ROME: José Mourinho sees no reason to stop now after reaching another European final while approaching his 60th birthday.
The 59-year-old Mourinho was asked Wednesday if critics had been too quick to write him and 62-year-old Carlo Ancelotti off too quickly.
Mourinho’s Roma will meet Feyenoord in the Europa Conference League final next week. Three days later, Ancelotti’s Real Madrid team will play Liverpool in the Champions League final.
Both coaches had mixed results in their previous jobs in England at Tottenham (Mourinho) and Everton (Ancelotti).
“The problem with Carlo was that when you coach Everton you definitely won’t win the Champions League. My problem is that people looked at it as me taking on jobs to win but it wasn’t about winning,” Mourinho said. “When you have a history of repeated success, people can say those things — it doesn’t bother me.”
Next Wednesday’s match in Tirana, Albania, will mark the fifth European final of Mourinho’s career. He has won all four that he’s coached in so far, over a span of nearly two decades: the 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 Champions League finals with Porto; the 2010 Champions League final with Inter Milan; and the 2017 Europa League final with Manchester United.
Still, younger coaches like Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp have attracted more attention than Mourinho in recent years.
“I don’t think about it as ‘the new generation,’ or ‘a different generation,’” Mourinho said. “Quality has no age. The same thing applies to players. There are players who are great at 20 and players who are great at 40.
“When you don’t have the passion anymore that’s when you’re done. When you don’t feel a bit of pressure before these games that means you’re done,” Mourinho added. “I know it for myself and I know Carletto (Ancelotti) fairly well. When you’ve got the passion and the quality, it’s up to us to say when we’re done. We’re the ones who will decide when to quit. But I think you’ll have to wait a while. Because it won’t be soon.”
Mourinho says he and Ancelotti still have a lot more to give
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Mourinho says he and Ancelotti still have a lot more to give
- The 59-year-old Mourinho was asked Wednesday if critics had been too quick to write him and 62-year-old Carlo Ancelotti off too quickly
- “The problem with Carlo was that when you coach Everton you definitely won’t win the Champions League,” Mourinho said
Pakistan to participate in T20 World Cup but won’t play against India on Feb. 15
- Controversy over Pakistan’s participation erupted after ICC rejected Bangladesh’s request to relocate their matches to Sri Lanka
- Pakistan are scheduled to play all their Group A matches in Sri Lanka and open their campaign against the Netherlands on Feb. 7
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will take part in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup but won’t play their scheduled group stage match against arch-rival India on Feb. 15, the Pakistani government said on Sunday.
The tournament will be played from Feb. 7 to Mar. 8 and co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, with matches being played across both countries and the final scheduled in Ahmedabad.
The controversy over Pakistan’s participation erupted after the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland, following Bangladesh’s decision to not play matches in India owing to security fears.
Last week, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi had hinted at an outright boycott of the event in protest over the ICC’s decision to reject Bangladesh’s demands to relocate their matches from India to Sri Lanka.
“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026,” read a post on the Pakistani government’s official X account.
“However, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.”
Pakistan’s refusal to play against India, who they have already played at neutral venues in Sri Lanka, is likely to have severe financial implications.
Both sides have not played bilateral cricket since 2012 and only face each other in multi-nation events. Under a deal signed last year, India and Pakistan agreed not to travel to each other’s countries in cases where either hosts an ICC event, instead playing at neutral venues.
Pakistan are scheduled to play all their Group A matches in Sri Lanka. The ‘Men in Green’ will open their campaign against the Netherlands on Feb. 7.
