job everyone wants and not many have the chance to have.”
Updated
Update: he has gone for the shirt again! More as we get it, folks. He is also wearing a training kit instead of an expensive suit.
One of the big questions of the morning: will Mourinho hold up a scarf or a shirt during his pre-press conference photocall? I’m going with a scarf, held above his head, with a combination of steely staring and cheesy grin.
He went with a shirt when his appointment was confirmed.
Updated
We may also hear Mourinho’s thoughts on Ryan Giggs leaving the club after 29 years, because the former Wales player wants to become the main man at another club. Sir Alex Ferguson has a warning for Giggs, though: “It is such a highly intense results industry, you need people who go into it to have a bit of steel about them, a bit of character and personality … If José hadn’t had an assistant, I know he would have taken Ryan. I think Ryan is ready to manage and he has a lot of quality. He doesn’t want to spoil that quality by going to a club where it is sacking a manager every two minutes.”
Updated
It seems like a long time ago since José Mourinho was announced as Manchester United manager – 27 May to be precise – and he has already made three signings. But this is his first press conference and there is plenty to ask … not least how Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will fit in at Old Trafford. Will there be other arrivals in the coming days? What about Paul Pogba, who may return to the club he left in 2012 after making only three appearances? And then there are the possible outgoings. Will he be selling Juan Mata for a second time? Does Maruoane Fellaini still have a place in the overhauled squad? Is he going to start the War of Words with Pep Guardiola? Will he bestow a new title upon himself? The Refreshed One? The Aggrieved One? The None of Them One?
All (actually, that’s overplaying it a bit – let’s just say some) of those questions and a couple others will be revealed at some time around 11am BST.
Updated
