Mourinho: I didn't snub Fergie

I seemed to notice this as well. Right after the game Jose disappeared into a secret bunker located right under the Inter Milan dugout. Mourinho explains his exit from the San Siro below.

Jose Mourinho left the San Siro without a glance towards Sir Alex Ferguson last night but the enigmatic Portuguese denied he had blanked the Manchester United manager.

The Inter Milan coach exited his dugout without exchanging pleasantries with his opposite number at the end of the 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie, but insisted Ferguson would not have expected anything more.

The time to come together and shake hands will be when the tie is over in a fortnight, according to the former Chelsea boss.

"My dugout is a special dugout because we have a door which gives me the chance to leave it directly," Mourinho explained.

"Yesterday I left a £300 bottle of wine in the hotel with a note saying we would meet each other after the game at Old Trafford.

"I am always close to him and we are always friends and I will be there for him after the second game."

Mourinho has not forgotten Ferguson's taste in wine from the days when they locked horns in the Premier League, but knows his side will have to be on form at Old Trafford for his post-match drink with Ferguson to be a celebratory one for the Inter coach.

"We have got to take the first chance which comes our way," he added.

"We need 100 per cent efficiency, that means the first chance we get must be a goal."

Mourinho predicts extra time and penalties could be required to separate the teams.

"When two great teams are playing, it is difficult that one of them is better for 90 minutes," he said.

"This is top-level football for me. They dominated the first half, but we dominated the second and this is football.

"I cannot say that it was a psychological problem for us in the first half - the problem was Manchester United, who played well.

"But we knew that in some moments of the game it would be hard for us.

"We were the better team in the second half and it took them until the 67th minute to get past us."

Even when United did get past the defence, they met their match in goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who made four good saves to deny Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Julio Cesar is fantastic," Mourinho said.

"He showed some great quality in the first half with two or three saves of huge importance to the team.

"He did not have much to do in the second half, but he still had the same quality and calmness and was very important for us."

A look into the life of Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan

Jose Mourinho is without a doubt up for the Champions League match against Manchester United. The Guardian takes a closer look into the manager's interesting life at Inter Milan.

There haven't been any surprises or any ­problems adapting. However, I wasn't expecting the annoying little flies you get during the afternoons here at Appiano." What sounds like the Charles Darwin-style diary of a travelling ­naturalist in fact describes the start of Jose Mourinho's Italian journey, back in the summer of 2008 at Internazionale's training ground.

Pretty quickly, however, the natives became more of a distraction than the flies, pushing Mourinho to turn his hand to anthropology as well as football coaching in a world rather different from the one he had imagined. His first task was understanding the psychology of the natives and their newspapers. On his arrival, Mourinho believed that honest and straightforward statements, even if politically incorrect, would help him steer clear of misunderstandings and frayed nerves.

Italians who did not understand or appreciate this tactic soon made themselves heard. The director of Catania, Pietro Lo Monaco, said the Portuguese manager needed "a smack in the teeth" while many journalists and TV pundits had no sympathy for Mourinho's break with the usual day-to-day hypocrisy.

Mourinho also believed that his ironclad CV was enough to protect him from demands for "everything, now", meaning results plus spectacular football. But he soon realised his reputation could run out as fast as the credit on a mobile phone. Newspapers and TV kicked off their usual delirium, going for the huge build-up, then taking great pleasure in belittling a man who failed to "keep his promises".

Mourinho reacted with irony, but also excess. Lo Monaco's name means "the monk" in Italian; Mourinho said the only monk he had heard of was a Tibetan monk. He then demanded a fee for all the free headlines Lo Monaco was getting by talking about him. With other managers and journalists he was tougher. He crossed swords with Claudio Ranieri, a favourite target since the Italian's time at Chelsea. The Juventus manager said that unlike Mourinho he did not "need to win to be sure of what he was doing". Mourinho said that "with that mentality", Ranieri had got to 70 years of age – he is actually 60 – winning just a Super Cup, "a little cup" and that he was "too old to change".

This was a replay of his duels in ­England, when he accused Arsène Wenger of being "a voyeur" and said Rafael Benítez had won little: "Three years in the Premier League without a title? I think I would be out of a job." Sir Alex Ferguson, he said, had "a mean outlook on life", after the Manchester United manager had failed to apologise for suggesting Victor Baia had dived during a match against Porto.

Then, slowly, Mourinho stopped throwing fuel on the flames, partly because the Inter chairman, Massimo Moratti, convinced him that if things got too hot the team would struggle to find its identity. But Mourinho cannot be sedated. Lately he has been venting his fury at referees, slamming "strange things" taking place on the field and accusing one referee of "being afraid" to officiate in a game against Sampdoria and favouring Inter's rivals. That claim saw him sanctioned.

Mourinho has also suffered from ­tactical headaches. Firstly, his ­underestimation of the middling teams in Italian football. Secondly, his need to work with ­players used to the tactics and mentality – more geared to Serie A than the Champions League – of his predecessor, Roberto Mancini.

Mourinho found he was up against a number of dynamic, organised and aggressive teams who were able to train a lot more during the week than those clubs involved in Europe. Atalanta beat Inter 3–1, while Inter scraped a 1–1 home draw with Cagliari and a 10-man Genoa side held out for a 0–0 scoreline at San Siro.

Mourinho was trying to impose his philosophy of pushing up the pitch, keeping possession and speeding things up in the final 30 metres on players more comfortable with containing their opponents before delivering a knockout blow through strength and individual talent.

The problems caused by this clash of philosophies explain the impatience, frenetic behaviour and apparently irrational choices which have been displayed by Mourinho. To unpick the closed defences of opponents, particularly at San Siro, he has tried different formations, starting with his beloved 4–3–3, using two wingers, the Brazilian Mancini and Ricardo Quaresma, who were bought specifically for that role. Then there was the Brazilian-style 4–2–4, with two strikers and two wingers. Finally, Mourinho returned to Roberto Mancini's 4–4–2, with a midfield diamond.

From that moment, results have picked up. But it is not that simple – Mourinho's handiwork shines through. He has changed the way Inter move up the field, involving more of the players. That is why defenders like Maicon, Maxwell, Iván Córdoba, Walter Samuel, Nicolás Burdisso and Marco Materazzi have been scoring goals, not to mention midfielders like Patrick Vieira, Luís Figo, Sully Muntari and Dejan Stankovic. This recalls Mourinho's Chelsea, where goals were provided by John Terry, William Gallas, Michael ­Essien, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Add to that the form of two key players. Zlatan Ibrahimovic still scores goals – 14 so far this season – but he has also turned provider and defender. Then there is Stankovic, who has the same physique as Lampard, fulfils the same midfield duties and scores the same long-range goals.

By results alone, the Special One has already proved himself a winner. Apart from losing the first Milan derby 1–0, he has beaten Roma 4–0 away, Juventus 1–0 at home and Milan 2–1 in the return.

There is no doubt, though, that the real test comes in the Champions League tomorrow night, against Ferguson, his long time friend and foe.

The Champions League is why Moratti hired Mourinho, and it is the competition by which Inter fans will judge him.

Why Liverpool Should Fear Real Madrid

Goal.com’s KS Leong explores the reasons why Real Madrid have every right to believe that Liverpool are afraid of them

Real Madrid vs Liverpool. You’d be forgiven for thinking we’ve reached the showpiece final of this season’s Champions League. But we’re only in the first knockout stage and sadly, one of these two European superpowers will have to depart the tournament shortly.

These two sides have amassed 14 titles between them in the history of the competition, four of which have come in the last ten years alone. Yet, the Merengues and the Merseysiders have not met once since the tournament was re-branded the UEFA Champions League. In fact, you’d have to go all the way back to the 1981 European Cup final, which the Reds won 1-0, for their last ever competitive meeting.

It’s not too surprising, though, considering both clubs have had such contrasting fortunes over time. Madrid, after winning the title three times in a span of five years between 1998 and 2002, have never come close again to making another final.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have won it once, made two finals and one semi-final in the last four years since Rafa Benitez took charge of the Anfield hot-seat back in June 2004.

You can understand then why the Spaniards – from both camps, mind you – have been so anxious to build-up the contest by voicing their strong opinions and predictions for the match. Rafael van der Vaart lit the spark when he trumpeted that Liverpool have every reason to be afraid of Madrid.

But Reds goalkeeper, Pepe Reina responded by saying there’s absolutely nothing for his side to fear. In riposte, Blancos defenders, Pepe and Sergio Ramos boomed that they were optimistic of eliminating their English rivals, who retorted with their own show of confidence from Xabi Alonso and Reina again.

On paper, it would seem that there’s nothing to choose from between these two. But upon closer inspection, perhaps Madrid are the slight favourites. Perhaps Liverpool should be afraid.

1. Red Hot At the Right Time

If this encounter were to take place two months ago, the Red Army would not have hesitated to put their money and their mortgage on their Liverpool side going through to the quarter-finals. And the Madrid faithful probably would, too.

But things have changed dramatically since the turn of the year. Never mind that Benitez’s boys have been in sputtering form or that they have been struggling for consistency, Madrid have simply been in an irresistible hot streak. Nine wins in a row (ten in their last 11 games in all competitions), 25 goals scored, 10 of which came in the last game and a half, and more satisfyingly, conceding just four times.

Los Blancos may not be playing the kind of swashbuckling football to convince bookmakers to install them as favourites to win the competition, but they are getting there; and truth of the matter is that under new coach, Juande Ramos, they know how to grind out a sufficient result. Even more importantly, they know how to keep a clean sheet, which will be extremely crucial considering a single away goal could prove the difference between going home and going to the quarter-finals.

It’s not just the team collectively who have recovered their form. Individually, the players are also back to their very best, from Iker Casillas to Fabio Cannavaro to Arjen Robben and Raul. Confidence and morale will also be a huge factor and around the Bernabeu camp, there are bucket-loads of that to go around, especially after tonight’s 6-1 demolition of Real Betis.

2. No More Injury Nightmares

Two months ago, while the English were busy contemplating calling up their bookies and putting their houses on the line, Madrid’s squad were in ruins, not unlike people’s mortgages.

Most of their players could barely string three games together without falling injured, while their key figures such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Mahamadou Diarra, Cannavaro, Pepe, Robben were dropping off like flies one after the other. At one point, they had more first-team players in the treatment room than they had in the dressing room.

But now, once again, things have improved significantly for the nine-time European champions. For some mystical, mysterious reason, the ‘Men in White’ are not getting injured as much under Juande as they did under Bernd Schuster. Even the Dutch Porcelain, Robben, managed to reel off seven straight games before picking up the most minor of niggles while on international duty two weeks ago.

The wing-wizard, who is in imperious form, will return in time to face Liverpool, as will midfielders Wesley Sneijder and Guti. But the Blancos are generally expected to be much fresher and fitter than their counterparts. While they’ve been playing one game a week for the last two-and-a-half months, the Reds have been busying themselves with FA Cup obligations and occasional midweek outings.

In short, Madrid have played only ten competitive matches since the conclusion of the Champions League group phase, compared to Liverpool’s 13 (inclusive of their clash with Manchester City on Sunday). It doesn’t help either that Steven Gerrard is carrying an injury while Fernando Torres is struggling with fitness.

3. Juande The Cup King

The ‘White House’ could not have chosen a better candidate to replace Schuster to lead Madrid into the knock-out stage of the tournament. Juande Ramos is an expert when it comes to cup competitions and he might just be the right man to end the club’s Champions League jinx and guide them to the elusive ‘Number 10’.

In a space of just three years, the man from La Mancha won five various titles with Sevilla (two UEFA Cups, Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercopa and UEFA Super Cup) before adding another to his résumé with Tottenham Hotspur (League Cup).

In sharp contrast, Schuster, despite guiding tiny Getafe to the 2006/07 Copa del Rey final prior to his Bernabeu switch, had a dismal track record with Madrid in cup games. There was the flop in the two-legged Supercopa against Juande’s Sevilla, the embarrassing exit in the early stages of the Copa two years in a row, and of course, last season’s disappointing elimination to Roma in this very stage of the Champions League, even though his side earned the advantage – for the first time in four years – of playing the pivotal second leg at home.

4. Madrid’s ‘English Contingent’

This could very well be tagged an ‘all-Spanish clash’. There’s a very high likelihood that Liverpool could have more Spanish players on the pitch than Madrid. Well, let’s just put it this way: there will be more Spaniards on the field than there will be Englishmen, even if you count Madrid’s newly appointed Anglo-Saxon groundsman.

But that fact in itself has little significance on the game. The key element here is that the Merseysiders have a distinct edge over their opponents thanks to the heavy Spanish influence in their squad. But Madrid have their own secret weapon. They have their own English contingent… or rather, ex-Premier League contingent.

Players like Gabriel Heinze, Lassana Diarra, Julien Faubert, Robben and coach, Juande himself, all have substantial knowledge of and insight into the English game, their mentality, their subtle tricks, their strengths and weaknesses, to nullify Liverpool’s advantage. Their presence will also come in handy in the return leg at Anfield where Rafa’s side will be playing with 12 men, including the Kop.

5. Hungry Giants

Madrid’s wretched form in this competition over the past half a decade has made them extremely hungry for glory. And after watching some of their closest continental rivals such as Barcelona, Milan and Manchester United succeed over the past few years, that hunger has turned into an obsession.

While it’s one thing not to win the Champions League or go all the way to the final, it’s quite another not to have progressed past the round of 16 four seasons in succession. For a club of Madrid’s stature and history, it’s nothing short of a catastrophe.

Liverpool will no doubt have their own burning ambitions to win Europe’s top prize for a sixth time, but there’s no denying that lifting their 19th domestic crown – and their first since 1990 – has become their very own obsession. This season, they have perhaps their best chance in a long, long while to put an end to that barren spell.

But for Madrid, having already won back-to-back league honours, they have an unfathomable desire to become the very first club to reach double digits in the Champions League trophy count. And besides, with La Liga still looking a tad out of reach, although they have now cut the gap down from 12 to seven points in a space of a week, this may be their best shot of major silverware this campaign. If they can pull off the double, even better.

Who could replace Benitez if he leaves?

Mike Maguire looks at possible replacements for Rafa Benitez should he abandon ship.

Liverpool are in the midst of what could end up as their best season in decades. They may be out of the FA Cup and League Cup, but are maintaining a genuine push for the Premier League title and will face Real Madrid next week in the last 16 of the Champions League.

And yet, Rafael Benitez's future is in serious doubt.

The Spanish manager is presently embroiled in talks over a new contract, and he has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with the slowness of the negotiation process.

Indeed, in a 'catch 22' of sorts, it is Benitez's desire to speed up the way things are done at Anfield that is causing the stall: he wants more control over transfers, but it is a privilege club co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett seem reluctant to grant.

The former Valencia coach's outspokenness on such matters has hardly helped, and he hinted in the press recently that he could leave in the summer if a deal is not struck by then - regardless of what the Reds achieve this season.

If that should be the case, who would be worthy of fashioning their own groove in the Anfield hot-seat? That is what we intend to find out. And in light of recent calls for British bosses to be given opportunities at top clubs, we've decided to focus primarily on home-grown candidates...

Martin O'Neill, Aston Villa

This man is the one most observers believe is ready to step up to a 'Big Four' job. Since taking over at Villa Park in 2006, O'Neill has transformed a relegation-threatened club into Champions League contenders - and this term, they're even an outside chance for the title.

The Ulsterman's CV reads very well indeed. In the early 1990s he took Wycombe Wanderers to the Football League for the first time in their history; they reached the old Second Division under his tenure. His Leicester City side won the League Cup twice, and they never finished outside the Premier League top ten during his reign. Then came the Celtic years, during which he re-established the Hoops as the best team in Scotland and led them into the Champions League.

Thus, with the Villans now battling for the UEFA Cup and sitting third in the league, O'Neill's credentials are there for all to see. Whether he is right for Liverpool, though, is up for debate. His recent spats with the club and Benitez over Gareth Barry aside, one must remember that he was part of the Nottingham Forest team who enjoyed a fierce rivalry with the Merseysiders during the late 1970s and '80s.

Speaking of fierce rivalries...

David Moyes, Everton

It might surprise some that the Scot had only held one managerial position - at Preston North End - before succeeding Walter Smith at Goodison Park in 2002. Not unlike O'Neill, he took a struggling side and led them back to Europe - most famously to the Champions League in 2005, beating the Reds to fourth place. The Toffees have managed a UEFA Cup spot in every season since, and they are expected to maintain that record this season.

If there is such a thing as a natural gaffer, Moyes is it. He set about attaining his coaching badges at just 22 years of age, so the vast majority of his playing career was spent preparing for life in the technical area. His exploits with a club whose results far outweigh their financial clout have impressed all and sundry, and some have even tipped him as the heir to Sir Alex Ferguson's throne at Old Trafford.

The top brass on the other side of Stanley Park, however, may hope the Glaswegian instead decides to follow in Kenny Dalglish's footsteps.

Steve Bruce, Wigan Athletic

Why are the top British candidates decidedly anti-Liverpool? As a member of the great Man United team of the mid-1990s, Bruce is another who would have to change his stripes to take the Reds' reins. Not all Kopites would be against such an appointment, though.

Football fans on Merseyside know quality when they see it, and there is an undercurrent of respect for this Manc on the coast of the Irish Sea. Only once have Benitez's men beaten a Bruce-managed side, and that came in the controversial 3-2 thriller against Wigan Athletic earlier this season.

After ending his six-year stint at Birmingham City to steer the Latics clear of relegation last term, the 48-year-old assembled a team that currently sit seventh in the Premier League standings. However, the inability to keep star performers - such as Wilson Palacios and Emile Heskey - at the JJB could drive him to a club with more spending power, should such an opportunity arise.

Sammy Lee, Liverpool (Assistant Manager)

Finally, a local lad. Lee's credentials in top-flight management may not read as well as those of the others on this list; his only job as the (little) big boss came at Bolton Wanderers, and that was a near-disastrous and short-lived stint in the wake of Sam Allardyce's exit.

However, there are many factors in his favour. He's a native Liverpudlian; he knows the club inside-out, having spent 11 trophy-filled years at the club as a player; since he replaced Paco Ayestaran as Benitez's right-hand man, the team's results have picked up noticeably; and his rapport with the Spanish players and staff is excellent, thanks to his years with Osasuna.

This appointment would be a throwback to the Boot Room era at Anfield, which effectively ended when Roy Evans left in the late '90s. Many of the more senior supporters would likely welcome him to the top job, but one can't help but think that his track record - or lack thereof, perhaps - might count against him.

Jose Mourinho, Inter

The one 'foreigner' in this motley crew, and unquestionably the most qualified of all the candidates. Everyone knows what he did at Chelsea: harnessed the power of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba & Co. to lead the Blues to back-to-back Premier League crowns, an FA Cup and a League Cup in three years.

Now in Italy, he's odds on to steer Inter to their fourth consecutive Scudetto, and yet his time in Serie A could come to an abrupt halt at season's end. His 'self-assured' attitude has put him offside with the local press, and failure to deliver the Champions League title could see him go the way of Roberto Mancini.

The Portuguese recently declared his desire to return to Stamford Bridge one day. However, in months prior, he stated that he would like to return to England - but not necessarily Chelsea. That led to speculation concerning Manchester City, United and Liverpool, where he was a top candidate to succeed Gerard Houllier before Benitez got the gig.

The Verdict

All these potential options, bar Lee, have endured some sort of feud with Rafa the gaffer or Liverpool. However, contrary to popular belief, leopards do change their spots from time to time. Matt Busby was an Anfield legend, after all...

First, the process of elimination. Lee, while all Kopites would love to see him lead the side to glory, hasn't the experience or perhaps even the capability to do the job. He's a brilliant No. 2, a great link between the manager and the players, but at the Reebok he clearly struggled to break away from that mould and establish his own persona as a manager.

Moyes is the next least likely. Face it, he's been at Everton around seven years now, and Merseyside rivalry is not as friendly as it once was. Gone are the days of the Nick Barmby and Peter Beardsley transfers - if Moyes crossed the picket-line, he'd be waking up with the severed head of a different animal on his pillow each morning.

Bruce is not quite as far-fetched, given his excellent record against the Reds, but O'Neill and Mourinho would have to be the frontrunners of this mob. And one thinks the fans would fancy the former. 'The Special One' is renowned for getting results without paying too much attention to style; the Villa boss, though, has constructed winning teams that are very good to watch. And the Kopites crave eye-pleasing yet very effective football.

However, 'MON' has never managed an elite European club. The step up is a big one, and one that many promising mid-table managers have failed to negotiate. Can he do the job, or is Mourinho the better bet?

Or should Hicks and Gillett just keep hold of Rafa Benitez while he still wants to be there?