Exclusive: Former Man Utd and Chelsea manager speaks to Sky Sports News
Wednesday 31 July 2019 11:41, UK
Jose Mourinho opened up on his identity, adapting as a coach, embracing change and constantly studying in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News.
Among that study is Charles Darwin, other sports and the German language - but not for a Bundesliga job, he insists - as time out from management gives Mourinho time to reflect.
In a candid interview, the former Manchester United and Chelsea boss gives us an insight into that reflection…
Mourinho, out of work since leaving United in December, admits everyone makes mistakes but learning from them is most important.
"I learn from me every day," he said. "With the mistakes you make you learn a lot. With the mistakes that others make you also learn a lot.
"You are going to make mistakes all the time. The point is, don't make the same mistakes. But mistakes will come again and again.
"Victories are very important. They are the things that stay forever in your history and the history of football, but sometimes you learn more with the difficulties and that's the feeling I have."
Mourinho, a manager for almost two decades, insists he will never lose his identity, and is always looking ahead.
"You cannot lose your identity, you are who you are and honestly I am so happy with who I am," he said.
"But there is a new period ahead of me, there is a new challenge, I think many challenges ahead of me and honestly I look to that with more enthusiasm than looking back at what I did before.
"What I did, I did, because I am so motivated. It is difficult to be, for the first time, without my football."
Mourinho revealed he has changed his backroom staff ahead of a potential return to management.
"I am reading and studying and producing things. I analyse different sports, I meet my future staff, because my future staff is going to be different to my previous staff because I thought it was the moment for a few changes," he revealed.
"Nothing personal, of course not, but in relation to the knowledge, to the motivation, I think it's a good moment to do that.
"I meet them, we speak, we analyse, we try to produce documentation to be the base for the next work, so we are always thinking."
Not shy of a philosophical outlook, Mourinho says the words of Charles Darwin have struck a chord with him of late, and suggests awareness of change trumps strength and intelligence.
"It's very important to study," Mourinho said. "I like to read people from different periods, different generations and recently a friend of mine told me 'think about Charles Darwin'.
"He wrote: 'It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change'.
"Sometimes the change is not always for better, not always, sometimes we change for worse, but it's important to understand the change and you adapt to it, so I would say I am really thinking about that.
"It's not enough to be one of the strongest ones. It's not enough to be one of the best ones. It's not enough to be one of the most intelligent ones, it's also very important, or even more important, to be able to understand and to adapt to certain things."
Mourinho says his love for study has led him to begin learning German, rather than any Bundesliga club knocking at his door.
"It's difficult man," he said. "Wow. It's difficult. For a Portuguese guy to learn Spanish, Italian that's nice and easy. My French and English not difficult at all.
"German is hard. When I am back in London in September, I will go two or three times a week to try.
"But honestly, I am not thinking about going to the Bundesliga. No club is waiting for me. Nobody knocking my door, not at all. It's just what can I do? German? Russian?
"I like to learn, I like to study, I like to have some objectives and I'm going to try. At least the basics would be nice."
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