Jose Mourinho had England job 'on the table' & insists he would have won trophy
Jose Mourinho has revealed how close he came to being England manager - and insisted he would have won a trophy.
Mourinho says there was a contract on the table waiting to be signed before Fabio Capello eventually got the job after Steve McClaren failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Former Chelsea boss Mourinho was at the peak of his powers back then and he claimed the strength of the squad in those days deserved success.
Mourinho, talking to Rio Ferdinand’s VIBE with FIVE podcast, said: “I had it there on the table. I had it, I promise you.
“I’m still there a little bit but I always had it in my mind that a national team job was a job that I wouldn’t enjoy so Chelsea was 2004/5, 2006/7, 2007/8 and it was in 7/8 when Mr Capello got the job.”
Capello did not deliver the success that England craved but Mourinho insisted there was enough talent in the squad to win trophies while he also believes they could have won Euro 2004 if they had not lost to Portugal in the quarter finals.
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“Scholes, Ferdinand, Terry, Ledley King, Jamie Carragher could not even get in the four,” said Mourinho. “Gerrard, Lampard.
“You should have won something, when you lost in Portugal to Portugal on penalties, that could have been yours.”
Jose Mourinho could have led England out at Wembley (Getty Images)But Mourinho insists England can win the Euros this summer under Gareth Southgate and says it will be Jude Bellingham who will be the difference.
Mourinho added: “It’s a very good generation. They got to the final, the Euro final and they can do it.
“This kind of mentality when the guys who go abroad, for example, Bellingham, I don’t know the kid, I never spoke with the kid but there is something that separates him from the boys who were born in England, developed in England and playing in England, living in England, this kid is something different.
“He’s a kid from the world. He’s a kid not just from playing in the best league in the world, the Premier League, to bring something different, something in experience, when this kid scored a goal, opened his arms to the Bernabeu, it’s a different dimension.
Jose Mourinho has backed Jude Bellingham to be England's star at this summer's Euros (PA Archive)“It shows the character. He’s not doing it out of arrogance, he’s just like: ‘Here I am, I did it again.’ Big personality.
“I think Southgate, with Steve Holland, and when I speak about Southgate I always speak about Steve Holland because he was my assistant at Chelsea, what a person, they have done a beautiful job there and they are just missing that little bit.
“I cannot say I wish England do it because I think Portugal can do it and I do wish they do it, but England can do it. This generation can do it.”
Watch the full interview with Jose Mourinho here
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