Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho paid an emotional tribute to the
support of those who had helped him reach the pinnacle of the game as he
accepted the Football Writers' Association Tribute Award at a gala
dinner in London.
The Portuguese coach was the guest of honour at
the Savoy Hotel just a few hours after watching his side beat
Manchester United 3-1 at Stamford Bridge to move to within two points of
Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Mourinho, 50, had a major impact
during his first spell in England, when he guided the Blues to the
championship in 2005 and 2006, and went on to repeat his success with
spells at Inter Milan, where he won the UEFA Champions League for a
second time, and Real Madrid before returning for a second spell at
Stamford Bridge this summer.
"Without love and happiness, I could
not do my job," said Mourinho, who was accompanied to the gala dinner
by his wife and children, with son Jose a promising goalkeeper.
"My
assistant (coaches) are like my brothers, Frank (Lampard) represents my
players, without whom I have no career, and Mr (Louis) van Gaal, Mr
(Bobby) Robson, my bosses."
Mourinho believes a settled family
life in England has helped him refocus for the challenges ahead. He
continued: "The best thing football gave me was to make a decision about
my future.
"Some managers go where they have to go, where the
club comes, and sometimes it is not the best move, not what they want to
do, but they go.
"I sat down with my wife and family, and said
'where is the best place for us? Where can we be happier as a family? To
be happy as a manager and enjoy more the family and life socially?'
"We
decided England, after that, for the situation to be perfect it would
be Chelsea and I was lucky because the door was open for me."
Mourinho
would love to continue his career at Chelsea for 'many, many years'
yet, and indicated he had no intentions of ever leaving the Premier
League. He added: "The principles you have in relation to football and
life are absolutely amazing.
"I love this Chelsea Football Club,
which has been the only club to have ever sacked me, we as a family
belong to you (in) England. I belong to Chelsea, Chelsea belongs to me,
and hopefully we will stay for many, many years."
Mourinho joked: "It is not a threat, but if you sack me, I will stay in England and go to another club, a possible rival."
Lampard hails Mou
Chelsea
midfielder Frank Lampard paid his own tribute to the Portuguese coach,
with England manager Roy Hodgson among the many guests from the football
world to attend at the Savoy.
He said: "There has never been any
special over confidence or arrogance from him. He made us all feel like
we could be champions.
"For me, the main thing about the manager
is on the pitch and also the mental stuff around that. He found the
perfect way to deal with every individual in his squad, and still does
today. The individual relationships he builds is something special.
"He
is the one who has all the pluses, I cannot find a fault. He drags
every individual up a level, anything that is needed he is the one that
takes that on and that is why he one of the most special managers
around."
Mourinho felt humbled to have been honoured by the FWA,
with former Barcelona and Netherlands coach Van Gaal also paying a
personal tribute to the Portuguese coach.
"It makes me ask again
the Football Writers' Association if I deserve it. I have had some
achievements in the English game, but others have," said Mourinho, who
was presented with his award by FWA chairman Andy Dunn, columnist for
the Sunday Mirror.
"I have a good relation with the media and
gave them some good headlines in the time we have been together, but I
don't know if I did enough to deserve this award."
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