Mourinho Has Revealed He Almost Became England Manager

Chelsea manager José Mourinho has stated that he almost became the England manager back in 2008 when he had just lost his Chelsea job. The Portuguese is in his second spell at the Premier league outfit. Even though he failed to win any major trophy on his return to the club, Chelsea are expected to be major contenders for the league and the Champions League in the coming season. Mourinho has been linked with every major job in the last decade and it is not surprising that he could have been the England manager.

England had just sacked Steve McClaren after they failed to qualify for the Euro 2008. A number of names were in the running to replace the former United assistant manager, but it is thought that Mourinho was the ultimate favourite. After almost 3 years at Chelsea, Mourinho was sacked only a few months ago in September 2007. The job was eventually awarded to Fabio Capello after Mourinho turned down the opportunity on the recommendation of his wife. According to him, managing a national team is not suitable for him since he will miss the day-to-day involvement.

Further, being a national team was will also mean that he will have to wait at least two years before matches against top teams.

“This close. No, I don’t regret not taking it, it was the right decision – my wife was right. I cannot wait two years for a big competition. I can’t spend two years playing against Kazakhstan and San Marino. In the end, my wife was saying, ‘No football, no matches – it’s not for you’. And she was right. At that time I had no job and I had been at home for two or three months already after leaving Chelsea. I could not get an English club because of my contract when I left Chelsea,” said Mourinho.