The threat
seemed genuine enough. ‘Don’t make me another question or I go,’ said a
smouldering Jose Mourinho. ‘I go. Think twice before you ask the
question. Think twice.’
But
the question came anyway and quite right too, the newspaper reporter
asking Chelsea’s manager if Dr Eva Carneiro and the first-team
physiotherapist, Jon Fearn, had attended what he insisted was a cordial
meeting with his medical staff on Thursday.
Mourinho sprang to his feet. ‘Now I go, have a good weekend,’ he said.
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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho spoke for the first time since his fall out with club doctor and physiotherapist
But it was far from his finest performance as he faces the media next to communications director Steve Atkins
Dr Eva Carneiro walks past Mourinho on the sidelines following the Portuguese's foul-mouthed rant
Only
he did not go. He flounced, he hovered, he stood by the door, his
attempts to appear angry and intimidating somewhat undermined by the
baggy tracksuit and flip-flop-sock combination and a look strangely
similar to the one worn by Benjamin Braddock when suddenly confronted by
a naked Mrs Robinson.
It
was a look that accused his tormentors of not playing by the rules. Of
trying to seduce him into doing something he might regret.
Steve
Atkins, Chelsea’s communications director, urged Mourinho to sit back
down and he duly did, but he would talk only about football — not about a
controversy he had caused by publicly humiliating a respected sports
physician last weekend.
In
fairness, Mourinho was always going to be limited as to what he could
say at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground on Friday. There were obvious
legal implications given Dr Carneiro’s decision to hire lawyers for what
might well turn out to be a case of constructive dismissal.
Some
of his answers might even have been prepared by the club’s human
resources department. The suggestion that Carneiro and Fearn could yet
reappear some time on the Chelsea bench certainly sounded a little
rehearsed.
The Chelsea boss and Carneiro share an exchange of views on the Stamford Bridge touchline last Saturday
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Mourinho fumes as Carneiro retreats to the bench after treating Eden Hazard on the pitch during the 2-2 draw
But
this was far from Mourinho’s finest performance in what has been far
from his finest hour. He has behaved appallingly and there were moments
when he was every bit as arrogant; every bit as aloof as he slipped
back, depressingly, into the character of the one-time enemy of
football.
If
Mourinho had been briefed by the communications staff, it is difficult
to imagine that his opening remarks in the broadcast section of the
press conference followed the script.
Asked
immediately if Carneiro and Fearn would be on the bench at Manchester
City on Sunday and whether he had regrets about his conduct, he
responded by noting how many reporters were crammed inside the small
media room.
‘I
hope this room is full because the champions are going to play against
the former champion, because the transfer window was on fire, because
you have hopefully a big match on Sunday,’ he said.
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A scowling Mourinho looks on with a mixture of fury and disbelief after the duo dashed onto the field of play
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Mourinho claims he knew star playmaker Eden Hazard did not require treatment as he was just tired
‘But
I knew it already, it wasn’t a surprise, your question. Probably there
are some here who don’t like football and come for other reasons.’
Which,
of course, we had. We were there in numbers because he had done more
than censure Chelsea’s team doctor. He had sparked an ethical debate
about the authority of the medical staff and so ventured into dangerous
territory. That the medical profession has united in condemning him,
most notably FIFA’s chief medical officer, should tell Mourinho he was
wrong to lash out.
But
there was no sense of remorse, no self-doubt. He did admit to being
human enough to make the occasional mistake but he also tried to claim
other members of his medical staff accept that public criticism, however
scathing, is fair if it helps to raise standards.
I
would wager they would be every bit as offended if they were described
on television as ‘naive’ and ‘impulsive’ with no real understanding of
the game. But if challenging Mourinho, as Carneiro kind of did on
Facebook, leads to being stripped of your duties they might think better
of it the next time they prepare to rush to the aid of a player.
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The Chelsea manager read a statement on the issue at the start of his press conference on Friday in Cobham
Asked
to discuss concerns raised by medical professionals, Mourinho pleaded
the fifth. ‘I am not going to discuss it,’ he snapped. ‘You can make the
questions and we don’t stop you making the questions, but you cannot
make me answer. I don’t answer.’
He
was told he should. ‘You shouldn’t ask,’ he then replied. ‘It is my
opinion and your opinion.’ He did then admit that the wellbeing of the
athlete is paramount.
‘The
player is more important than the result,’ he said. ‘He is more
important than the manager, he is even more important than the referee.’
What
he would not accept was the power he has as arguably the most
influential football manager in England, and perhaps the world.
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Mourinho must accept the power he has as arguably the most influential football manager in England
But try telling him that with such power comes responsibility or that his words carry serious weight.
‘Power?
Oh my word. Jesus Christ! Power of what?’ he said with (mock)
indignation. ‘The only power I have is to choose the team, to choose who
is on the bench, to choose which exercises we do, which direction we
try to take our game plan.
‘That
is not power. It is part of my job to advise my board to do something
related to the transfer market, to do something in other departments in
relation to my needs. But I have power for nothing.’
Only he does, and the sooner he remembers that the better.
HOW MOURINHO DODGED THE KEY QUESTIONS AT PRESS CONFERENCE
Below are extracts from Mourinho’s press conference on Friday:
Q: Jose, quite an important issue has been raised this week. Who is ultimately in charge?
Mourinho: I don’t answer.
Q: It is a serious issue.
Mourinho: I don’t answer.
Q: But you’ve brought it into the spotlight.
Mourinho: I don’t answer.
Q: Can you give us any idea why they won’t be on the bench?
Press officer Steve Atkins: I don’t think Jose wants to discuss the issue further.
Q: Have you spoken to the players in terms of their role in injury management?
Mourinho: That’s my problem.
Q: There
are very serious issues around the professional responsibilities of a
doctor. The General Medical Council have been involved.
Mourinho: I am not going to discuss it.
Q: But you have raised the whole issue by your actions.
Mourinho: You can make the questions and we don’t stop you making the questions, but you cannot make me answer you. I don’t answer.
Q: But you should answer us.
Mourinho: You shouldn’t ask. It is my opinion and your opinion. I don’t answer you.
Q: Jose...?
Mourinho: Don’t make me another question or I go. I go. Think twice before you ask the question. Think twice.
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