Blues boss plays down Eto’o comments.
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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has responded to Samuel Eto’o’s recent revelation that he used to hate the Portuguese boss during his time as a Barcelona player, London24 reports.
Eto’o’s Barcelona side of the mid-noughties came up against Mourinho and Chelsea on many occasion, with a feisty clash always guaranteed between the two teams employing starkly contrasting footballing philosophies, with a war of words off the pitch often likely to ensue as well.
Supposedly, the Cameroon international vowed at the time never to play under Mourinho, though he admits that his opinion of him changed when he signed for him at Inter Milan, where the two enjoyed tremendous success in winning the treble in 2009/10.
Eto’o has now linked up with the ‘special one’ again at Chelsea, making a surprise move to Stamford Bridge this summer after being placed on the transfer list at Anzhi Makhachkala when the Russian side ran into unexpected financial problems.
Mourinho is not concerned by Eto’os’ comments, however, explaining that this is a normal part of football and suggesting perhaps that the 32-year-old could have been a bit more careful about what he said.
“Yes [I knew that],” he said, when asked about what the striker had said. “You have to be experienced. You have to be smart.
“You have to know the football world is very small. Sometimes you say things and a few years later you are faced with a difficult situation.
“When you’re on the same side everything changes. At Inter it was a golden period for both of us.”
The club’s new signing is expected to make his debut this weekend as Mourinho takes his team to play Everton at Goodison Park.