Jose Mourinho realised that the international break was far too boring. To liven things up a little bit, the Special One came up with a shock reveal - he was, apparently, ‘within hours’ of taking over as the England national team manager in 2007 following his departure from Chelsea, only to have a change of heart when he realised that he’d only be competing for one trophy every two years rather than four per season. Mourinho was being interviewed in L’Equipe when he made the admission:
Jose Mourinho: I Nearly Took The England Job In 2007
I was hours away – I almost signed up for the England national team. But at the last minute I began thinking, ‘I am going to coach a national side, there will be one match a month and the rest of the time I will be in my office or overseeing matches.
And then to have to wait until the summer to compete in a European Championship or a World Cup? No, it wasn’t for me. So at the last moment I pulled back, preferring to wait for the right job to come along, a good club, a challenge that could motivate me. That was Inter.
The Special One, of course, won the treble in his second year with Inter Milan before moving to Real Madrid, although there have been several reports that he’s considering a move back to England shortly. What would have happened if he had taken over the England job, though? Would they have performed so poorly at the World Cup? I’d imagine not - the team certainly would not have played in Fabio Capello’s preferred 4-4-2 shape, and going to a three-man central midfield would have solved many of the England’s problems. They still probably were never going to be a top-tier side, but with Mourinho at the helm they’d probably have avoided being embarrassed in draws against the United States and Algeria and in the crushing 4-1 defeat to Germany.
The FA has denied Mourinho’s allegations, of course, with a spokesman claiming “Fabio [Capello] was our first choice for England manager,” but really, they’re crazy if they had a shot at Mourinho and didn’t take it. I don’t think they’re fooling anyone here.
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