Mourinho once threatened to ‘break Wenger’s face’

Jose Mourinho once threatened to ‘break Arsene Wenger’s face’, according to claims in the Daily Mail.

Mourinho and Wenger have had a storied history since the Portuguese was first appointed Chelsea manager in 2004, with their relationship often played out publicly in the form of insults.

In a new book serialised by the Daily Mail, Rob Beasley, dubbed as ‘the sports journalist who knows better than anyone what makes Jose Mourinho tick’, claims that the current Manchester United manager once threatened to hit Wenger during his second stint at Chelsea.

‘In the summer of 2013 Mourinho returned to the Premier League with Chelsea, once again becoming a direct rival of the Arsenal boss. It didn’t take long for hostilities to be renewed,’ Beasley writes in his book, Jose Mourinho: Up Close and Personal.

‘The following January Wenger spoke out about Chelsea’s plans to sell star midfielder Juan Mata to Manchester United for £37million.

‘Asked if he was surprised at the move, Wenger replied: “Yes I am, because they sell a great player to a direct opponent.”

‘He then made the point that Chelsea had already played United twice that season so Mata could not hurt them but his quality could hurt teams like Arsenal who had only played United once. “It opens up again questions about the dates of this transfer window,” said Wenger.

‘Mourinho saw this as yet more evidence of Wenger’s obsession with all things Chelsea but for once he bit his tongue. That all changed the following month.

‘Wenger had made a thinly disguised dig about Mourinho deliberately playing down Chelsea’s chances of being crowned champions because of a “fear to fail”. It was too much for the ultra-competitive Mourinho to resist, so when he was asked about Wenger’s comments he let fly. 

‘”You know, he is a specialist in failure. Eight years without a piece of silverware, that’s failure. If I do that at Chelsea I leave London and I don’t come back.”

‘Mourinho had carried out a cold-blooded assassination of his enemy in broad daylight. Inevitably it was too gory for some, who believed Jose’s brutal honesty was too vicious and vindictive. Not to him it wasn’t.

‘A few days later he was still pumped up about it all, telling me: “When Mr Wenger criticises CFC and Man United over the deal with Mata…I will find him one day outside a football pitch and I will break his face.”‘

Who knew Juan Mata could get the blood boiling so much?

Mourinho ‘raged’ after being ‘f***ed’ by FA, UEFA

Jose Mourinho was adamant that the FA and UEFA were conspiring against him in April 2014, according to the Daily Mail.

In a new book serialised by the Daily Mail, Rob Beasley, dubbed as ‘the sports journalist who knows better than anyone what makes Jose Mourinho tick’, has made a number of revelations concerning the current Manchester United boss.

Beasley wrote that Mourinho once threatened to ‘break Arsene Wenger’s face’ after the Arsenal manager criticised a transfer he made in 2014.

It is also claimed that the Portuguese ‘raged’ at being ‘punished’ by both the FA and UEFA in quick succession in 2014, while manager of Chelsea. Beasley writes, in Jose Mourinho: Up Close and Personal:

‘In April 2014 Jose was frustrated that UEFA rules meant that his own goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was able to play against Chelsea in a Champions League semi-final for his loan club Atletico Madrid.

‘It wasn’t the only setback that he had suffered as they chased European glory.
‘On the day before the Champions League draw, Mourinho had been fined £8,000 by the FA after his sending-off towards the end of a defeat at Aston Villa.’Chelsea had also been thwarted in their efforts to move their upcoming Premier League match at high-flying Liverpool, which was a potential title decider, from the Sunday to the Saturday or Friday night.

‘Mourinho raged to me: “Courtois to play is a joke but the biggest joke is (we) play Liverpool on the Sunday.

‘”It is a disgrace that we play Sunday. We play for Chelsea and also for England. It is a disgrace.

‘”They hide behind walls and f*** us.
‘”Who are they? Do they have a name and a face? It is amazing.”
‘Then he turned on his old enemies, the FA, and their latest punishment: “I don’t accept the decision. I don’t pay.

‘”I fight the decision and I kill the guys there.
‘”They want to f*** me and they do.
‘”Old guys, don’t have a clue about football. I told them that they are a disgrace.”

MANCHESTER CITY EYEING ARSENAL RIGHT-BACK BELLERIN TRANSFER

Another meaningful piece of transfer news concerns Hector Bellerin. Only a fortnight ago we were told how Barcelona had given up hope of signing the Arsenal right-back, but now Manchester City are being linked.
 
David Anderson writes that City are hopeful of exploiting the uncertainty in Bellerin’s future, with a new contract still not signed. Arsenal, for their part, are adamant that Bellerin is going nowhere, and will reject all advances from City and Barcelona.

The added complication for Arsenal is that Barca’s vice-president has been talking Bellerin, and dropping some unsubtle hints that he is their main target at right-back after all.
“We’ve already seen him as a Cule,” Jordi Mestre told Spanish newspaper Sport. “He’s a great player, there’s no doubt about that.

“Wenger convinced him to move and promised him something, which we couldn’t. We could not promise him that within two years he would be playing in Dani Alves’ place.
“In many cases it’s good that they leave to develop as players and then return. Look at the cases of Cesc, Pique, Alba and Denis Suarez.”

CURLED FROM: FOOTBALL365

TRANSFER RUMOUR: MANCHESTER UNITED BIDS £30M FOR DANNY DRINKWATER

MANCHESTER UNITED WANT £30M DRINKWATER.

Well isn’t this a big shout? Plenty of the big transfer news on The Sun’s website looks suspiciously like it has been written to garner clicks, but this is a Neil Custis exclusive that is also in the paper. Here we go.

Custis writes that Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has identified Danny Drinkwater as a transfer target for January. There is a question as to why United wouldn’t have targeted Drinkwater in the summer, given that the Leicester midfielder has only recently signed a new contract, but still.

‘Mourinho believes Drinkwater is the man to sit in front of the back four and give the likes of Paul Pogba more freedom to push on,’ Custis writes. If that’s true, it’s bad news for Morgan Schneiderlin, Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

SOURCE: FOOTBALL365

Derby County 0-3 Liverpool: Coutinho Shines As Liverpool Progress

The Brazilian attacker scored one and set up another as the Reds added to the misery of the home side and marched into the fourth round of the competition.

In-form Liverpool eased into the fourth round of the EFL Cup with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Derby County at the iPro Stadium on Tuesday.

Philippe Coutinho scored one goal and assisted the other two as Jurgen Klopp's much-changed side crushed their Championship opponents, in the process extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches.

Ragnar Klavan grabbed Liverpool's opener, the defender capitalising on a defensive error by Derby's Richard Keogh to find the net in the 24th minute.

Liverpool then hit their hosts with a quick-fire double at the start of the second half to put the contest to bed, Coutinho slotting home a one-on-one opportunity before setting up Divock Origi to do likewise from a tight angle.

Having brushed aside Burton Albion in the last round, Klopp's side have now managed eight goals without reply in the competition, raising hopes last year's beaten finalists could be set for a return to Wembley.

The German shuffled his pack for the trip to the east Midlands, handing full debuts to goalkeeper Loris Karius and midfielder Marko Grujic.

Yet despite making seven alterations to the XI that started the 2-1 win over Chelsea last time out, Liverpool’s new-look line-up were quickly into their stride.

Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino both fired long-range shots just over before an unlikely source rewarded the visitors' dominance with an opening goal.

Keogh's fluffed clearance from a Coutinho corner allowed Klavan to turn the ball in at the back post, with his left-footed effort finding the net via a deflection off Cyrus Christie.

Derby goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell tipped over a Coutinho free-kick to keep the deficit down to one at the break, although he was unable to deny the Brazilian from scoring five minutes after the interval.

Coutinho played a one-two with compatriot Firmino, whose wonderfully weighted return ball allowed his team-mate to slot beyond Mitchell without breaking stride.

The tie was put beyond Derby four minutes later, Coutinho this time the provider as his ball down the right channel allowed Origi to hammer the ball into the roof of the net.

With such a healthy lead, Klopp had the luxury of withdrawing captain Henderson and star man Coutinho ahead of Saturday's league game against Hull City at Anfield.

Danny Ings was given the chance to make his first appearance of the season off the bench, while there was a debut for another substitute, youngster Ovie Ejaria.

Karius did get a reprieve when his failure to deal with a corner saw Keogh head just over, although it was a rare moment of concern on a night that saw Liverpool in cruise control.

See Why Valencia Dismiss Coach Pako Ayestaran

Valencia have dismissed coach Pako Ayestaran on the back of four consecutive defeats that leave the club bottom of the standings in La Liga.

Ayestaran took over first-team affairs at Mestalla after Gary Neville's similarly ill-fated reign ended in March and he signed a deal running until June 2018 two months later.

But a terrible start to the current campaign threw his future into jeopardy and Valencia confirmed his dismissal on Tuesday – two days on from a 2-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao.

"After the meeting of the board of directors, Valencia Football Club has decided to relieve from office the coach Pako Ayestaran," a statement read.

"The decision was made after analyzing the current sporting situation and results.

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"Valencia Football Club wishes to thank the involvement, effort and professionalism of Pako Ayestaran and his coaching staff in his time at the helm. The club wishes them all the best of luck for the future."

Vero Gonzalez will take charge of Valencia on an interim basis, although Argentina icon Mario Kempes – who represented Los Che during his playing days – has touted himself for the post.

Kempes, who remains a club ambassador, tweeted on Sunday: "In response to those who ask for me to become coach of Valencia, I would do so with all my desire so long as they ask me.

SOURCE: GOAL