Chelsea FC manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that he did not intend to mock Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini, when he accidentally referred to him as “Mr Pellegrino”.
Mourinho further refused to comment on the Chilean manager’s recent claims that the Portuguese takes all of the credit for his team’s success, as he mocked managers who gave interviews during holidays. During a press conference last season, Mourinho had mispronounced Pellegrini’s name, and he reiterated that it was indeed an honest mistake by the Portugese, who mixed up the names of a player and the manager.
The last thing Ia d do is show a lack of respect – Mourinho on Pellegrini
Moruinho who has good command over five language’s and was a translator back in the days, had made the “Pellegrino” comment following the 1-1 draw between Chelsea FC and Manchester City at the Etihad, in the aftermath of which, Pellegrini accused Chelsea FC of playing “like a small team, like Stoke”.
Mourinho speaking to the press ahead of The Blues match against FC Barcelona, said:
a It was because I had a player called Pellegrino and because there were two in football at the same time.
a One was Mauricio Pellegrino and Mr Manuel Pellegrini… I always made a mistake by calling one the other. I always made a mistake.
“The last thing Ia d do is show a lack of respect.a
Last month, while speaking to a Chilean newspaper, El Mercurio, the Manchester City manager, was quoted as saying:
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a When he wins, Mourinho wants to take the credit for everything.
“I never do that. When I won the Premier League, I didna t say a word.a
Although, Mourinho insisted that he did not intend to mock Pellgrini with “Pellegrino”, he did in-fact take a dig at the Chilean, when he said:
a In my holidays I did zero interviews. Since I left London, zero.
a You are free of everything, questions, answers, controversy, interpretation, overreaction. You are free of everything.
“My holiday time – zero. If other guys use holiday time also for interviews, ita s their problem.a
Did Mourinho intentionally mock Pellegrini with the “Pellegrino” statement?
Considering the Portuguese’s propensity for mind games and a complete lack of respect for opposition manager’s, it is hard to fathom that it was indeed an honest mistake by the “special one”, who is not renowned for making mistakes with his choice of words. However, if it was just mind games from the 52-year-old or he indeed does not respect Pellegrini is the real question.
With just a week left to the start of the season in the form of Chelsea FC’s clash against Arsenal FC in the FA Community Shield, the Portuguese might just be preparing for the season ahead, winding opposition manager’s up with his statements, which have worked more often than not in his favour.