Mourinho fury at secret recording

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said it was
a "disgrace" a private conversation in
which he appeared to criticise his
strikers was broadcast on French TV.

Mourinho said he was joking when he
complained about Chelsea's lack of
strikers and made an unflattering
comment about Samuel Eto'o's age.
"It was a funny conversation with
somebody that doesn't belong to the
football world," Mourinho said.

"It is a disgrace that someone is taping a
private conversation."

Speaking ahead of his side's Champions
League last-16 tie against Galatasaray,
Mourinho told the assembled media they
should be "embarrassed" by the way
French broadcaster Canal Plus published
comments he had made about his
players during a conversation eight days
ago in Switzerland.

In the initial video Mourinho said:

"The
problem with Chelsea is I lack a striker. I
have Eto'o but he is 32 years old, maybe
35, I don't know."

But in Tuesday's news conference the
Portuguese boss backed Eto'o, 32, and
underlined that the Cameroon forward
had played twice under him. At Inter,
they won Serie A, the Italian Cup and the
Champions League together, before the
striker joined Chelsea on a free transfer
from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala
last summer.

"I'm not defending what I'm saying. I'm
attacking something that is, I think,
fundamental in your professional area
and that person showed exactly what he
is or what he does not know about the
job," Mourinho continued.

"From my perspective, the comment is
not obviously a good one, not one I
would do in a serious way, not
something I would do in an official way
in an interview. First of all, because I
don't make fun. Secondly, because if
there are managers in the world that
really defend their players, I am
obviously one of them. And third,
because Samuel Eto'o is Samuel Eto'o."

Eto'o has only scored eight goals in 27
appearances since he arrived at
Stamford Bridge last August. Fellow
strikers Fernando Torres and Demba Ba
have only managed 11 goals between
them in all competitions.

But Chelsea are a point clear of Arsenal
at the top of the Premier League with 11
games remaining.

Mourinho added: "It was with Eto'o that I
had the best ever season of my career
[at Inter]. He's one of the few players
who is working with me in a second
different club and a manager never does
that when he doesn't like the player or
doesn't like the person.

"He has no reason to be upset because
also he said a few years go that
'Mourinho is the only manager in the
world I would never play for'. After a few
years he was playing with me at Inter
and now he is playing for me. There is
no story."