Madrid: Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has questioned the awarding of Fifa’s World Coach of the Year for 2012 to Spain manager Vicente del Bosque, claiming there were people who voted for him that had their votes changed.
The Portuguese finished second in the vote carried out by international players, managers and journalists, but the former Chelsea boss said he didn’t attend the gala event in Zurich in January due to what he believed to be irregularities in the vote.
“I don’t regret not attending the event in person,” he told Portuguese TV station RTP.
“One, two or three people called me to say they had voted for me and in the end another name appeared in their votes. Therefore I decided not to go.”
However, Fifa confirmed that the official list published with the votes of all those who took part was correct.
Meanwhile, Mourinho reiterated his belief that Cristiano Ronaldo should have won the award for World Player of the Year at the same event ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
Messi won the award for the fourth consecutive year, but Mourinho said that Ronaldo’s feats in guiding Real Madrid to the Spanish title last year should have been recognised.
“Cristiano Ronaldo ought to have been the winner of the last Ballon d’Or. He was the champion of the league and decisive in a record championship win both in terms of goals and points,” Mourinho said.
And Mourinho also quashed suggestions that he has agreed a deal to leave Real come the end of the season.
Speculation has linked the 50-year-old with a move to Manchester City, Chelsea or Paris Saint-Germain, but he insists there is no such deal in place.
“I don’t have any agreement with a club to leave. There is nothing signed, it is nonsense to say otherwise.”
Meanwhile, Real Madrid must beat Galatasaray in their Champions League quarter-final home leg or else they face a tough time in the return leg in Turkey, Mourinho added.
Mourinho, who has already guided Porto and Inter Milan to Champions League glory, said that Real face a tough challenge against a side packed with quality — including Champions League-winning players Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba — and with Turkey’s best coach Fatih Terim in charge.
“It will be tough, but we must try and get a positive result at home in the first leg, which is not what we managed to do against Manchester United (a 1-1 draw in Madrid).
“We must go there with at least a small advantage.”
Mourinho, whose side play the home leg on April 3 with the away trip to Istanbul on April 11, watched Galatasaray last Sunday and came away impressed.
“I saw everything I expected to see: a team that is used to the Champions League and who not only have two former winners of this competition, Drogba and Sneijder, but also players who have played for other top clubs,” he said.
“Players like Emmanuel Eboue who was at Arsenal, Felipe Melo who came from Juventus, Albert Riera from Liverpool and Fernando Muslera from Lazio.
“The team also has an excellent coach, the best in Turkey, who also coached at one time in Italy, with a bunch of supporters who are unique,” he said with masterful understatement, given the intimidatory welcome all sides face when they play Galatasaray.
