Not only a great coach, a former great player, but quippy in any one of four languages. Enjoy.
04-05
"They a great team," he says, "a great team. Very functional . . ." - when asked what he thought of Chelsea under Mourinho.
"When we [him and Mourinho] finally meet, it could be quite a moment." - predicting the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.
"When people talk like this before a match, it is a sign that they are not calm. They are not at ease with the match to come." - responding with mind games of his own in the wake of Mourinho's naming of both sides before the clash at Camp Nou.
"[Espanyol] have much more football in them and a more winning mentality [than Chelsea]. They are more positive from a footballing point of view." - Rijkaard was left unimpressed by the first game, so much so that - well, it's like Sir Alex saying that Man City are better than Chelsea.
(Not quite as scathing, though, as Puyol suggesting that Chelsea were the worst side to come to the Camp Nou in that season's Champions League, which places them below the likes of Celtic and Shahktar.)
"The Chelsea team? "One: Robben. Two: Robben. Three: Robben." - making more fun of Mourinho's naming of both teams and him lying about Damien Duff's injury situation (Robben was injured at the time.)
05-06
''I feel very sorry for Mourinho if I upset him. It is a real shame. I promise with all my heart I will try not to do so again.'' - responding to reports that Mourinho was not impressed when Rijkaard described Chelsea as workman-like.
'Thank Heaven for that. [Referee] Terje [Hauge] is an intimate friend of mine. I often speak with him on the phone and we eat together whenever we can.'' - making fun of the Anders Frisk controversy from 04-05.
06-07
"Nothing. [Interviewer laughs.] Nothing. Only that we lost, and we didn't play well." - when asked by the BBC what he'd learned from defeat at Stamford Bridge in the group stage.
By the way, I discovered something truly terrifying while googling Rijkaard quotes - Johan Cruyff used to call Rijkaard 'Frankie'. That's it, I'm going to do the same from now on. (Only joking. I'd die of laughter while trying to write serious analysis.)
(tied) quote of the year
“The worst thing about playing Chelsea is having to listen to Mourinho afterwards.” - normally unflappable Barca midfielder-defender Edmilson
"I stand for fairness and justice in football." - Jose Mourinho
more quotes
If you love quirky/stupid/witty quotes about football and sport in general as much as I do, the BBC's quotes of the year, parts one and two, as well as Football365's quotes of the year, parts one, two, three and four should make fun reading.
Happy new year, everyone.
2 comments:
Thank god for Jose Mourinho though . . . he's born to irritate, and much more suave about it than fergie and wenger.
-bl
I really hate playing Chelsea because of Mourinho's complete lack of anything resembling sportsmanship, but watching his antics in the Premiership from a safe, neutral distance (I don't have a Prem team) is actually quite fun.
The man's very, very smart, and I don't mind his arrogance, nor his team's money. Just that sportsmanship thing.
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