José Mourinho is thrilled to have another chance to face Manchester United as the former Porto and Chelsea manager saw his Inter Milan charges pitted with the defending champions in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Mourinho told a news conference: "I am satisfied, I wanted the best and I have got the European champions who maybe in two days will be world champions.
"It’s the team with Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, plays and they have a super manager in Alex Ferguson.
"They have great players, not only Ronaldo, and there is a fantastic atmosphere in their stadium. All of this is a great motivation for us.
"In the return leg we will play against a team with which I’ve lived unforgettable emotions. I’m happy to be returning there.
"Some say I have a good record against Alex Ferguson but the record isn't mine, it's Chelsea's."
The Special One is Fergie’s nemesis, having lost only once in 12 matches against the Scot.
Mourinho led Porto knocked United out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage in 2004, as Costinha’s late, late goal stunned the Old Trafford crowd.
The sight of a cocky Portuguese boss in a black coat frantically running to the Old Trafford corner flag to celebrate with his Porto heroes nearly five years ago will haunt Fergie and United’s fans for ever.
Ferguson himself admitted the itch of losing to Mourinho in 2004 still haunts him, but Fergie is confident of putting one over him this time.
He said in MUTV: "They kept us hanging about, being last out of the hat, but it’s interesting to come up against José again.
"He’s a character with a good personality and I’ve always got on well with him.
"He knocked us out of the competition when he was at Porto, so I hope we have the luck they had in that tie this time round.
"They’ve had a tremendous domestic record in recent years and that speaks volumes for the consistency of their team.
"We've played against most of their players over the years and faced them in a friendly last year at Old Trafford. So we know a lot about them.
"Hopefully, we can do the job in Milan in the first game and give ourselves a platform to take back to Old Trafford.
"The San Siro is a great stadium. We’ve lost two semi-finals to AC Milan there, so we want to go back there and do better."
Inter will host the first leg at San Siro on February 24, before travelling to Old Trafford for the return fixture on March 11.
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Mourinho told a news conference: "I am satisfied, I wanted the best and I have got the European champions who maybe in two days will be world champions.
"It’s the team with Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, plays and they have a super manager in Alex Ferguson.
"They have great players, not only Ronaldo, and there is a fantastic atmosphere in their stadium. All of this is a great motivation for us.
"In the return leg we will play against a team with which I’ve lived unforgettable emotions. I’m happy to be returning there.
"Some say I have a good record against Alex Ferguson but the record isn't mine, it's Chelsea's."
The Special One is Fergie’s nemesis, having lost only once in 12 matches against the Scot.
Mourinho led Porto knocked United out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage in 2004, as Costinha’s late, late goal stunned the Old Trafford crowd.
The sight of a cocky Portuguese boss in a black coat frantically running to the Old Trafford corner flag to celebrate with his Porto heroes nearly five years ago will haunt Fergie and United’s fans for ever.
Ferguson himself admitted the itch of losing to Mourinho in 2004 still haunts him, but Fergie is confident of putting one over him this time.
He said in MUTV: "They kept us hanging about, being last out of the hat, but it’s interesting to come up against José again.
"He’s a character with a good personality and I’ve always got on well with him.
"He knocked us out of the competition when he was at Porto, so I hope we have the luck they had in that tie this time round.
"They’ve had a tremendous domestic record in recent years and that speaks volumes for the consistency of their team.
"We've played against most of their players over the years and faced them in a friendly last year at Old Trafford. So we know a lot about them.
"Hopefully, we can do the job in Milan in the first game and give ourselves a platform to take back to Old Trafford.
"The San Siro is a great stadium. We’ve lost two semi-finals to AC Milan there, so we want to go back there and do better."
Inter will host the first leg at San Siro on February 24, before travelling to Old Trafford for the return fixture on March 11.
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Related links:
Team
Personal
Also see:
