Santa Mou rewards his players’ attitude and professionalism:
“Probably, because of that, the club is preparing a little Christmas party for them and their families. Maybe because their families also deserve it. For good things, we’ll find the time.
The traditional hospital visits and charity stuff, we also have time for that.
And because this is a squad with lots of kids – young guys with kids from a couple of weeks to 10 years old – I think it will be good for them.”
(Di Matteo) "Don’t ask me to speak about him. The history is the history — he was on the Chelsea bench when Chelsea won the Champions League and he is a historic name in this club. I have nothing more to say. My name is in the history of this club. A football club is made of many, many names — not one or two names or one player or one manager. I did my history here and now I have the chance to make more history here and he was Chelsea manager and he did his history.”
"I can do nothing to win it. I can only work to improve my team all the time, make a very good team like we are doing. Me working on the pitch, the board working at other levels, to make a great team like we did in 2004-05-06.”
Post-match press conference ♦ Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion 2:0, 22.11.14 (12’ Costa, 25’ Hazard)
First half: "Beautiful." "High quality, another dimension. Playing so well, so fast, so fluid."
Second half: "We decreased the intensity of our ball circulation, we made it a bit easier for them to occupy the spaces." "I’m always annoyed."(laughs)"But there are reasons for things: people had to play 2 national matches in a row, coming back, travel, didn’t train properly, had a marathon of matches … they knew that the points were not in risk …"
“These guys have to win if they want to be seen as a great team. It’s not just about playing beautiful football or being autumn champions. They have to win titles.”
Mou can only laugh at rumours of Petr Cech wanting to leave Chelsea:
”In which Mickey Mouse website? in which Mickey Mouse blog?
"I promise you that what I’m telling you is the truth. On my desk, normally from my board’s desk, the information arrives. On my desk I have zero. Zero proposals."
I didn’t know that Mou is such a tennis enthusiast. "One man, a lonely man, on the court with all the responsibilities on his shoulders is absolutely fantastic."
"I have so much passion and so much respect for the game."
Today they’ll meet again, but on opposite sides ♥ Mourinho tells funny Balotelli story “I could write a book of 200 pages about Mario Balotelli. And it would not be a drama, but a comedy.”
This anecdote and the way Mou tells it is just too funny-cute!
(Diego Costa) "As a consequence of the work we’re doing with him, we think he’s ready to start tomorrow but obviously not to go with the national team. He’ll have 15 days finally to rest and work properly, and that’s fantastic news for us. Obviously, I give thanks for the decision made by the Spanish Football Federation, but I want to make it clear I did nothing to make it happen.”
“Our intention is to win. Our intention is, when we have the ball, to score goals. When Liverpool have the ball, we have to try and stop them scoring. It’s the ABC of football. Sometimes some people pretend to be clever or influence the opinion of others, and say it’s not the ABC of football, but it is.”
“[Liverpool fans can] influence [a game] in a big way, in a big way. I like to play there, but I have to say that some people feel the atmosphere in a negative way, affecting the performance. That’s not my case. First of all I don’t play. Secondly, I like… I don’t think it affects my players’ performances, but in the past we have examples of it affecting performances, goals that are not goals [a reference to Luis Garcia’s goal in the Champions League semi final second leg in 2005], penalties given that aren’t penalties. But it’s a fantastic atmosphere for all of us to enjoy and play a good game.”
Post-match press conference, UCL ♦ Maribor vs Chelsea 1:1, 05.11.14
"We scored two goals, two very good goals, but the second the referee decided to disallow. It was a clear goal, so normally we should win. We have to accept it and praise a fantastic stadium with lots of enthusiasm, for the people a fantastic night.”
"If I cannot convince the players that the game is difficult and that you have to play from minute one, obviously it’s my responsibility."
“This is not, for me, just a job. It it more than that, because it’s Chelsea.”
"Maybe I go a little bit too far. But I see myself in the stands, watching Chelsea and I want to play, I want to help. If I’m not a player I cannot play, if I’m not a coach I cannot make decisions. If I’m just a fan what can I do to help? That’s just my view.”
“Everybody at Chelsea Football Club knows how much I love the club, how much I want it to improve and how much I want to be part of the club in the future.”
"Even a moment of criticism has to be analysed with different eyes, with the eyes of somebody who knows why I came back to Chelsea and why I’m here with my heart and why I want to stay for a long, long time."
Post-match, Chelsea vs Queens Park Rangers 2:1, 01.11.14 ( 32’ Oscar, 62’ Austin 75’ Hazard)
Though strikers Diego Costa and Loic Remy have struggled with injuries, the saving grace for Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been the form of 36-year-old Didier Drogba. The Ivorian has scored in three successive matches against Maribor, Manchester United and Shrewsbury. Those goals were Drogba’s first since his return to Stamford Bridge following a two-year absence after eight years and 157 goals.
"For such a legend in this club it’s a difficult decision to take and we took it together.
We believing in him, him believing in himself.
To be important you don’t need at the age of 36 to play 90 minutes of 50 matches.
Fantastic problem for me!”
"The man responsible for the lights was in the same mood as the crowd. Because everybody was sleeping. So he took 20 minutes to understand that it was dark. But I took 30 minutes to understand that the stadium was not empty.”
Best moment: when he pantomimed the ‘excitement’ of the people.
