Jose Mourinho: MLS teams should have two major European players; Inter starts new era with US tour

March 28, 5:10 PMBoston Pro Soccer ExaminerL.E. Eisenmenger

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Jose Mourinho

Today at a press conference in Boston, Jose Mourinho, the coach of Internazionale  Milano (Inter) spoke about their upcoming US preseason tour, Inter's global ambitions, and what MLS must do to reach a higher level. Mourinho emphatically stated that MLS needs two major European players on each team, no salary cap, and more European coaches. And when questioned if Inter might be interested in an MLS franchise, Mourinho responded, "Why not?"

Beckham came here with a big desire and few months later he’s very happy to go play in Europe. Why? Maybe because he was quite alone in his situation. I think the investment must not be focused on one player, but more players, in a way where every team would have two real players from Europe. Not with controlled budgets, not with financial walls, just free investment. Bring two players for every team, bring four or five coaches, responsible not just for their own teams but responsible for coaching the program.

The World Football Challenge is a six-city round robin tournament featuring Chelsea, AC Milan, Inter, and Club America at six different venues across the country and broadcasted on ESPN and ESPN2. This is Inter's first visit to the US in forty years, and Inter will play AC Milan at Gillette stadium July 26.
 

Excerpts from  Mourinho's  press conference

Mourinho: This tournament is the kind of tournament I like preseason. Some managers prefer easy matches, prefer to win easily, they prefer to start the season with results with a big impact. I don’t like that. I like difficulties, I think difficulties are the best thing for the evolution of a team.

I feel we have responsibility with our game. When I watch, for example, an NBA match in Europe on TV, I realize that I’m watching basketball, the real basketball, and I think Americans feel the same way when they watch our matches in Europe, they watch the real soccer. So when I come here with my teams I always respect that, I always play the best team, the best players, with lots of respect for the public to give the best game. My Inter team will be with every one of the best players.

What is the level of football in the US?

Mourinho: I’ve been quite impressed. I lost a game with Chelsea to an MLS team, they lacked precision but showed enough quality. I think it’s good for American football when some of the boys play in Europe - and they’re playing every week in the Premiership, in the Bundesliga. Their inclusion is good for them, good for the [US] national team because then they go back to the national team and bring the experience of high level football in Europe. MLS loses without the best talent, they go down, the players go to Europe, they leave MLS, but you cannot have everything at the same time.

I played in Washington DC against the national selection in MLS, I watched the players, the team was very well-organized. I watch the finals last year, it was enjoyable. I think a little push – not one David Beckham because it’s not enough – more David Beckhams, why not? Bring coaches from Europe to give a push  - why not, why not? Why not reach a different level? The passion is there when you see kids, when you see the girls, I see the passion of our soccer is here. So why not reach a better level?

What is MLS missing that could take it to the next level?

Mourinho: To be fair, I don’t know. I think culture is very important and I always make a comparison with Europe. If you go to Europe now with baseball - which is a huge sport for you - we don’t do it. If you bring a huge baseball game to Europe, they won’t exchange a baseball game for a soccer game, so culture is very, very important. And you have baseball and American football and basketball and they aren’t easy to compete with. But there are big communities of foreign people in love with soccer – Portuguese, Italians, Mexicans, South Americans - you have big communities in the US in love with the game and you must invest. Without investment you don’t attract people. It’s not just about money, it’s about the perspective of having an enjoyable future.

When I was without a club, when I left Chelsea, I had a few possibilities [opportunities] to come to the States and I was quite tempted, but in the end I was thinking maybe I would miss the big football of Europe and probably I was correct.

Probably that’s the reason why Beckham came here with a big desire and few months later he’s very happy to go play in Europe. Why? Maybe because he was quite alone in his situation. I think the investment must not be focused on one player, but more players, in a way where every team would have two real players from Europe. Not with controlled budgets, not with financial walls, just free investment.

Bring two players for every team, bring four or five coaches, responsible not just for their own teams but responsible for coaching the program. People should come here, not with the objective of making money and going home, but with the objective of making an impact and helping soccer in a country where soccer is not a king. In Europe soccer is the king and they must realize that here our sport is not the king. People coming here must have the mentality of give more than receive. More worry about giving and not going home with pockets full of money.

Is Inter considering investment in an MLS franchise, like FC Barcelona?

Mourinho: Inter Milan is in the beginning of a process, a global process. Barcelona is a club with a different vision. I worked with Barcelona from 1996 till 2000 and I know the club. It’s a very well organized club and has a certain kind of vision with the marketing and merchandising area. Absolutely amazing. I remember, for example, last year or two years ago, they were having training sessions in the middle of Hyde Park in New York. They know how to do it.

Inter Milan is a more traditional club, a club more closed in itself, more closed to Italy. At this moment Inter is in the beginning of a new era, a new phase, a new way of looking at things. To have a franchise, why not? To be fair, why not?

At this moment, that’s not the phase for Inter, the phase for Inter is to do what Barcelona, Chelsea, and Man United did a few years ago. So this time will be the first time Inter is coming to the US for a preseason camp. The preseason camp is the moment where players focus on training, on playing, on improving, but the structure of the club is doing the beginning of a process. Barcelona is not the club to compare with us because I know they’re in a different level of organization.

Does Inter have plans to go global?

Mourinho: That’s what we are trying to do. That’s something the Premiership are experts on. Some people still don’t know why some matches are at 12 noon, midday. Why? Because of the time difference in Asia, it’s primetime for Asia. People must realize that football is now an industry, and now every industry is not living in a very healthy way, not just football. People must think about strategies to compete and Inter must care about lots of things besides football.

When people say Serie A is a worse competition that Premiership, I don’t agree and I know both very, very well. I prefer to say Premiership and Serie A are very different competitions. Serie A must go and give what people want. People sometimes want more emotion in the game, less tactics, less pressure - this is what we should think about and coming to the US can open people’s minds. People are sometimes closed to certain realities.

To come here - we have nothing to learn from you about our game – we have nothing to learn. But we have a lot to learn from you about sports. Not about our sport, but about sports and about sports organizations, sports investments, sports marketing, sports merchandising. We have everything to learn from you.

World Football Challenge Schedule

Sunday, July 19, 7PM ET, ESPN2: Club America vs. Inter Milan @ Stanford Stadium (Palo Alto, CA)

Tuesday, July 21, 11PM ET, ESPN2: Chelsea vs. Inter Milan @ Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

Wednesday, July 22, 7PM ET, ESPN2: AC Milan vs. Club America @ Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)

Friday, July 24, 8PM ET, ESPN: AC MIlan vs Chelsea @ M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, MD)

Sunday, July 26, 5PM ET, ESPN2: AC Milan vs. Inter Milan @ Gillette Stadium (Foxboro, MA)

Sunday, July 26, 7PM ET, ESPN2: Chelsea FC vs. Club America @ Cowboy Stadium (Arlington, TX)