Mourinho - No

[jayp]

Mourinho rules out England job
Eurosport - Mon, 10 Dec 18:57:00 2007
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho ruled himself out for the vacant job as England coach.

"After deep and serious thinking I decided to exclude myself from being England manager despite it being a fantastic position for me," Mourinho said in a statement published on the website of Gestifute, his Portuguese agents.

England began the search for a coach following Steve McClaren's sacking after last month's failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

Captain of England John Terry said last week that Mourinho, his former manager at Chelsea, would be the best choice to replace McClaren, saying the Portuguese "could make a big difference".

But Mourinho thought otherwise, even though his representatives had contact with the Football Association after McClaren's departure.

"I'm sure the FA will hire a great manager, one able to place the team back where it belongs," Mourinho said in the statement.

"I reiterate my respect for English football and, after three years in England, I firmly believe the England squad will soon be back to their usual great results."

Mourinho has been resting at home in Setubal since leaving Chelsea by mutual consent in September. He has given no indication of his next career move.

McClaren replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson after last year's World Cup finals in Germany but his reign was doomed after England lost 3-2 to Croatia at Wembley and failed to qualify for Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.

FA chief executive Brian Barwick and head of football development Trevor Brooking have been charged with finding a new manager and have been canvassing opinion from leading figures in the game.

Mourinho had been one of the three favourites, along with Italian frontrunner Fabio Capello and his compatriot Marcello Lippi, who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy.

Capello has expressed an interest in the job while Lippi told BBC sport on Monday he had had "no contact at all" with the FA.

Other names in the frame include former Germany striker and World Cup coach Juergen Klinsmann, Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill and former England forward Alan Shearer.

[jayp]

Fabio Capello has been identified by the Football Association as England's next coach and the Italian will be invited to meet senior Soho Square officials in London later this week. Brian Barwick, the FA chief executive, finally dropped Jose Mourinho from his list of targets after the former Chelsea manager confirmed that he did not want to succeed the sacked Steve McClaren during a telephone call late on Sunday night.

Now Barwick will turn to Capello, confident that the 61-year-old former Real Madrid and AC Milan coach, having already publicly declared an interest in taking the £6million-a-year role, will accept an offer from the FA. Last night, FA officials insisted it was too early to dismiss Marcello Lippi, Jurgen Klinsmann and Martin O'Neill when Barwick had not even met Capello.

But Simon Johnson, FA director of corporate affairs and Barwick's closest aide, has already spoken twice to Capello on the telephone and Barwick will offer him the job if what amounts to an interview goes well.

Capello certainly meets the criteria Barwick outlined when he told the FA board he would be looking to recruit a 'world-class manager'. He has one of the most impressive c.v.s in European football, having won the league with every club he has managed in a career that has seen him land Italy's Serie A seven times and Spain's La Liga twice, as well as the Champions League with the great AC Milan team of the early 90s.

He won the Scudetto with Juventus in 2005 and 2006, only for the club to be stripped of both titles amid the controversy of the match-fixing scandal. But Capello proved he has the midas touch again when he arrived at Real Madrid and guided David Beckham and his colleagues to La Liga glory last season. For Barwick, unveiling Capello would represent a coup and go some way to restoring his reputation after the embarrassment of McClaren's tenure.

Barwick dared to suggest that McClaren was his first choice when he presented him to the media last year, and the results left both men damaged by the association, even though it was a little unfair on Barwick when he was not given the freedom by the FA board to appoint his preferred choice of O'Neill.

In Capello, however, he will have a coach held in the highest regard and someone who will be welcomed by an FA board that meets next week, but could authorise his appointment before then. Capello's English needs plenty of work, but even that is being described as 'better than expected'.

Former Chelsea star Gianfranco Zola is a possible assistant, but the FA last night denied any knowledge of that.

There is no doubt that Mourinho, 44, was Barwick's first choice on this occasion and, although he never met the Special One face to face to discuss the job, there has been regular contact over the past 12 days with Mourinho and his agent, Jorge Mendes.

In a statement issued last night, Mourinho, now being strongly linked with a return to club management, with AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid all possible destinations, said: "After Steve McClaren departed the England football team, my representatives had contacts with the FA.

"Following that, I myself had interesting conversations with Brian Barwick and Trevor Brooking, with whom I exchanged ideas with a view to evaluating the current situation of the English national team and the aims that would be pursued if I were in fact invited to take this post.

"After reflecting at length, I took the decision to exclude myself from the possibility of becoming the England manager, even though I regard it as a wonderful job.

"I repeat that I have a lot of respect for English football and that after passing three good years in England, I firmly believe that country's national team will soon get back to winning ways."


The FA first made contact with Capello and his son — a lawyer Pier Filippo — with the help of a leading English sports lawyer 11 days ago and further talks took place last week. But Capello has made no secret of his interest in the job. He said recently: "The challenge of coaching a national side like England would be something different. The job is not about coaching every day. It would be a very difficult challenge but a very exciting one.
When it appeared Mourinho would reject the FA's advances, Capello showed little concern that he was not Barwick's first choice, saying: "I was convinced Mourinho would have accepted. The fact that he has opted to step aside means that he has another aim. But I am older than Mourinho."

Capello, who will probably be offered an initial two-year deal that takes him to the 2010 World Cup, is expected to bring his trusted aide Franco Baldini as an assistant, along with Zola, although director of football development Brooking is keen to have an English influence which could yet see a role created for someone like Alan Shearer.

[Sweepy Bee]

Once everyone else has turned it down the FA will have no choice but to pay us off for Terry Butcher. Shame.

[turkish_bee]

Alan Shearer

[Mabudi]

Hi all.
!!!Mourinho no!!!


Kind Regards

[Beefy]

It looks like it could be Capello and the bloke certainly has the right credentials

[Coventry Bee]

Have heard that if Capello gets it he wil have Pearce , Shearer and Zola in his backroom team