“Today I can talk to you” – Jose Mourinho breaks silence on turning down Portugal job before Roberto Martinez appointment

Jose Mourinho has revealed that the Football Federation of Portugal contacted him to become the manager of the national team before appointing Roberto Martinez as the head coach.

Portugal found themselves in search of a new manager after Fernando Santos stepped down as the boss following the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They were eliminated by Morocco in the quarter-finals, which paved the way for Santos' resignation.

Martinez also vacated his role as the manager of the Belgium national team after their 2022 World Cup elimination in the group stages. He has now been appointed Portugal's new head coach on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

At his official unveiling, Portuguese Football Federation president Fernando Gomes said (h/t GOAL):

"What interested me from the first hour was defining the profile. We spoke, within this, with many people. The only concrete proposal we made to be a coach, was Roberto Martínez."

If Mourinho is to be believed, then the former Real Madrid and Chelsea manager was Gomes' priority candidate in the managerial search. The Portuguese tactician saw Roma beat Genoa 1-0 in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 clash on January 12.

Speaking after the match at the Stadio Olimpico, he said:

"Today I can talk to you and say something that maybe you are not very interested in, but I want to thank the president of the Portuguese Federation."

He added:

"What he said made me very proud, saying that I was not the first choice, but his only choice and that he would have done anything to get me home. He made me very happy. But I didn't go, I'm here and I'm giving my all.”

Having started his senior managerial career at SL Benfica in 2000, Mourinho is yet to manage a national team.

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Jose Mourinho ranked fifth best coach in 2022 by IFFHS

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics has ranked Jose Mourinho as the fifth-best coach in 2022, as per (h/t Roma Press).

Having become Roma's manager in the summer of 2021, he led them to their first European trophy in history in his debut season.

I Giallorossi beat Feyenoord in the final of the UEFA Europa Conference League. With the win, Mourinho became the only coach in the world to win all three of UEFA's active season-long competitions. This was also their first piece of silverware since 2008.

The Italian side also finished sixth in the league table last term. His name ranks only below Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Walid Regragui, and Jurgen Klopp, respectively, in the list.